Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

There’s one thing we never could stomach about the past few entries in the Tiger Woods series, and that’s the loopy opponents we had to tee off against in the career mode. Tipsy Scotsmen in kilts? Shallow princesses from LA? We can play chumps like that anytime in real life at our local course — what we want from a videogame is the chance to walk with the legends.

So we’re thrilled that EA scrapped all that nonsense in Tiger Woods 10, swapping in a scenario-style career mode that makes quick-to-play snippets out of history. Called Tournament Challenge, it recalls famous PGA moments and gives you a shot at beating them. Instead of squaring off against “wacky” fantasy characters, you’re taking on Woods, Singh, Sorenstam, and company in excerpts from moments that fans will remember watching, like matching Jim Furyk’s great turn at Sawgrass in ’07 or, less famously, Paula Creamer’s 7th-place finish at St. Andrews that same year. When you face Woods in one of these, EA got him in front of the camera to talk through his recollection of the shot while a replay unspools behind him. It’s mesmerizing to watch, and playing through all these scenarios makes a much, much improved career mode that golf fans will love.

Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot more that grabbed us. Don’t misunderstand — the game has more new toys than just Tournament Challenge, and we’re getting there next. But you can definitely tell that EA went with a nine-month dev cycle, rather than the usual 12 months (a change designed to get the game out in time for Father’s Day sales). Tiger Woods 10 just doesn’t have the groundbreaking new hotness that we expect from EA Sports when it asks for another $60 less than year later.

12NEXT