Ah, welcome Mr. Woods – 2010 beckons and again you promise us motion control that will offer a true golfing experiences no other. A shame then that when you first came to Wii we were ready to believe you, but my-oh-my did you let us down. Again we waited as you made your yearly appearances yet that definitive golfing experience always seemed to pass us. While your 2009 outing was certainly the closest you had gotten to true 1:1 golfing controls – your audience had (literally) disappeared and your putting mechanic was often just that: mechanic.

And so here sits Tiger Woods 10 in our hands with MotionPlus support. Does that mean we are finally in golfing nirvana? Well, the first thing that hit us about TW 10 isn't the controls, the improved graphics or the tweaked presentation; it's actually the amount of content squeezed onto the disk. The features of TW 10 may appear to be rehashes of previous years but there's more golf here than ever before. Like arcade-type golf? Take a swing towards the arcade, instant-thrills modes available, or if you're a traditionalist there is always the slow-paced PGA Tour modes.

It's a breath of fresh air to find a sports title on Wii that actually delivers more content than its PS3 and 360 brothers. (You know a game has had proper due care and attention paid to it when it even incorporates the forecast channel for real-time weather patterns!) But really we're talking more courses, mini games and even a fully-featured online mode which goes one better than previous iterations - allowing you to play against the real pros as you game against their 'live' tour score cards. Wonderful EA, now we need never leave the house again!

Red sky at night, eagle in flight...

It's not just the wealth of options that EA have given us that impressed us with TW 10. It's the panache and delivery the title has. Finally EA have given Tiger a fresh lick of paint and actually given us graphics that we know Wii is capable of. Gone are the days of "This was done on the GameCube" rattling around in our heads, with TW 10 we really felt like we were playing a 'next'gen' golf game. And when we took our first 1:1 swing we were grinning just like Tiger.

Boy does MotionPlus make a difference. Instant, rewarding and game defining. The MotionPlus controls of TW 10 put you in the game like no other golf title before it. Driving the ball feels wonderful and there's none of this 100+% range going on. The maximum you can hit the ball is 100%. Finally! Someone gave EA a dose of common sense. With this simple change you know where the swing power lies. You'll naturally hit the percentages and really 'feel' the shots you're stroking.

Add in a sublime putting mechanic which again feels wonderfully natural and you need never play real golf again! With MotionPlus control push and pull are taken into consideration when putting so what you'll be seeing is a true reflection of real-life putting mechanics. No more blaming poor control implementation here. Mind you, if you prefer the old ways of driving/putting the option is there for you to change it on the fly meaning you can always find the game style that suits you best. Finally though, MotionPlus control gives the title a difficulty level that previous iterations needed and so with 1:1, TW 10 becomes an altogether deeper experience.

And that's where the 'fun' truly lies, TW 10 feels like the ultimate accessible sports title. All Play enables Grandma to lash one down the fairway whilst you can get true 1:1 control for the real pro's in the family. Throw in the previously mentioned plethora of game modes available and there is something for everyone – golf lover or not.

True 1:1 means you may need to spend time tuning your swing in the club tuner section. Tiger has you covered!

Which brings us nicely to perhaps the best implementation of Motion Plus in the title. Disc Golf. Yes, it's like Disc Dog from Wii Sports Resort and yes it feels like EA were ripping Nintendo off, but when it plays this good we just don't care. Disc Golf is brilliant fun. True 1:1 motions give the game depth as well as real skill and with the ability to play on any of the titles multitude of courses this is as good as a full package on its own. Brilliant stuff.

And so EA have finally delivered a Tiger Woods title which makes all other golf games seem archaic in comparison. Not only have they mastered the opportunity of Motion Plus golf from the off, they have also gone on to add more features, producing a slick reinvention of the TW franchise.

Additionally, throw in the many tweaks to the long-existing modes and what you're going to be playing is a title that just oozes what EA's top-tier titles should all be about: Quality in spades.

Mark Lee
- Staff Writer, N-Europe.com