Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
Score: 94% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA Redwood Shores Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 4 (2 - 2 Co-op; 2 - 2 Live) Genre: Sports (Golf)/ Simulation
Graphics & Sound: When it comes to creating player models, the guys over at EA always bring some of the most lifelike characters ever, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 poses no exception to that rule. Tiger and friends look outstanding in their own rights, but beyond that lie user-created characters. With one of the most expansive Create-A-Player modes (dubbed EA’s Game Face), Tiger 07 brings the real in reality. You’ll be able to customize everything from the general looks of your golfer, down to the very wrinkles and age spots of his skin. When it comes to audio, golf games tend to be as close to that of watching on TV as any other sporting event. It may be due to the slow-paced nature of the game (even the announcers get bored now and again if you leave the controller for a while), but each swing of the club matches almost perfectly with how the commentators respond. Ambient noises are again present and sound great as well, and the music isn’t half bad.
Gameplay: Here enters another year of golf and another year of Tiger’s domination on the console market. It is difficult to find another golf game with the variety and fun factor that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 brings to the course. There’s a little something for everyone, from addictive mini-games to full-fledged tournaments to sink your putter into. The whole time, you’ll be starting from scratch in the attributes column (including when choosing Tiger Woods), which is a great way to invite accomplishment into your gaming-life. Tiger has learned a few new tricks this year, so whether you’re a golfing legend or a virtual weekend warrior, you’re going to have a great time with the simplicity of the gameplay (yet it can be as complicated as you want it). The new controls allow players to use both analog sticks for the swing, with the right one giving control over the contact of the ball. This added control is great for tight situations when you’re in between clubs. On the green, you can also increase or decrease the roll of the ball based on the top/back spin you add, which is sometimes extremely important to get your puts to drop into the cup with more ease. Sometimes putting can get to be a bit misleading, but if you take your time and practice a lot, you’ll be putting like the pros and draining seemingly impossible shots. To truly appreciate Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, one must get into all of the modes of play. You can hit the links in many single-player games, or choose to add a little variety with a multitude of fun in multiplayer matches, both on one console, and also via Xbox Live. On the single-player side of things, you’re going to need to practice a lot with your created player to boost his stats, or risk not being able to compete with the professionals on the course and make the cut. A big help in stat-boosting is the Tiger Challenge, where you’ll take on different golfers one-on-one, to compete for attributes, as well as cash. Once you get a little boost, you’ll find it not as frustrating while playing your career, because it will be much easier to compete. This year’s Tiger also limits your attributes from raising too quickly, which I feel is a great asset to keeping the game entertaining for a much longer period of time.
Difficulty: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is somewhat unique in that nearly anyone can quickly pick up and play. The difficulty usually comes in your competition, whether that be A.I. controlled golfers, or human opponents with more experience. Regardless, anyone should be able to handle the basic controls of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, but it may take a bit of time and frustration (this is golf, after all) to master using the analog stick for some. But after a lot of practice, it becomes second-nature. The beauty of this game is also that as you progress, your opponents get harder, but your attributes are also increasing to compensate, so the resulting difficulty also seems to be at just the right level. In fact, the game will actually prompt you if you tend to destroy your opponents, and it automatically adjusts the computer A.I. to better compete with your skill level.
Game Mechanics: A golf game is a golf game, and with the exception of a fast-paced mini-game here and again, the nature of this game’s leisurely pace is welcome to almost all types of gamers. Because of this, the gameplay gets an almost perfect score from this reviewer. However, I did have one major complaint about the generally good controls. Forcing the user to use the left analog stick to swing sucks. It took me a long time to get used to it, considering that I’ve always preferred the right analog stick for swinging. Including a simple "switch sticks" option would have been perfect, but for those of us odd-ballers out there, apparently we have to learn how to swing all over again. With that one complaint aside, if you’re looking for a golf game to play on a rainy day, or because you’ve always been a fan of the series, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 will not disappoint. Sure, there are some graphical glitches (and the game locked up on me once), the crowd has one collective brain (they usually have the same animation, and don’t get out of the way of your miss-hits), and the camera is sometimes horribly out of place, but the general experience that lies within this excellent golfing "sim" (used lightly) was one of pleasant and addictive surprise.
-Woody, GameVortex Communications AKA Shane Wodele
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