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Brian goes a bit more in-depth with the nicely polished Wii version of Tiger 12.

Despite how Tiger plays outside the game and amidst his previous controversies, EA's backing of arguably the world's greatest golfer remains. Albeit this year, in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12, the main focus is on the Masters Tournament even though Tiger's name is still the forefront of the game's title, and justifiably so. It's really hard in this day and age to think of the sport of golf without thinking of the sweet swing of Tiger Woods, and honestly, without his name on it, how much of an impact would the game be from a marketing standpoint? You would either have to resort to the old PGA Tour name label, or god forbid adopt a new face to the sport...and right now, unless you are putting a legend on the cover as NBA did with 2K11, you will not find a face and name that fills the shoes of Tiger so appropriately. With the Masters as the game's primary focus, honestly you can't use another name as Tiger has had more accomplishments and Masters Moments than any golfer. So the choice was easy, has been made, and the result is near perfection.

Tiger Woods on the Wii may not shine as bright as their next gen visuals counterparts, but where it trumps them both is the added realism that you will receive not only from the Wii Motion Plus controls, but the additional accuracy and realism you get from the Wii Balance Board mimics being on the links better than any other game before it.

Visually Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 looks better than ever. Each of the 16 on disk courses are mapped beautifully and are just as detailed as you would imagine. Impressively, all the wind, weather, and even the cut of the grass makes a real impact more so than in years prior. This really holds true for the grass as no longer are you in a deep cut that is just for show. You see the grass blades bend and interfere as you would in real life, so don't dig too deep or you may take a few feet off your swing and come up short. Gone also are the odd frame rate dips that always hampered the experience, as whether you are looking at the course ahead or the reaction of your player's victorious putt for birdie, the game never misses a frame of the animation and is always pleasing to the eye. The player models are impressive as well and look amazing far away or up close and personal. This holds true for your created player as well, and if you are using a photo or camera, prepare for your personal golfer to look just as good as the pros themselves, so much so it can look a little spooky seeing your virtual self swinging on screen. Most impressively is the new broadcast presentation that will have many screen wipes, overlays, and scoreboards that mimic actual TV broadcast and provide that bit of personality that has been missing from a golfing video game. It's really hard to knock any of the game's visual accomplishments, so I'm not gonna try...Tiger looks wonderful.

This also hold true for the audio that has just enough oomph without feeling over the top or distracting. The commentators provide just enough information, without using silly repetitive catch phases or comments that take you out of the action. The game's music is peaceful and well produced and doesn't hamper the experience by using the latest "hip" artist to make the game of golf like a concert. You don't hear what you don't want to hear, and you don't miss the things you need to hear, so much like the game itself on the course in real life, you hear sounds, but thankfully nothing is distracting or out of place.

Where Tiger really shines is the depth of the game's playability as the game of golf has never had this much attention to detail or has had the "little things" that can make or break you as Tiger 12 does this year. To a casual golfer like myself, this is a big deal as the obstacles and acts of god that will make the difference in putting for 2 or sinking that birdie are in this game as well. So you really have to be mentally in the game, concentrate and thinking each shot and factor through. In the end you just can't go through the motions or you'll find yourself on the bottom of the leader board. The new added Caddie option will help when trying to make the decision of play it safe, or letting the big dog fly. While this option can be turned off, it is nice to have, especially when you are second guessing yourself. Some gamers will think of this as a leg up on the competition, but all real golfers have a caddie who has scouted and evaluated shots and circumstances that will result in those critical make or break points. What's more, they are not always spot on, and neither are you, so you must take what "you" think and what "they" think into account and utilize the best of both scenarios and make the best of it. It's all about the mental game, and two heads are better than one. EA has really made an effort in all the subtleties that affect a golfer's swing such as grip, choke, pressure, the lie of the ball, the speed of the green, cut of the grass, and even weather effects which all play in the determining the end result of how you fare from round to round. Each game you play, you will have to not only determine your approach to the course, but alter and tweak your ideas if you are not being successful, just like in real life.

Where the Wii outshines the pack is the total feel and realism when you combine the Wii Motion Plus controls along with the Balance Board. Now not only do you have to give it the old gut check when taking it off the tee, you must perform balance too Daniel-san. While you do have a choice of arcade and pro, which will provide a bigger since of forgiveness from one to the other, if you really wanna feel like you are there, Pro is the only way to play this game. The motion controls have also been tightened up thanks to the extra year's time to tweak and calibrate. Seriously, I'd put the accuracy level you get from Pro Mode on this version of Tiger Woods against any golf simulator on the market, and for the bang for your buck comparison, there is no device out there that mimics the feeling better than what Tiger brings to the Wii.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is filled with a wealth of game play options that will leave no golfer unsatisfied. Your typical options from pick up play, to tournament rounds, online golfing including Gamer Net and live tournaments, and even practice shots and mini games are all present and accounted for. The real meat and potatoes of the game comes in the full fledged career mode aptly titled Road to the Masters. Here you create your golfer and perform many points of interest on a checklist that will determine not only when you are ready for the Masters Tournament, but how quickly you should progress. This mode not only will show you all aspects of the road to victory, but will provide enough assistance and game play challenges that you will never feel as if you are thrown to the wolves unprepared for the intense challenge that is the battle for the green jacket. Along the way, you will be able to unlock new clubs, gear, and even XP points that will make you a better golfer until you reach the point of no return and take on the greatest in the game in the greatest tournament in golf...the Masters.

Say what you will about Tiger, but never let your impressions of the man influence your love of the game. If you have a passion for golf and want the best representation of what the video game world has to offer, this is it. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters is golfing's greatest video game masterpiece. Even with a few minor missteps, this series will find itself struggling to top what they have brought to the table this time around, as it honestly doesn't get much better than this.