Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8218 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2005-10-07
• Platform: Xbox

Manufacturer's Description
"Strong wind in my face... Smooth swing... People are watching... I don't want to shank it." Earning the prestigious title of #1 Golfer of All Time can be a nerve racking process and it's exactly what gamers will experience in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06 as they fight off more than just pressure but also the man who's trying to claim that title for his own, Tiger Woods.

In Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06, gamers will attempt to settle the old debate of just who is the #1 Golfer of All Time. They'll play golf legends such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan on their terms and in their specific eras (equipment, clothing and all). However, Tiger Woods is also there and is after the same goal. It's your job to find him, stop him, and ultimately supplant him as the #1 golfer of every era. Duel with Tiger in multiple matches as he becomes your nemesis, chasing and even taunting you in every tournament.

Just as it is on the PGA TOUR, the key to a good shot is execution and precision. In Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06 both analog sticks are used to give more control than ever over each shot. The left analog stick will continue to control the backswing and downswing, while the right analog stick, or "Shape stick", controls ball trajectory and spin. Players are now challenged to focus on the impact point on the ball, while thinking more strategically before executing a shot. This also extends to putting where players will have to rely more on finesse and will need to move the analog stick only as far as needed to make the putt

The game of golf is as much psychological as it is physical and a key for gamers in 2006 will be maintaining confidence. With tension on every shot and mounting pressure to become the best, you can either keep your composure or lose it and become that embarrassing hack on the course. Based on good or bad shots or scores you make, a Gamebreaker meter will increase or decrease based on the amount of confidence you possess.

Key features
Dual Analog Swing and Putting: New advanced swing technique uses both analog sticks to "shape" shots. The left analog stick executes the swing and the right analog stick shapes the shot, controlling ball trajectory and spin. While putting, players will rely on "touch" and finesse as they swing the analog stick only as far as needed to make a putt. A new aiming mechanism also enables the user to line up and gauge putting speed.
Rivals Mode: Earn the title of #1 Golfer of All Time by following Tiger's path through time to best both Tiger's accomplishments and the accomplishments of the greatest golfers of each era, in an attempt to become the unanimous choice as #1 golfer of all time. Play against some of the great names in golf in Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan.
Gamebreaker: Based on good or bad shots and scores you make, your Gamebreaker meter will increase or decrease. When you hit certain thresholds you'll earn the opportunity to trigger a Gamebreaker situation, giving you the ability to hit a longer and more accurate shot.
Wagering and Shot Calling: Call your shot before making it and reap the rewards. Players can elect to "call their shot" before making it, putting up a wager that they can pull it off.
Courses: Play a total of 15 courses (11 licensed and three fantasy courses) including the site of the 2005 British Open, St. Andrews Golf Links. Seven new licensed courses include TPC Sawgrass (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) Reflection Bay (Las Vegas, Nev.), Cog Hill Golf Club (Chicago, Ill.), Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Portland, Ore.), Sahalee Country Club (Seattle, Was.) and Doral Golf Resort (Miami, Fla)
PGA TOUR Players: Compete as or against 15 different PGA TOUR players including Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and new this year Chris DiMarco, Mike Weir, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald. Additionally, 12 new fantasy characters will challenge you on the links.
EA SPORTS Online Competition: Play with up to four players with anyone across the country on the PlayStation 2 console or Xbox Live. Compete in Online Tournament events complete with money lists, full stat tracking, and league leaders. The new handicapping system will allow gamers to find competitors at a formidable level, and players can post scores on ea.com for access to web tournament leader boards.
Play a Career: In PGA TOUR Season mode for console versions, play along with the 52-week PGA TOUR calendar of events for up to 30 seasons. Obtain sponsorships from real golf equipment manufacturers throughout your career and drive to surpass Tiger Woods as #1 on the overall money list.
GameFace: Players will once again use the industry leading character creation technology GameFace to create their own golfer, outfit and build up their golfer's attributes to attempt to become the #1 Golfer of All Time. New this year is the ability to choose your own voice for your character.
Reactive Tiger Proofing: The course will literally fight back. Courses will become more difficult as you score well, and will ease up if you play poorly.
Golf's Best Commentators: David Feherty and Gary McCord make up the golf announcing Dream Team and provide their commentary and irreverent observations on each round

Customer Reviews

A good evolution in the Tiger Woods series
If you already own a relatively recent version of Tiger Woods golf then you will know broadly what to expect from this new release. The changes from 2005 are readily summarised:

1. online XBox Live play has now come to Europe, but I should say that so far I have never seen anyone else available to challenge when I have logged on. There is a daily tournament that occurs online where you play a specific course to get the best score you can and you see your rankings along with the 15-20 other players who have entered. This works strangely well and is addictive but I would still like to play other people live as well.

2. the old putting system has been totally revamped and the annoying "perfect aim" instructions replaced by an intuitive more easily read green with "crawling ants" on a grid to show contours and a pull-back/push-forward putting action which is harder but far more satisfying when you master it.

3. the legends tour has been altered so that it has a strange "time travelling theme", I'm not sure this is an improvement but underneath the new interface the challenges and games are the same.

And if you don't own a previous version or want to know what has stayed the same...

- this is a very slick golf game which allows you to fully customise the appearance of a player and then take them out onto a wide range of real and fantasy golf courses to play all the possible variants of golf you could imagine as well as simulating an entire season of PGA tournaments

- shot control is wonderfully intuitive but rewards experience and the understanding of the more subtle shot types, options and how to direct the ball in the air

And the downsides...

- I have to mention the lack of online community again, perhaps this review will inspire a few more competitors (my tag is ElectricElvis).

- occassionally it can seem rather easy to chonk around in 18 under par but I don't find the level of difficulty as irritating as some reviewers and I haven't moved up to "tour" difficulty yet

- sometimes the AI is very annoying in tournament play, especially when you score -15 on the easy St. Andrews course against the leading AI player with -7 on round one and then the XBox decides to put in a -18 on the second round on the very, very hard Greek Isles course where I struggle to make par on a bad day.

In summary, if you like golf games (and let's face it this is a bit of a "love em"/"hate em" marmite) type issue then you'll love this golf game and keep coming back for more.

Another Nice Golf Game
This game is good, very good in fact. If you have played previous versions of Tiger Woods then you will know what to expect. The swing system is the best around & the putting has been up-graded to the same system which is a nice touch, the game has plenty of depth & there are plently of challanges ahead. The complaint in the past is that each yeat has been very similar to the last but i beleive there is enough new content here to keep people coming back for more. if you like golf or golf games then i think this is by far the best around.

Good but not different enough for my liking.
First of all let me say that I like the Tiger Woods games alot, the only reservation being that they are too easy. The new version has some decent changes mostly to the presentation, particularly with the new rivals mode. Also the way you take a shot has changed. You can apply spin or fade with the right stick. I like this change, it suits me. The putting has changed as well. You now have an ideal aim camers which shows you how you should aim to get it down. All you have to do is follow the guide and work ou the correct speed. It's not quite as easy as it sounds but it has actual;ly made the putting easier which is a bad thing. My advice is don't use the ideal camera option if you want more of a challenge.
The graphics are all up to par with some nice courses and some decent animation. Some of the new characters are actually amusing.
There are loads of different play modes as normal giving you a lot of gameplay time.
To sum it up it is really more of the same but with a few updates which may or may not be enough toi make you want to buy it if you already have a previos version.