Publisher: EA Sports
System: Nintendo Wii (and all new systems)
Cost: $50
Review rating: 3 stars
The athlete whose name is synonymous with golf returns with "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08." While the game is available on nearly every gaming platform under the sun, only the Wii version lets players simulate a playing experience by swinging their controller like a golf club. Too bad online play was sacrificed in the process.
Visually, the Wii iteration doesn't compare to its next-gen brethren, but honestly, who needs to see high-res graphics or advanced particle effects in a golf game? This title is more about reproducing the experience of hitting the links as a professional athlete.
In addition, the new version's motion controls are more accurate. This has eliminated last year's frustrating problem whereby the computer finishes the swing when the player is still on the backswing.
Budding professionals can hit the cyberlinks in an expanded career mode as well as compete in the FedEx Cup and Tiger Challenges. These challenges vary from match play against skilled professionals to various putting and driving contests.
It's disappointing that "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08" lacks online play on the Wii when it's available on other consoles. Still, the unique motion controls guarantee that this video golfing experience will be like no other.
Publisher: THQ
System: Sony PSP
Price: $30
ESRB rating: E
Review rating: 3 stars
I have worms, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. In fact, I want to tell everyone that I know about them. However, these worms aren't the nauseating, elongated parasites that live inside of mammals. No, they are the witty, heavily-armed invertebrates that exist within THQ's latest turn-based strategy game, "Worms: Open Warfare 2."
If you have never heard of the Worms franchise, then you must have lived under a rock for the last few years. In this game, teams of worms engage in turn-based combat on randomly-generated, two-dimensional playing fields. These levels are strewn with oversized everyday objects that emphasize the miniscule nature of the combatants, and every part of every level can be destroyed.
What Worms game would be complete without a mini-arsenal of diverse, if not demented, weaponry? Returning arms for the limbless creatures include the handy shotgun, banana bomb and explosive sheep (flocks of cyber-sheep were definitely harmed for this game), and new weapons include the sentry gun, lightning strike, and boomerang. Using each and every weapon is extremely fun, it's just too bad that the aiming reticule is slightly inaccurate for the rocket launcher and shotgun.
While this title's predecessor only featured a campaign mode and local multiplayer game play, "Worms: Open Warfare 2" offers online game play and much more. Budding invertebrates are free to waste endless hours creating their own levels or participating in races, fort building, puzzle solving, and worm customization.
You may have had fun introducing worms to a magnifying glass in your youth, but that pales in comparison to the virtual carnage found in "Worms: Open Warfare 2."
4 stars - Must have
3 stars - Pretty good
2 stars - So-so
1 star - Don't waste your time
Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)
E: Everyone
T: Teen (13 and older)
E10-plus: (Everyone 10 and older)
M: Mature (17 and older)
