Despite the snow on the ground and cold weather that's come along with it, there are still some serious rounds of golf being played.  That's because EA Sports has just released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002, a successor of the 2001 version that was released near the PS2's launch date.  Various changes have been made to the game and the result is a very enjoyable and realistic experience out on the course.

This game is officially licensed by the PGA Tour and includes many actual golfers as well as an assortment of accurately modeled U.S. and U.K. courses.  In addition to these realistic players and environments, Tiger Woods 2002 also contains seven unique fictional golfers, each with their own individual look and playing style.  For example, there's a guy named "L' Mo" who wears shorts and bears some tattoos.  Three fantasy courses, including Tiger's own "dream 18," are also included in the game and they make for some interesting rounds.  While you'd need a helicopter and a whole lot of luck to actually play them, they're a blast to play in the game and visually they're quite stunning.

The first time you start up the game you're taken through a short tutorial, which allows you to get a feel for all the basic control elements that are necessary to be successful in the game and happens to be the first task of the scenario mode.  Upon completion, you'll also receive a bronze tour card that allows you to start competing in events.  The controls are relatively simple, but they do take some getting used to.  Before swinging, the circle button is used to zoom in on the targeted landing spot, which can be altered via the d-pad, depending on factors including wind and personal shooting preferences.  As this marker is moved, the club being used is automatically changed depending on the distance of the shot and golfers are also told the percentage of a swing that they should take to hit the spot they're aiming for.  Clubs can also be chosen manually by using the R1 and R2 buttons if the default is not to your liking.  The square button allows different types of shots to be chosen, including full (used almost all the time), approach, flop, punch, and putt.  Having these choices makes it possible to tailor shots for just about any situation, including those deep lies in the sand.

To swing, the analog stick must be drawn back until the desired swing level is reached and then pressed forward in the exact opposite direction that it was pulled back.  If necessary, it's possible to pull off both hook and slice shots without much effort.  There's no more swing meter though and instead you must simply watch the golfer to reference the swing position, which makes precise swings more difficult.  By pressing the L1 button as many times as possible during the backswing, some extra power can also be added to shots.  After the ball has been hit, pressing x will propel the ball faster in the air while tapping L2 will build up spin on the ball, which can be used to further control shots.  While the ability to control the spin on a ball is undoubtedly extremely helpful, a major problem is that while the ball is in the air, the camera is often in a position that makes it impossible to judge where exactly the ball is headed.  Therefore, the optimal spin direction can't be determined in many situations and herein is the major flaw in the game.  Even with this camera problem, having all these shot control features allows the game to be a bit more interactive and those who take advantage of these power adders can be greatly rewarded on every stroke.

Putting ability has been both helped and hurt in this release.  There's no longer a button that allows you to get a low view of the green with a grid pattern overlaid on it, something that was helpful in analyzing putts.  Instead, all you have to do is follow the given caddy tips that tell you exactly how far to aim from the pin in each direction and in doing so correctly, you'll always sink it.  Even though you're given these distances, it is admittedly hard to judge them when given no units of measure.  This is okay though because it makes putting more realistic, since just as the case in real life, your caddy may tell you where to shoot but the hard part is actually judging the shot.  Ultimately still, I would have liked to see both the grid and the caddy tips available so that options would be available.

In Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 you start out as a newbie golfer with very little money and low attributes, which means that you're pretty horrible in every respect.  Since becoming a better player (increasing your attributes) must be done through making money, it's great that all the game modes, with the exception of practice mode, allow you to earn cash.  Attributes that must be purchased include: power, accuracy, spin, approach, recovery and putting, but keep in mind that these increase in price as you gain more of them.  A net cash flow also opens up new courses that were previously locked.  The wide variety of game modes are almost all worthwhile to play and include: Tiger challenge, the newly added split-screen speed golf, tournament, stroke play, scenarios, skins, and practice.

The most money can be earned in the primary Tiger challenge mode and beating opponents in this mode also allows you to open up new players to use as well as unlocking additional holes on Tiger's dream 18.  You'll start off by facing amateur players for small cash prizes and work your way up to playing with the pros for more significant sums of money.  Playing this mode is difficult at the beginning because your golfer is so bad, then fairly easy mid-way through the list of opponents as you gain attributes, and it's again difficult near the end as your opponents become more challenging.  The most annoying aspect of this mode is the fact that you are required to watch your opponent shoot (you can press a button to skip over it), so each match is a bit time consuming as compared to other modes of play.

