RSS
November 2, 2005 | 2:10 AM PST
by: John Thomas Perkowski
Tiger Woods has managed to do what no other golfer had done before him; He made the casual sports enthusiast want to see golf. Here was a man so talented and skilled, he drew people onto the green just to see him play. Similarly, with Tiger Woods Golf, EA and Tiger Woods himself managed a similar miracle on the home consoles: it made golf games mainstream. Still, there hasn’t been a lot of innovation for TWG over the years, despite the series constantly trying to better itself. Now as a 360 launch title, Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’06 is looking to re-invent itself again.
Features
A lot of times, previews are begun with what is added to the series. This time it's better to focus on what you’re not going to see. Some of the features that made this year’s version on present gen consoles are gone. Most specifically, Rivals Mode. Now you will not be following Tiger through history taking on some of the greatest golf legends ever. Also, a lot of the courses you have come to expect will not be arriving with Tiger when it launches with the 360, which seems like a disappointment.
That is, until you see the game in action. Focus was made on Tiger Woods 360 to embrace the new technology in the machine, and it is amazing. Before you just saw a slight texture change or color change to indicate what was rough or deep terrain. Now, you really CAN see the terrain, and it will frighten the heck out of you as you make your shots, praying they don’t land in the deep stuff. Now you have to learn to adjust your shots (using the Shape Stick feature), because he last thing you want to do make a bad swing.
The term undulating is passed around a lot when referring to golf courses. This describes the grade or levelness of a course. In past versions of Tiger, you could see the dips and curves of a course and how they affected your shot. Now, with the power of the 360 behind Tiger Woods, you can experience what can exactly occur when the ball rolls into sand, and how it affects your swing. That’s the biggest improvement you can gather from Tiger Woods 06; not so much that you can see courses and paths better, but you can now get a better sense of how they affect your shot with only a moments glance. The deepened graphics let you truly appreciate the trimmed beauty of each course as you play through the game.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour '06
Making a triumphant return is Gameface, the character creation mode for custom golfers. This feature has always been expansive, but now this mode is amazing. Literally thousands of details and options have been added to the mode, allowing you to create all sorts of golfers, whether its joke characters like Clowns or Musicians or real golfers. With enough time, you could probably accurately represent anyone with this feature, which makes for excellent replayability.
A new feature added to the game is crowds. Yeah, they were there before, but not like this. Now thousands can join you on the course, and they will all react to your shots… as well as become victims of them. You see, EA has added new animations which accurately reflects how a person would react if hit with the ball. Of course, you actually lose a stroke for hitting the crowd, but it's nice to show the consequences of such a lousy shot are taken into consideration.
It wouldn’t be an Xbox game without Live support, and Tiger Woods looks to not disappoint. EA has promised to host online tournaments (no doubt you’ll be playing against Tiger himself at some point) as well tracking stats online. Of course the excellent multi-player will return allowing for some great golf match-ups with friends all over the world. Commentary from the team (Gary and Billy) will return, as will some of the excellent sound effects heard from the previous games. There is no word on the soundtrack, but it's likely EA will use the same version it did on the current-gen versions of TWG.
While it doesn’t have all the modes and features of present gen Tiger Woods games, EA looks like it was spending its time making sure the game had quality over quantity. The disappointing lack of features is balanced by the incredible look and feel of the game, and Tiger Woods may very well be a prime launch title when it arrives with the 360 this month.
Features
- Cutting Edge next-gen graphics
- The new and improved Shape Stick for expert swings
- Near perfect replication of existing golf courses
- The return of PGA Tour mode
A lot of times, previews are begun with what is added to the series. This time it's better to focus on what you’re not going to see. Some of the features that made this year’s version on present gen consoles are gone. Most specifically, Rivals Mode. Now you will not be following Tiger through history taking on some of the greatest golf legends ever. Also, a lot of the courses you have come to expect will not be arriving with Tiger when it launches with the 360, which seems like a disappointment.
That is, until you see the game in action. Focus was made on Tiger Woods 360 to embrace the new technology in the machine, and it is amazing. Before you just saw a slight texture change or color change to indicate what was rough or deep terrain. Now, you really CAN see the terrain, and it will frighten the heck out of you as you make your shots, praying they don’t land in the deep stuff. Now you have to learn to adjust your shots (using the Shape Stick feature), because he last thing you want to do make a bad swing.
The term undulating is passed around a lot when referring to golf courses. This describes the grade or levelness of a course. In past versions of Tiger, you could see the dips and curves of a course and how they affected your shot. Now, with the power of the 360 behind Tiger Woods, you can experience what can exactly occur when the ball rolls into sand, and how it affects your swing. That’s the biggest improvement you can gather from Tiger Woods 06; not so much that you can see courses and paths better, but you can now get a better sense of how they affect your shot with only a moments glance. The deepened graphics let you truly appreciate the trimmed beauty of each course as you play through the game.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour '06
Making a triumphant return is Gameface, the character creation mode for custom golfers. This feature has always been expansive, but now this mode is amazing. Literally thousands of details and options have been added to the mode, allowing you to create all sorts of golfers, whether its joke characters like Clowns or Musicians or real golfers. With enough time, you could probably accurately represent anyone with this feature, which makes for excellent replayability.
A new feature added to the game is crowds. Yeah, they were there before, but not like this. Now thousands can join you on the course, and they will all react to your shots… as well as become victims of them. You see, EA has added new animations which accurately reflects how a person would react if hit with the ball. Of course, you actually lose a stroke for hitting the crowd, but it's nice to show the consequences of such a lousy shot are taken into consideration.
It wouldn’t be an Xbox game without Live support, and Tiger Woods looks to not disappoint. EA has promised to host online tournaments (no doubt you’ll be playing against Tiger himself at some point) as well tracking stats online. Of course the excellent multi-player will return allowing for some great golf match-ups with friends all over the world. Commentary from the team (Gary and Billy) will return, as will some of the excellent sound effects heard from the previous games. There is no word on the soundtrack, but it's likely EA will use the same version it did on the current-gen versions of TWG.
While it doesn’t have all the modes and features of present gen Tiger Woods games, EA looks like it was spending its time making sure the game had quality over quantity. The disappointing lack of features is balanced by the incredible look and feel of the game, and Tiger Woods may very well be a prime launch title when it arrives with the 360 this month.
November 20, 2009
