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Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (PC DVD)
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| Description:
While Electronic Arts' other sports games may be locked in a deadly rivalry with their competitors there really hasn't been a golf sim to go head-to-head with Tiger Woods for years. There doesn't seem to be too much laurel sitting going on though, especially since this is, like many Electronic Arts games this year, the first time the game has been designed specifically with the next generation of consoles in mind. Naturally that means the most realistic graphics yet, not only for the course itself but also for Tiger and the other real-world golfers. Their faces and expressions look totally life-like and on the PS3 and 360 you can use a webcam or digital camera to import your own face and graft it to your own in-game custom golfer. In terms of gameplay the major new feature is the concept of "shot confidence" which monitors your performance through your whole career, adding an extra degree of tension to difficult shots but also allowing you to examine your game in detail to find out where you're going right and wrong. After criticisms that last year's game was a bit thin on options this new game has the greatest number of courses ever including Westchester Country Club, TPC Boston, Cog Hill and East Lake. There's also the expanded GamerNet mode which acts like a sort of YouTube just for the game, allowing you post in-game videos and challenge other people to a game in an online world dedicated to nothing but golf. Harrison Dent
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3/5 |
end of an era?
(September 02, 2008) |
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I've been meaning to review this for a while... But events have overtaken me... Did you know that EA aren't planning a pc version of Tiger W PGA Tour 2009? Wii, nintendo, xbox, playstation, you name it - but no pc version...
Which kinda fits what I was going to say anyway: sure, the game's still got quite a few of the faults from the last version(s), but maybe we need to take a reality check here. When I first got into pc golf games in the mid 90's, there were a bunch of games competing for our attention. I got started on the old PGA486 tour, which then turned into the TW/PGA franchise. Back in the day, there were a bunch of other golf games around (eg the LS Links series), but they all seem to have vanished now. I'd guess that golf sims rank pretty low in sales terms compared to current faves like GTA4, so I don't think we can really expect a new game every time. Equally there's only so much you can do with a golf sim. Personally I cdn't care less if the trees in the background look a bit 2d or blocky as long as the game play's good.
Sure, a lot of the old faults persist - in some of the graphics, but more in the hopeless "AI" of the computer golfers - but there are some significant improvements from TW2008. Your clubs play much more accurately to their distance, & the flight of the ball is reflected much more realistically from slopes/gradients etc. There's also a huge improvement in the courses available - with 1 exception. As noted by another reviewer, the Westchester course is a total joke - you cd play it with yr eyes shut & finish 10 under! Masses of the shortest par 5's you cd ever dream of...
But where TW 2008 featured far too many easy country club type courses, here you come up against the likes of Boston, Firestone, Harbour Point - lots of narrow, meandering fairways: get a strong wind going + a quick green & you're in a real battle. Plus there are old favourites like Sawgrass, St Andrews & Pebble Beach - no silly fantasy/crazy golf courses this time - I've just missed the cut yet again, blown into oblivion in a gale at Kiawah Island...
So where do we go from here? I was looking forward to trading in Tw08 for the new version, but it looks like I/we will we playing it a while yet - unless we're all good little consumers & rush out to buy wii/xbox etc?! Doesn't seem like there's much room for the occasional gamer (weekend golfer?!) these days.
What do we want from our games? - I used to be massively into games in the heyday of Quake/Command & Conquer etc, now I've got other stuff in my life, but I still want to sit down a couple of times a week & hack my way around a course or 2, + plus the occasional beer'n'banter matchplay session when I've got some mates here. It seems now like you've either got to be into games 24/7 or not at all. And sorry, 0 interest in online play.
Apparently this isn't enough for EA anymore. There's a load of discussion happening on various EA noticeboards abt the lack of a pc release for TW 2009, ranging from direct abuse to begging for attention, neither of which appeal to me... Ideas, anyone?
I'm giving this a half-star or so more than it deserves, partly out of nostalgia & enjoy-it-while-you-can spirit - but personally, for all its faults, TW2008 does what I want it to: it provides a few hrs solid satisfying gaming a week for me, & if that isn't enough to keep this version of the game going, its a real shame.
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2/5 |
A poor effort but it is still fun to play
(May 13, 2008) |
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Having read all the reviews on amazon I have to say that they are right. This is a poor effort which in my opininon is actually inferior in many repsects to Tiger Woods 07.
That being said it is still fun and it looks good though you need a high spec PC to get the full benefit.
I am sorry to say it but I would avoid this game on the PC and either go for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 or 2006. I was just about persuaded to give it 2 stars but only just as it is still fun to play. |
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1/5 |
Another flop
(March 24, 2008) |
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If you have dual Video cards you have to disable them in your bios, as this NEW version of TW PGA 08 does not support them.
Again full of bugs and unrelistic game mechanics.
Again if you dont belive me just log onto EA Sports website and read the forums for this piece of junk. |
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3/5 |
The more things change, the more stay the same...
(December 25, 2007) |
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I have gone straight for 06 to 08 and seen no difference... almost. as far as I'm aware, the only good differences are minor and most differnces aren't good.
I agree that there is MASSIVE over use of hexagons -- club select, wind speed, lie, backgrounds etc.
The positives, regardless of the opinions of other reviewers, include the new distance counter, and the text near the top telling you wether you get a bogey, birdie etc. However, the eagle animation is very distracting and needs to be rectified. |
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2/5 |
A Pile Of Bogies
(November 24, 2007) |
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The good news. The graphics look better, it works on Vista and there are more courses than before (and none of the stupid 'fantasy' courses). They've also fixed the sidehill issue so playing off sloping lies impacts the ball flight.
However, look beyond this and you find yet another shoddy effort in the TW series.
As is now expected, the computer driven players are hopeless, scarcely able to drive a ball more than 220 yards and often seeming oblivious of obstructions e.g. driving directly into the trees or into spectators who for some bizarre reason choose to stand direct in the players line.
The AI issues vary from frustrating to plain weird. Land in a greenside bunker and you will be presented with a sand wedge set to hit the ball a much longer distance. You have to select another club then the sand wedge again to have it set to the appropriate range. Also, once off the tee, you'll notice the majority of the spectators facing away from the play!
The Tiger Challenges are a nice diversion but have a huge issue. As you progress, you player wins attribute boosts. Get too far and your player is soon at 100% in strength/ability and the game becomes too easy. The issue is - despite indication that it can be done - there is no apparent way to reduce those attributes so you are stuck as a superhuman player.
For the perfect example to show the lack of testing by EA Sports, play a round at Westchester. The course is set to a par of 75 with 7 par 5's! With some of those par 5's at barely 400 yards, somebody made a huge screw up with the scorecard and leave it a farcically easy course to score low.
The final insult is the non-appearance of the course utilities function. This allowed the installation of third party courses designed by fans which, in most cases, were far better than the supplied ones.
EA Sports should be ashamed knowing PC golf fans will buy the game yet leave them disappointed by such lacklustre attention to even the most basic of details. |
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