Swinging with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13

Video game golf has made some of the greatest strides of all sports titles over the years. The player customization is more detailed and the game physics truer to life than ever before. And Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 lets you swing a club or at least pretend to from the comfort of your living room.

The Xbox 360 version introduces Kinect-enabled swing tracking that allows the player to take a full cut with an imaginary club and see the results on the screen. The action is much like real golf: It can be sweet if things fall into line, but if you're off by a little, you're off by a lot.

But the latest in golf game technology is not without its hiccups.

Occasionally, in the middle of our backswing, the on-screen player's club would blink around in different positions, only to return to the correct position when our hands came back down into the hitting zone. Things got a little better as we got closer to the holes; the slower motion required for short approach shots seemed to allow the Kinect sensor to monitor things a bit better and deliver a more truly tracked swing.

You can also seek assistance from a caddie, who advises you on which clubs to play, what stance to use and other nuances that help shape your shots. The caddie isn't available in every mode, but he's handy when he's there.

TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 13

RATING E for Everyone

PLOT Relive the Masters

DETAILS Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $60

BOTTOM LINE Almost better than playing a real back nine