Tiger Woods 2007
Review of Tiger Woods 2007
Graphically the game is almost identical to its predecessors save for minor tweaks. Considering how good the other games have looked there wasn't really much to change, however. The golfers and courses are drawn with a lot of detail and are easily recognizeable by anyone that follows the game. Each of the onscreen pros have their own unique swing mechanic which matches their real-life counterpart. Smaller touches such as birds flying over the course or the waves breaking on the shore make this one of the best looking games out there.
Making the strokes once again is done using the analog sticks but now you now have a choice of how you want to control hitting the ball. By using the standard swing all is done using the left analog stick, pulling back to set power and pushing foward to hit with how straight you do this determining the shot path. However, an alternate method is available for those that want to use both sticks with the left still controlling strength and the right analog stick used to add a fade or draw to the ball. Both work well and it's a matter of personal preference which to use.
All of the golf courses from last year are back and several more have been added to make a total of 21 to choose from- players won't be running out of places to play that quickly. One can also make a "dream course" picking favorite holes from each one which isn't bad but it's not as much fun as an actual course editor would be. Also making the return is EA's trademarked GameFace, which allows players to customize their on screen character from head to foot and even design how your character swings the club.
Everything about your golfer can be tweaked to a minute detail- with a bit of effort it should be possible to make a golfer that looks exactly like yourself (you decide if that is a good thing or not). Speaking of likenesses, you will find a total of 21 professional players available from Tiger himself to other notables as Vijay Singh, John Daly and the LPGA's Annika Sorrenstam which marks her first appearance in a game.
A large variety of playing modes have been included to go along with the usual stroke play and career mode. Most of the new variants are meant for multiplayer such as Elimination Mode ( loser of each hole is knocked out until only one remains), Battle Golf (winner of each hole gets to remove a club from their opponent's bag or replace one that was taken) and the Skills 18 (up to 4 players compete to shoot their ball through colored hoops while keeping their ball in play). Once you think you are ready take your game online to face off against up to 3 other players. Finding a game here is made easy thanks to an online lobby to find players to hook up with. Choices range from quickly matching up using Play Now, custom Session matches and tournaments.
There's plenty to be had for single player too. Along with the traditional modes mentioned before you can play in a PGA Tour Season Mode, whch can take you through 30 years actual tour events (!). Up to 3 guest golfers can be added for multiplayer. Along with this you can play in various real-time events such as holidays or player birthdays. These events are triggered using the system's internal clock and some can trigger new items to be found in the Pro Shop to purchase and upgrade your player.
The big new play mode is Team Tour. You begin as a solo golfer trying to recruit players to take down Team Tiger (and I don't mean the tiger on the cereal box). However, you have to prove yourself before players will be willing to join up with you by playing and winning a variety of events around the world. Team slots can be filled uasing recruited players that you have defeated or another created golfer. after each event you are able to go into the pro Shop and spend the winning on new equipment and other items to boost your game to the top. Eventually you will be able to take on Tiger Woods and his own hand-picked crew.
The sounds of the game are again pretty much the same as last year. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find any sort of major difference. Commentary is given again by Gary McCord and David Feherty from the CBS Sports golf crew. This adds an extra touch of atmosphere to the game but can also be a bit annoying as their sound bites do not take long in repeating themselves and sound like they used the exact phrases as last year. There is no music to speak of other than on the menu screens- while the tunes sound good they don't really fit the game itself. I found myself turning the volume down on them.
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'Tiger Woods 2007' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Lyndon McLeod © Absolute PlayStation
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