6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Fun and addictive
Date of Review: Nov 21, 2005
The Bottom Line: For those new to the series, it's a revolution in gameplay mechanics. There's plenty of different modes to make your $50 go quite a ways.
First off, this is the first Tiger Woods game that I've actually purchased. I was first introduced to the series via a demo provided on the Network Controller setup disc (Tiger Woods '04).
- Game Mechanics
The coolest factor in my mind when comparing this series with other golf games is that it utilizes the analog stick for your shots, versus a "click, wait, click, wait click" meter timing game. If you want to hit a perfectly straight shot, you simply need to make sure that your "swing" as measured via the analog stick is straight. Move the stick straight back, then straight forward for a straight shot - simple! This procedure, however, will not allow you to maximize your distance. Timing and rhythm are the keys to great shots - just like in real life. ;-) When you are trying to boost your distance, you repeatedly press the L1 button while trying to keep your shot straight. I feel that this does a good job mimicking the problems in real life when you try to muscle your shot, causing you to mess up your swing - imagine trying to keep your analog stick movement in a nice straight line while pushing frantically on the L1 button... it becomes easier to push or pull your shot as the movement generated by your left index finger can mess up your orientation on the controller, resulting in bad or "fat" shots.
As you progress through the game in its many modes of play, you gain experience points which can then be applied to your character attributes (your personal profile). As you practice an play more, you gain points to make yourself even better! Additionally, the types of shots that you "make" while playing seems to affect the amount of experience earned. If you've been hitting tons of greens in regulation, or making tons of spectacular putts, you gain extra experience in those areas. Participating in long drive contests automatically gives you slight experience in the "power" attributes, and winning them will give you even more bonus points. If you feel you need more distance off the tee, practice driving!
A particularly cool feature that I enjoyed was the use of the vibration function of the Playstation controllers. If you're in a close match, and a critical shot could give you the lead or a win - the controller begins to thump like your heart, and when you make your shot, the controller starts to vibrate like crazy, making it difficult to execute. It's a frustrating but great feature - I find it to be fun, not to mention hilarious. If only I could deal with that pressure as well in real life.
- Gameplay, modes
There's plenty of challenges and events to keep you occupied for quite a while. While the game is perhaps not as engrossing as those with good story lines (the original Metal Gear Solid on PS1, original Resident Evil, or God of War), it was addictive enough that I stayed up until 4am playing when I had a real golf game to get to that morning. But that may just be my personality.
- Online Play
I've been playing games online ever since Doom came out (tunneling IPX packets over IP with a program called Kali). So after I fixed up my EA Game face, and playing a single practice round, I immediately went online looking for a game - and got my butt handed to me. Perhaps my opponent was "cheating" with an aftermarket turbo controller (consistently hitting 350 yard drives, redirecting the ball in physics defying spins), but that's fine. As true golf enthusiasts know, the game of golf is not played against others, but against one's self.
- Graphics
Don't look at screenshots of the game for Xbox, it'll make you jealous!
