Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3141 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2007-09-20
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3

Amazon.co.uk Review

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.

Manufacturer's Description
Take on the world in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08. For the first time, every portion of your game is recorded--from your opening drive on the first hole in Play Now mode to your final putt in the FedEx Cup Championship. Post your most amazing--and unthinkable--performances on EA SPORTS GamerNet, a revolutionary interactive gaming hub that hosts user-created content online. Set the bar high by posting your top moments, and take on challenges set by others, to determine the world’s greatest golfer once and for all. Whether you’re uploading an unbeatable round or the craziest shot, take the world by storm with Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08.

Customer Reviews

Tiger Woods 2008, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
On the whole, Tiger Woods 2008 on PS3 is a joy to play. It really suits the next-gen software. However, there are some issues.

Firstly, the graphics of the golfers are amazing. Tiger looks fantastic and Monty has his own head-down walk. However, the environments look distincly PS2ish. The trees don't have leaves, rather long lines of green. Spectators look jaggedy but redeem themselves by having realistic animations when you hit them. But, when the ball is in flight you truly see the next-gen gameplay. As for frame-rate issues, I haven't noticed any as of yet.

Now onto the most important thing of all, gameplay. The first thing you notice is that this isn't just an update of 2007. The game is hard at first. EA have put in a new swing feature, reminiscent of Everybody's Golf. You activate it with a press of R3. It appears that they've tried to make this game accesible to those who either don't like the frankly more fun analog swing or have just decided to try this game after playing Everybody's Golf. Yes, the new system is more accurate at everything except putting but it takes the interactivity out of the game. You feel as though you haven't put anything into that shot. This wouldn't bother me if they'd kept the analog swing system untouched. Unfortunately, EA haven't. It's REALLY sensitive at first and you'll hook a few out of bounds and probably score a few bogeys but once you get used to it you won't turn back to the too easy new swing style. It's when it all comes together that you really start to appreciate this game. On one hole, I managed to score a double eagle thanks to some heavy thinking. For once, Tiger Woods makes you think about how to play the hole and not just blast the ball. If you're Tiger then you'll probably find yourself using the driver less and less especially on the links. The double eagle brings me nicely into the biggest feature of Tiger Woods 2008 - EA Sports Gamernet. After that hole I simply tapped square and my clip was saved and ready to be posted onto the internet. But it doesn't stop there. When you go online you can take Gamernet challenges ranging from sinking an incredibly fast putt to spinning a ball back 12 feet from 135 yards. Most of the challenges are user-created but a great novelty factor is the Celebrity Channel where Tiger Woods and other not so famous celebrities have laid down challenges themselves and the best thing is it's all constantly updating. The next big feature in this years game is Confidence. This only works with a created golfer or Rookie Tiger Woods (yes, you can play a career as him). Basically, for every shot on every hole on every course you play a confidence meter tracks how well you play that particular hole/course. My personal best hole was hole 7 at Carnoustie where I scored an eagle but my overall confidence at Carnoustie is around 45. It just shows the depth of the game where confidence changes during a round. All the usual EA features are there like ESPN updates and the majority of the controls are the same. There are some new modes but they don't really add much except a fun factor.

As for the Career mode,you can create yourself using either customisation options or put your face in the game with a couple of digital photos of you. I haven't tried this myself but I've heard it's very good. Or, as I chose to do you can play as Rookie Tiger Woods but you don't get any extra skill points, you have to work as hard as you would if you created a character. My advice is to stay away from tournaments for a while and just get your skills up. This is done through mini-games and is actually fun. I'm at skills of 35 so far which is nearing Pro level but I still haven't entered a tournament as my character is shockingly bad. He can't even putt straight yet. This mode keeps you entertained and will probably see you coming back to the game where previous Tiger Woods games would have been left to gather dust. Combine this with Gamernet and you have a long-term investment.

All in all, Tiger plays great on PS3. EA has certainly made some attempt to utilise the power of PS3 with Confidence, great graphics of golfers, Gamernet and Put your face in the game. The only trouble is that the things they didn't put much effort into are really obvious. The environments look poor and while the Everybody's Golf system will appeal to some it will annoy the long-term Tiger Woods player. The Analog swing system needs less sensitivity but at least its more challenging than previous editions. Fun-wise I haven't played a round yet that hasn't been enjoyable and the ability to save your highlights to the internet adds real incentive. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who has played any of the Tiger's before.

The best Tiger Woods PGA Tour yet!
Oh the joys of living in Canada! Early release games on the PS3 (Region Free is the way forward, I have a UK PS3) Released today here and very impressed. Game is of course a continuation from previous TW PGA Tours, with added benefits of the photo game face which allows you to put your own face on to the player. A little fiddly but worth the effort to get it right, very lifelike! Game easy as ever to play but not so to master (I suspect) I am a fan of the TW PGA games and have always enjoyed them, I had 07 on the 360 and found it a little too unforgiving and frustrating as a result. The camera angles are much improved with much better views of putting lines etc. The putt preview on this PGA is good enabling you to view around the green from low down and above to select the line of your putt more accurately. There is also a gamer net feature which allows the uploading of shots, rounds, half rouinds and funnies which in turn become challenges. I have not used the facility yet so wouldnt like to comment on it. There is also a confidence menu which stores your history of shots, enabling you to view your own history of courses and holes. Again I have yet to use it. All in all I have enjoyed the few hours I have had with the game thus far and can recommend to all.

Very lazy optimization
Well what can I say, I was really looking forward to this release after both having played Tiger 07 and having seen in on a friends 360. Well it looks like the extra month that it took to come out wasnt used to optimize the performance on the PS3. Looks like a very lazy, sloppy port as everybody knows that when it comes to power that the PS3 blows the 360 out of the water so when you see this game running at 20Hz on the PS3 and 30Hz on the 360 it just shows how much of a sloppy port this is. Come on EA I didn't spend an extra £180 for a PS3 to play this second rate tripe.

If unlike me you arn't bothered or don't notice frame rates then this game does have a lot to offer, everything you could want in terms or customisable content and game play options, just a shame it feels so second rate in execution.