Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005

"He's slumping in real life... But Tiger still owns the golf gaming world."

Welcome back my friends to the game that never ends. You recall that I was a 'Hot Shots' loyalist, and I stand by all my opinions of that particular franchise. But after picking up Tiger '04, I had to jump ship.

It's an amazing sport: golf that is. And when picking up Tiger Woods, you really don't need to be a fan of it. I theorize that when you throw down the money for the TW series all you have to be is a fan of fun. That's right, I repeat... in order to enjoy Tiger Wood PGA Tour 2005, all you need to be is

A Fan of Fun

This series is quite possibly the most flat-out fun I've had while gaming. Sure, if you're not used to the analog swing it can be a pain at first(it was for me), and putting is horribly difficult. But fresh faces will find themselves in what I would call a, 'Tiger Nirvana'; the moment that it clicks; when it all falls into place and you snake that 70ft putt/sink that hole-in-one/knock-in that 200 ft. eagle and you can pump your fist in a very Tiger-esque motion and except your greatness in quiet dignity.

What's Great About Tiger?

The Gameplay: The learning curve is rather easy for veterans of the series, and if you're a newbie it could take a few rounds for the TN to kick in.

The Analog Swing: For those who are new, and have been living in a cave with their fingers in their ears.. it's probably one of the most revolutionary inventions in sports gaming. Imagine swinging in real life, that's basically what it is. Using the analog stick, you time your swing as you would in real life... keep it straight and BAM! right down the middle of the fairway. If you screw up and pull it too far slife... SLICE! That simple. That innovative. Call it sliced bread... no pun intended.

The Gameface II: Thought it was good last year? Thought you hit the point where you could go.. "Whoa, that is totally me." Well, it's better this year. I'll tell you flat-out that last years version is just weak when compared to this years. Almost every complaint I had with '04 has been fixed. The wardrobe has been expanded there are more hairstyles, a plethora of new animations, and they even went ahead and invested in a swing creator. You heard me, a swing creator. Now that, my sandwedge snagging compadres... is what I call depth.

The Courses: The only thing I see missing is a beautiful girl handing out cold towels and beer. Well there's also the one complaint I had from last year, and that's if I'm in PGA Tour Mode and I'm one the 18th hole at Augusta... I want to feel like I'm on the 18th hole at Augusta. Other than that, the courses are all astonishing. They're laid out almost picture perfect to their real-life counter-parts.

Tiger-Proofing: You say it's too easy? You say there's no challenge. I say you're just not making it challenging enough. Tiger-proofing is a new invention by EA to edit courses and up the so-called ante of difficulty in TW. There's also a degree of personalization that comes along with it, which is a nice touch.

The Modes: There's a new Legends mode, which is slang for almost everything from last year thrown into a nice little menu. 'World Tour' has been changed to the 'Legend Tour', and the head of the individual sections are now such legends as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. There's also the 'Legend Scenarios' which takes the place of the regular scenarios of yesteryear.

What I Don't Like

The Putting: Not so much I don't like it... but dang if it ain't hard sometimes. My biggest gripe would be that EA removed the grid. I miss the grid. I loved the grid. BRING BACK THE GRID!!! Come on EA. Sure it made putting a bit easier, but I'm not totally opposed to having a helpful little nudge in the right putting direction. The caddy tip is the same as always, but now they've added 'Tiger Vision'. It's a little option that shows you exactly where to put the cursor. Beware... it's is very limited.

The Verdict

I'll wrap everything up like this. Buy it. Buy it now. What? Don't like a good time? Don't like enjoyable games? Then stay away. But if you want to put 50 dollars towards a game you'll be playing months from now(if how much I played '04 was any indication), then I say TW is way to go.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/04