I was hoping that this year's edition would take a cue from Links 2004 and load future holes discretely in the background while playing the current hole. Unfortunately, this beauty appears to have a price. And there are wonderful visual effects for things like the surf crashing against rocks on the 18th at Pebble Beach and birds flying high in the sky over TPC at Sawgrass. I've never seen another golf franchise match Tiger Woods PGA's ability to convey a convincing sense of elevation everything feels remarkably realistic and to scale. I'd have liked some improvement in the textures of leaves, bark, and grass, but the courses are, by and large, simply gorgeous. The visuals and sound are also largely unchanged from last year's outing. They refrain from using it and get angry when their opponents take advantage of it. Some appear to regard it as a form of cheating. Though players can only use Tiger Vision a maximum of four times per round, I've noticed that this novelty has received a mixed reaction from players on-line. Also, players have been provided with a putting aid called "Tiger Vision", which, when engaged, shows players the ideal target for their putt. For example, players now have the option to engage in Tour mode, which disables caddy advice (making putting far more difficult) and removes the ability to spin the ball when hitting from the rough. However, since the controls have barely changed from last year to this year, it appears as though EA may have reached a pinnacle in the development of this particular swing technique.īut EA recognizes that innovation drives sales, so it made sure to include a few game play modifications that don't directly affect the controls. It's simple, intuitive, and comes as close to mimicking the actual physical movements of a real golf swing as possible using a standard controller.ĮA has been refining this swing system for about a half dozen years, mucking about with the hooking and slicing mechanisms and incorporating additional options such as power boosts and in flight ball spin controls, both of which require rapid tapping of the white or black buttons. Jerking the stick a little to the left or right will initiate a draw or a fade. For example, the controls in Tiger Woods PGA 2004 were widely acknowledged as being the best of any golf game to date, so why mess with them? Pull back on the left joystick for the backswing and press forward to complete the swing. EA seems to be operating by the old if-it-ain't-broke, don't-fix-it adage. Oddly, this reiteration isn't all that bad. The graphics are pretty much the same, many of the courses have been carried over from previous editions (though, inexplicably, there are now fewer), and the control scheme is identical. In fact, if someone who had played last year's game was to sit down for five minutes with this year's version, they might not even realize they were playing a different game. However, as has been the case with its predecessors, this year's edition still leaves plenty of room for improvement.īefore exploring the new, let's revisit the old-because there's plenty of it in Tiger Woods PGA 2005. Tiger Woods PGA 2005 features a wide variety of attractive new features that extend the game's lifespan and enhance game play. The Tiger Woods PGA franchise is the undisputed leader in the golf video game market, and the 2005 edition serves to reaffirm the series' position as the best game of golf going. The Verdict: EA continues to improve on the best golf franchise around, but a few surprising errors and omissions keep Tiger Woods PGA 2005 from achieving perfection.The Bad: On-line play lacks a few pretty important features and has some annoying technical issues.The Good: Outstanding golf physics literally hundreds of hours worth of entertaining play time for golf fanatics new Tour mode provides an extra challenge for advanced players.Also available for: Sony PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube, Windows PC.
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