Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008 Review
Tiger Woods seems to have the perfect lifestyle. A drop-dead gorgeous Swedish supermodel wife, an enormous mansion, fame, money, on the Forbes list of celebrities, an adorable daughter, close friends with Charles Barkley, thirteen major championships under his belt, and his very own video game.
Tiger Woods 2008 is the next iteration in the fairly long series of Tiger Woods video games. If you are an avid fan of the Tiger Wood games, you will feel very much at home with the latest installment. Electronic Arts have been notorious for making arcade Tiger Woods golf video games to appeal to casual gamers, but his year seems different. Unrealistic scores (like 50 under par) are virtually impossible to achieve this time around.
The gameplay is similar to the previous games in that it keeps the player immersed in the golf course. One new feature is a revamped putting system which allows you to anticipate the line of trajectory that your golf ball will travel on the green. Even though it is not as useful as Tiger Vision, (which was introduced in Tiger Woods 2005) it still helps to line up the putt.
There is a limit to how many times you can utilize this feature, so players should not expect to abuse other players with their putting. Your skill level and difficulty will determine how many times you can use the putt preview.
Another element of the game that might turn a few players off is the golf swing mechanic. The analog sticks are no longer used to hit the golf ball; however, the buttons are used. This alteration may have been because of the lack of challenge with hitting the golf ball with the analog stick.
The new way to make contact with the ball is to press the button three times (ala Madden kicking field goals). Once to start your swing, twice to start your downswing, and a third time for accuracy. If it seems too intricate, it is fairly intuitive. Madden fans can easily make a smooth transition with this gameplay mechanic.
Photo face is yet another new feature of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. It allows gamers to generate their face and put it in the game. This feature appears to be exclusive to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Electronics Arts have not corroborated a Photo face feature for the Nintendo Wii. Sorry, Nintendo Wii owners. The create a golfer aspect is back, and it has the usual things you would expect. You can create a golfer as skeleton-like as Nicole Richie, or as putrid as Rosie O’Donnell. It is all up to the gamer. All of the mini-games remain intact in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. The visuals in the game are brilliant.
Everything from the beautiful golf courses to Tiger Woods’ millions-dollar smile will appease anyone. Shot Confidence is another original aspect of the game. In a nutshell, playing well gives you confidence. Playing poorly lowers your confidence. Many will be dissatisfied with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008, but others will be elated. Overall, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008 is a solid improvement over Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007.
Final verdict 8 out of 10
