Last year's 'Tiger Woods' game represented the pinnacle of the world's premiere golf franchise so far. It didn't introduce that much that was new, but for the first time all the key elements were in place and well balanced.

After years of polishing, the formula had been taken as far as it could. In 'Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10', that formula remains essentially unchanged. And, as you might guess, that means that there is very little that is new or improved.

For evidence of just how little things have changed, consider the hype EA is making over the fact that you can now play in the US Open and USGA Championship — hardly a show-stopper. Still, buying up more licenses is probably one of the few obvious directions in which the game can still expand.

The addition of the US Open is also case in point of a slight shift in focus. This time round the game tries a bit harder to make you feel as if you are actually playing in a tournament.

It still doesn't quite capture that tournament atmosphere, but little touches in the commentary, crowds roaring elsewhere on the course, and scoring updates flashing at the top of the screen, all help a little to create the illusion of a course full of players hitting golf balls.

As before, the tournaments are framed within the excellent PGA tour season mode. In this mode you play through a series of events trying to gather enough points to win the FedEx cup. Whereas the addition of the US Open gives the tour some extra scope for wish fulfilment, one can't help feeling that a game like 'Tiger' should have all four majors covered and allow you to play on all the major courses of that year. Really, it is strange that there is no Augusta, not to mention Ernie, in any of the Tiger Woods games.

Throughout the season, your golfer's statistics will rise and fall as in last year's game, according to how well you are playing. Drive well, and your driving stats go up. Struggle with your short game, and your short game stats drop. The beauty of this system is that it doesn't allow you to max out your stats as easily as in the 07 game and before. Instead, your statistics can rise and fall through the season, making things like practice (in the form of drills) and club customisation, a key part of your success.

An interesting addition this year is the Play the Pros mode which pits your scores against those of actual players in real tournaments. You might not spend that much time in this mode, but golf fans should enjoy this incentive to get to know the courses they are seeing on those late night broadcasts from the US.

This year's game also features a revamped putting system. A meter to the right of your golfer shows you how you need to time your put. Unlike before, the pace of the putter through the ball is key. The new system is a good idea, but in reality though, it doesn't make that much of a difference. If anything, putting feels a bit harder this time round and, more importantly, the putting system still fails to feel quite as solid and tactile as the rest of the game.

For the rest, the analogue swing system works as well as always and the three click system is still available as an alternative on the lower difficulty levels. Maybe a revamped three-click system that could be used on all difficulty levels is a good idea for future Tiger Woods games. After all, there is a certain realism to the three-click system of an old game like Links, that has never been emulated in a Tiger Woods game.

'Tiger Woods 10' also introduces real-time weather conditions to the game — supposedly letting you play in similar weather to what is found at the real world course. The weather doesn't impact the golf quite as much as one might have expected, but will hopefully be expanded on more in future years.

One odd thing though, is the way in which the galleries lined up along the fairways seem totally oblivious to the heavy rain crashing down on their bare heads. Not one umbrella, nobody heading for cover, just such complete awe at watching you play that they've forgotten to mind getting drenched.

That said, 'Tiger Woods 10' is another remarkably good-looking golf game. At times the scenery is so good that you almost feel as if you are out there on the course, as if you are going to smell the freshly mown grass or the salty wind of the ocean at any moment. But just before that happens though, the game is likely to pull you back into reality with a shake as the crowds start roaring for some insignificant thing — breaking all suspension of disbelief.

Indeed, apart from their zombie-like behaviour, the other issue with the crowds is that they are almost always there, always large, and always very loud. Hit an average drive on the par five fifth on day two of a minor tournament, and the crowd cheers as if Phil Mickelson has just played a 62 at Augusta to snatch the green jacket from a waiting Colin Montgomerie.

If anything, it is this lack of subtlety that makes the Tiger Woods games lose a bit of their golfing credibility. Yes, it is the US PGA tour and it is supposed to be loud and overbearing, but it is still golf, and golf is generally a very subtle affair. The noise may do little more than break up the atmosphere, but it does fit snugly with the game's general aesthetic of golf for the masses, as if they are just a little scared that making it more like real golf would ruin the game's mainstream success. Of course, they might be right.

In short then, 'Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10' does very little to improve upon last year's excellent game. It echoes everything that was great about that game and gives it just the slightest coat of new varnish. As with all Tiger Woods games, it is a loud, accessible kind of golf.

Until somebody revives 'Links', or comes up with a new game altogether, this will be as good as we will get.

8/10

Buy this game: PS3 | Xbox 360 | Wii | PS2 | PSP

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