Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 Review
Tiger Woods' latest golf game shoots par.
Posted by Robert Workman on Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Golf fans, it's time to load up into the virtual golf carts and hit the links -- the latest version of Tiger Woods is here. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 once again puts EA Sports to task, as it has installed a few change-ups to help make the game more dynamic. Do these changes provide improvement over last year's stunning golfing achievement? Not entirely. While some deserve a bit of praise, others manage to bring the frustrating nature of the sport into the spotlight -- something that wasn't really necessary.
Most of the features that made last year's game a success have returned once more. Several courses have returned, including six new ones, such as the TRC Boston and East Lake. Most of them must be unlocked by completing various challenges pitched by fellow PGA tour golfers, including the likes of John Daly, Vijay Singh and other real, as well as fictional pros. The graphics look roughly about the same, with finely detailed golfers and lush, beautiful courses just yearning to be played on. The occasional glitch and frame rate problems emerge, but not enough to throw off the game's overall performance. In the audio department, a few licensed tunes have been included (the routine EA Trax mix), along with comfortable commentary from David Feherty and Gary McCord. Surprisingly, this duo has yet to wear out their welcome, sounding just as fresh and relaxed as they did with their debut years ago.
So, what's new then? A few things have been added to Tiger Woods 08 in order to move it closer to being a more complete golfing experience. Those interested in implementing themselves into the game can do so with Photo Game Face, which maps players' faces and plants them right onto virtual models with ease. (Currently, this feature can't be tested on the PlayStation 3 -- players will have to wait and see if it is PlayStation Eye compatible.) The procedure works very well, especially with the touch-ups players can utilize to give themselves a makeover. A new FedEx Championship mode fits in snugly with the other modes put into the game, but those eager to check out fresh challenges should check out GamerNet. This online service not only gives would-be club drivers a chance to interact with other players, but also allows them to upload their own personal challenges for others to try and finish. For those lacking the energy to put those together, the game also has multiple Tiger Challenges to complete. Despite a few out-of-the-ordinary rules with some of them, these Challenges do the trick, opening the door for vastly improving your golfer's overall performance.
With Tiger Woods 08, players have to earn their way to being a better golfer, rather than cheaply buying attributes through the pro shop (like cheaters did last year on the Xbox 360). By completing challenges, they earn Shot Confidence in specific areas. This closes up the player's targeting reticule on the course itself, resulting in more accurate shooting. This new feature should really do a lot for the Tiger Woods series over the next few years, with a few tweaks performed here and there for good measure.
However, not all of the tweaks really work in the game's favor. Tiger Woods' gameplay has taken a slight stumble due to the introduction of some technical goofs. The analog-powered golf swing, for instance, now requires more attention than ever before due to the introduction of hooks and slices. To put it simply, if a player veers the control stick even to the slightest left or right direction, it makes the ball fly off with a curve. So, those looking to get their ball past a couple of bothersome trees might be frustrated as it goes sailing straight into them by mistake. Last year's game had the right tone going for a system that wasn't too demanding while, at the same time, providing just the right amount of difficulty. This year's change-ups result in a system that introduces the ugly, frustrating side of golf -- the one that makes people throw their golf bags in the middle of the lake out of sheer, unblocked rage.
Another change worth bringing up is the three-button-press swing set-up. This might please fans of older, arcade-style golf games, as it simply requires button presses for power, accuracy and execution. However, it seems to only work best on short shots. Anything more powerful than those can lead to the same disastrous failures with the analog system, thanks to a rapidly moving meter that can be hard to get the timing down on. Because of this, it stumbles, another "improvement" that hinders the game rather than helping it.
Due to the flaws within its very gameplay, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 doesn't garner the same stellar recommendation as the previous year's solid game received. Fans of the series will still want to check it out, if only to mess around with Photo Game Face and Shot Confidence while tackling all of Tiger's numerous challenges. However, this feels like a struggle to reach the next green rather than a leisurely stroll back to the clubhouse. Do yourself a favor and approach with caution.
Final Score: 7/10
