Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005

THE BAD:
-Only around 15 PGA Players
-Tiger Vision
-Huge UK Glitch
-Commentary

SUMMARY:
Alright, first I want to point out that the commentary isn't too bad. At least now they'll sometimes get it wrong. But is it just me or are David Feherty and Gary McCord's voices extremely annoying at some points? Haha. Anyway, I'll start off with the bad. There's a huge glitch for all United Kingdom players. You cannot play as Seve Ballesteros in the Legends Tour. It will try to load the game up but end up crashing. EA are aware of this, and are giving out fixed copies in November. However it is extremely annoying that I have to trade in my older copy. The Tiger Vision is a delicate subject. Some seem to like it, while others aren't too keen on the idea. I myself think it's quite a bad addition. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2004 was quite easy, but with this, it's not difficult to putt on three holes (the maximum is usually three, but it can vary). Another problem with this though, is that it doesn't always go in the hole. Occasionally it will fall short, and that is frustrating for me. I was also hoping more players would be available in this title. But there are only around fifteen. These are the PGA players available:-


Tiger Woods
Stuart Appleby
Ricky Barnes
Rich Beem
Notah Begay III
John Daly
Jim Furyk
Retief Goosen
Natalie Gulbis
Charles Howell III
Justin Leonard
Colin Montgomerie
Jesper Parnevik
Justin Rose
Adam Scott
Vijay Singh
Ty Tryon

Now I'll admit, that's an impressive list. But it's missing out a lot of names that I would of loved to see included. Such as Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III and Sergio Garcia to name a few. However, there are a lot of good points about the game. The online is the biggest reason I bought the game, as it's finally included this feature for everyone in the UK. And it's like your playing offline, the connection is incredible and you'll have a lot of fun playing against people around the country. The graphics are superb, they've captured the courses well. That's what I love about the game; the courses. And of course the sponsership's fantastic as well.

Multiplayer mode is one I use frequently, because my Dad, brother and friends love playing the game. And once again, it hasn't disappointed. Match Play and Stroke are the biggest two. Controls are easy to use, and using the analog stick to hit the ball is much better than a click of a button. It's difficult in some cases. I wasn't a huge fan of Tiger Proofing at the start of the game, but as I kept playing and used it more, it began to seem like an interesting concept, and I used it on a few courses. Real Time Events can be challenging, but it's good to break away from the usual 18 hole matches you'd have in the career. Legends are decent as well, excluding Seve Ballesteros for reasons previously mentioned. And although the Game Face II feature can take a long time, it's a huge benefit for those that want to have a different character.

Overall I'd say it's a great game, and I recommend it to any golf fans. If you're not a fan of the sport, you should have a go anyway. The online play is intriguing, even for people who aren't too keen on golf.

THE BAD:
The RTE's (Real Time Events). These take way too long to complete if you wait until that day. Or they are too annoying to forward the PS2 clock.

The Game Face II is a little too extreme. It takes too long to create the character. I didn't feel there was a need for that much detail, but that is my humble opinion. I was hoping that this year, we could take an existing character and make changes. Give Tiger a mohawk and about 50 extra pounds.

SUMMARY:
I thought I would quickly lose interest in this game because it's game play is so close to 2004. But it has been a pleasant surprise. There are parts of this game that are very easy and parts that are extremely difficult. I know my eyes will be glazed over several nights playing 4 to 5 tournaments. The online feature is great even though I have not tried it YET.