Are you one of those gamers that cringes when you hear about the announcement of the latest Madden? Does driving around in circles endlessly in Nascar make you cry? Yes? Me too.

I don't hate EA and all sports sims, but it's rare that I find one that interests me. Basketball games will sometimes entertain me, tennis can be thrilling (although I've yet to play a realistic virtual representation of the sport), and I can tolerate Madden for awhile, but I'll typically only touch sports titles if there aren't other games to play.

And believe it or not, the rabbit hole goes much deeper. Golf games are my greatest fear, and I'd almost rather go skydiving.

To be fair, I haven't played many golf titles, but playing the sport with a standard controller just doesn't interest me. I find the real life sport boring enough to watch, so why would I want to whack a ball onto the green by tapping a button?

The first game to make me reconsider my stance on golf was Wii Sports. I didn't find it particularly enjoyable, but whacking the ball with friends or family members wasn't a horrible way to kill time.

Wii Sports didn't have a particularly realistic game of golf (it felt like the game did most of the work for you), but it managed to provide for a decent time between rounds of tennis and bowling.

Even though golf still hadn't won me over, I kept an eye on the up-and-coming Tiger Woods 2010. I was excited about the possibilities with Nintendo's new Wii MotionPlus peripheral (numerous wagglefests with abundant lag will do that to you), and I was interested to see how it'd perform in a game like Tiger Woods.

For those who are unaware of Wii MotionPlus, it provides for a more accurate motion experience. The unit plugs into the bottom of a Wiimote and increases the accuracy and response time of the controller. Being able to sense subtle movements is important for a game like golf, so EA was wise to include it as part of a bundle.

Unfortunately, I have yet to play Wii Sports Resort, so I can't compare how Wii MotionPlus fares in that versus Tiger Woods, but from my brief experience with the small device, it's pretty darn accurate.

When hooked up to your controller while playing Tiger Woods, the MotionPlus sensor will allow you to see exactly how you're angling a shot, and how much spin you're putting on the ball. This is handy, as you can see right before your eyes where you're aiming. Once you put the ball into play, your stroke will be accurately represented on screen.

The amount of force you hit the ball with isn't represented 100% accurately, but it's close enough. It's accurate enough that when you hit a hard, straight swing, the ball will soar through the sky in a forward arc. On the other hand, if you turn your wrist during your forward swing, the ball will curve to whatever angle your hand turned.

Without Wii MotionPlus, Tiger Woods still feels fairly accurate, but you lose a little bit of control over your spin. It's still easy to hit short or distance shots that are arced in a straight path, but curved shots are more difficult to execute, since the game doesn't represent whether you're drawing or fading on- screen.

This isn't a game breaker, but this is reason enough for golf fans to get Wii MotionPlus.

So Tiger Woods' golfing feels fairly accurate with or without Wii MotionPlus, but how are the controls in Disc Golf? Once again, the controls feel great.

They don't quite accurately emulate throwing a real Frisbee, but the controls still provide for a fine gameplay experience. How do the controls differ? Well, to release the Frisbee, you have to hold down the B Button, so throwing it involves the release of a trigger button.

Even if you throw with plenty of power, if you release the trigger at the wrong time, your throw may hit the ground faster than an apple falls out of a tree. When I played with my family, we were all initially frustrated, because it took some time to get used to this mechanic.

Once we'd learned the ropes however, Disc Golf was an enjoyable experience. I wouldn't buy Tiger Woods for Disc Golf alone, but it's pretty fun when playing with a group of friends.

Tiger Woods' gameplay is solid, but unfortunately, other aspects of the game disappoint. Having real time weather is nice, but the last-gen graphics just don't cut it. The characters look decent--they're similar to models you'd find on a PS2 Madden game, but the courses look hideous.

The green and rough don't look so bad, but the trees and crowd look like cardboard cutouts. We've dealt with horrible looking crowds since games like Crusin' USA, so there's no excuse for this on a system that can produce impressive looking games like Metroid Prime 3.

Surprisingly enough, Tiger Woods' golfers animate decently, and there are a wealth of customization options available for those who are interested in tweaking the amount of nose hairs on their character, but this doesn't make-up for the poor graphics and audio. I already described how Tiger Woods looks like a first-gen Gamecube game, but even worse are the terrible announcers.

They tend to use the same words over and over, so get ready to hear phrases like "undulating green" hundreds of times. Luckily, you can fast-forward through the commentary, just as you don't have to watch the rest of your golf stroke after the ball is released.

I already mentioned how Tiger Woods has fine gameplay, but more likely than not, it'll just be a game you'll pick up and play, on occasion. There's a career mode for golf fanatics, but most people will probably just click "Play Now" to battle their friends, or they'll head online for a match. Once you've gone through the initial settings, playing with friends is a breeze.

Waiting through replays can be annoying, but luckily there are buttons to fast-forward through your friends' horrible shots. Playing online is a simple process as well. You have to register an account with EA, which takes a couple minutes, then you're free to play anyone who's logged on to the server.

During my test, I managed to find a game within a minute, so the process seems fairly speedy. Once you're connected to an opponent, you'll usually enjoy a lag free game of golf. Fortunately, EA also decided to allow for simultaneous turns, so you won't have to endure a grueling wait for your conveniently slow opponent.

Tiger Woods also includes a variety of mini-games, but most are just simple alterations of the golf formula. There are some fantastical modes as well, but I found none particularly exciting. If you enjoy sending balls through rings, Tiger Woods' mini-games might be your thing, but most people will want to stick with disc golf and regular ol' golf.

Even though EA's presentation and graphical approach feels lazy, Tiger Woods 2010 sports some of the best gameplay I've seen in a golf title. Wii MotionPlus really helps Tiger's golf simulator feel closer to the real thing. Your swings still won't be entirely accurate, but they're close enough for almost anyone to have a good time.

I'm not a huge golf fan, so I wouldn't recommend it as a full-priced title for your average gamer, but if you want something to play with your folks or someone who doesn't normally play video games, Tiger Woods isn't a bad buy. If you're looking for a decent sports title that utilizes motion control, check out Tiger Woods once it hits the bargain bin.

Score: 8.0

Pros:

• Wii MotionPlus works well with Tiger
• Tiger Woods 2010 even works fine with the standard Wiimote
• Your stroke is generally represented accurately on-screen
• The amount of spin you put on the ball accurately translates to the game
• Putting works like a charm
• Lag free online-play
• Simultaneous play during online matches
• Plenty of tutorials and player customization options
• Disc golf is fun when you're bored of standard golf

Cons:

• The graphics look like E.T.'s leftovers
• Cardboard cutout crowds...what is this, 1996?
• The phrase "undulating greens"
• The announcers are annoying
• Lackluster mini-games (with the exception of disc golf)
• Only good as a pick-up-and-play game
• No online voice chat