Speed golf was an unnecessary addition to the game and I doubt if it will get much use, especially since the amount of cash that can be earned is minimal unless your human opponent really stinks.  As the name suggests, this mode is all about speed, which means you have to take shots as fast as possible and then run to where your ball has landed for the next shot.  I admit that this mode would have been more enjoyable if the players were actually shown when running for the ball.  Instead, only an arrow represents your player when moving and he/she only shows up again when you take another shot.  Speed golf is definitely unique, but it's not all it could have been.

A more enjoyable mode, scenarios, presents golfers with 26 total challenges, which range from playing all the par-five holes in the fewest strokes possible to being put in a situation when you're down three holes with seven to play and you must come out on top of the pack.  These shorter and unique tasks given the game a little more depth and flavor.  Participating in tournaments is another way to make some decent money and the great thing is that you don't have to wait for other opponents to take their turns, so it goes a lot quicker than does Tiger challenge mode.  There are other ways to get some extra cash (in any mode) such as by making nice shots which you'll get bonuses for, by earning trophy balls for various objectives such as getting a hole in one, and by getting the tour cards necessary to move on.

The intensity level in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 is certainly high, especially in critical situations.  For example, if your attempting a putt that will win the match or that will set a record, you'll hear the sound of a heart beating and you'll feel it through the controller as well.  In some similar situations the camera often also cuts to wide screen mode and the video is in slow motion for a moment.  Another cool video effect occurs when you perfectly hammer a shot.  When this happens the video pauses, the camera swings around your golfer, then the video starts back up with a blast of sound and your ball flies away smoking.  It looks pretty sweet!

In general, the video looks great.  All courses are modeled beautifully in every aspect, including the different course surfaces and the often amazing looking backgrounds, some of which including waves and other impressive features.  The included sunlight effects and lens flares are also quite striking.  The golfers themselves are accurately portrayed, including facial details such as blinking and unique animations for victory dances and the like.  No frame-rate problems were noticeable, despite all the detail and the smooth textures.

The sound effects are superb in every respect.  Everything from the whoosh of the club being swung to the thump of the ball as it lands on the fairway sound perfect.  The background sounds are also accurate and include crowd noise (complete with one obnoxious guy, of course), some birds and even the occasional airplane flying overhead.  Also cool is when Tiger talks to you like he probably talks to himself out on the course, saying things such as "come on, let 'er rip" when he thinks you should go for the green and "nice shot...right on the beach" when you hit those pesky sand traps.  The music, although there's not much of it includes "#1" by Nelly, which is of course appropriate for Tiger's game.  The biggest problem in the sound department is the announcer, who's comments lack variety and definitely aren't very insightful or entertaining.

The great thing about Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 is that practically all the included game modes are fun to play and they're all useful in building up your player's attributes.  During gameplay, golfers are given a great amount of control and are able to significantly alter shots, both before and after they're taken.  The grid system for putting was taken away, as the new caddy tips have taken its place, but having both options would have been nice.  The biggest flaw in the game is the camera view, which makes controlling the ball as it's in flight harder than it needs to be.  There should have been an option that allowed a certain view to be chosen, depending on personal preference.  Despite these minor problems, I'd recommend picking this one up, as it's simply a blast to play.

This game is rated "E" for everyone and it takes up 150 KB on your PS2 memory card.
 

Gameplay: 8.5
The gameplay is somewhat hindered by the poor camera angles when the ball is in the air, but aside from that it is for the most part very fun and surprisingly realistic in terms of physics.  The amount of control that players have is significantly greater than the 2001 version of the game, thus making it much more interactive and allowing for more variability in games.

Graphics: 9
This game looks amazing in every respect and the fantasy courses are definitely a sight to see.

Sound: 8
The sound effects are very well done and Tiger's talking is a great idea, but the announcer is too repetitive and gets annoying really quick.

Difficulty: 8
Getting used to the controls may take a little while, but both golfers and non-golfers alike will be able to be competitive and enjoy the game.

Concept: 9
Although nothing extremely new has been presented, with the exception of speed golf, the ability to earn money in virtually all the different modes is a great idea and having both real and fictional players and courses also makes this one unique.

Multiplayer: 8.5
Up to four players (using a multi-tap) can join in on some highly competitive rounds of golf, each with their own profile and player, if they so choose.  Also, speed golf is available in split-screen mode, which would be fun if the game mode were made to be a little more fun.

Overall: 8.5