Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 Hands on Preview

There is no secret I enjoy playing sports games and I have mentioned my favorites plenty of times. At times some may listen or read my top-ten list of favorites and be surprised to see a golf game listed. I think many gamers even those who enjoy playing sports games have it in their minds golf is either to easy or just boring and have passed on some great tiles. Back in the early days of the PC gaming world golf was one of the games I played the most for me it was a way to relax and have some fun. I recently got invited to the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 community event. While I was looking forward to going I had some hard questions and things that I needed proven to me. So early Last Monday morning I headed off to Florida for the event while on the plane I listed a few things that kept running through my head about this series.

If you are a fan of the series I bet you have had questions or things you wished they would change. For those new to the series lets just say Tiger Woods started off solid and then things where added making it seem too easy and somewhat unrealistic. Sports fans like things right and I knew the game had changed teams and changes where promised. I also knew from past events this year that EA has stepped up in some key areas and I thought maybe I would see some of the changes in TWPGA 08. I can honestly say when the game hits store shelves it’s going to surprise long time fans as well as the first time buyer. Read on to find out why I can say this right in the opening.

After landing in Orlando the plan was to meet up with the other people invited and head off to the hotel. After a bit of phone tag we headed off and found a van and we were off. The topic went right into golfing and of course Tiger Woods — I was glad to hear that others had some of the same concerns and complaints. I also soon found out two of the attendees where die-hard golf players who had plenty of questions for the team. We got to the hotel, checked in and found out Will Kinsler our community leader booked our rooms up on the Penthouse floor. I have been in some very nice rooms during events but never in the Penthouse suits. After a quick shower we met downstairs where we began to talk about Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, gaming in general and some deeper things trying to get to know each other. One thing I liked right off is this group seemed focused on what they wanted to see in this year’s version of Tiger Woods. They where not the type to sit back during the event and just say nothing so I had a good feeling about the feedback and the group in general. We all had early flights in so decided to just hang at the hotel that night and get ready for the full day of events in the morning.

Morning came and we met up in the lobby ready for a full day of playing the game and hearing from the key people on the team. Since Tiger Woods was just about to launch the team seemed eager to talk and show off the game but also had last minute things to take care of. I could tell a few things right away this was a title they wanted to show off. They also wanted our feedback and comments. First were the new changes of the game and what to expect not just for the Xbox 360 but for the PS2, Wii and even the PSP versions. We learned about the new Gamer Net and the Photo Game Face, both had me eager to try them out. We soon found out the new team also had things to say about the past versions of the series and where very honest with us.

Bottom line Tiger Woods in the past was a mix of realistic golfing with an arcade element; while this is my words it was clear the team also felt that the game needed an overhaul. Xbox 360 owners will see a revamped putting and green read system. Hole in one’s are going to be earned and not happen every other hole as in the past. The game looks amazing, the graphics and new animations really make Tiger look great. It was time for the real test the playing of the retail build of the game. Loading up the game and looking into the game mode menus it was clear that the team spent a very long time on both the offline and online aspects of the game.

  See all Tiger Woods 08 Screens

Before I go on I should tell you about two of the main features new to TWPGA 08. Gamer Net is a way for players to upload there best 9,18 or multiple rounds as well as a single shot and then post it for others to duplicate and beat. If you have seen the new Tiger TV commercials with fans coming up and challenging Tiger this is why. You can also check for challenges to beat yourself. If you succeed you earn points and the challenge is taken off the board if you fail the person who posted the challenge gets the points and it stays up. It also means you could shoot a round then post it and a friend can play with you by replay and shoot against you without having you online. Gamer Net is impressive and showed me that the team really thought things out this year.

Photo Game Face is cool and while there were problems during the event due to upgrades on the system we saw it in action. You can take a photo using the Xbox Vision camera or upload pictures of a higher quality to the site. It is best to take two photographs one of your face and the second a side shot. When my retail version arrived home after the event I played around making a few golfers ranging from my self to a few characters out of Caddy Shack and even Happy Gilmore and the look is dead on. I strongly suggest uploading your pictures for better looking results and will say this is the best game face feature out today in any game. It works, looks right and with a little time creates great looking game faces.

  See all Tiger Woods 08 Screens

We spent time playing offline and online and I was impressed as well as a bit out of practice. I got back my touch soon enough and was driving the ball well but learning the short game is the hardest part of any video game golf title. I saw things that reminded me of the Outlaw Golf Series on the first Xbox. I soon found the reason as members from Hypnotics where hired by EA and brought in on the project. OG was never meant to be a serious golfing title but had a solid putting system and it fits into Tiger perfectly. I also noticed they placed back in the three button style of play from the older versions. Fans who liked this over the analog stick control will be able to turn this on and I think its a smart move.

A few of the options will be turned off when set to pro setting like the green read that will show the direct ball line even on other settings this can only be used once per green. I like the limited use and makes people earn their putts. Overall I was impressed by the game the overall size of the game and if I had to guess just maxing out your created golfer will take a veteran 45+ hours and the casual golfer about 55-60+ hours. The neat thing is that you do not need to be maxed out to compete online. We had smooth online play with short loading times and no complaints. Is Tiger Woods 08 the perfect golfing game out there? No, but it’s exactly what EA needed to bring back the fans and the new features will help. Make sure to tune into our next podcast for more on the event and the review will be up in a few days.

  See all Tiger Woods 08 Screens

I spoke with the team and asked a few questions that normally would get a strange look but the team answered with honesty and where opened to suggestions. They changed a lot this year and made Tiger more of a real golfing game and less arcade like. If you take the time to play the game and just enjoy it. You don’t need to play the pro setting to enjoy Tiger and really the gamer net challenges are there if you want them or not. I think the things added bring the game back to a more realistic and solid title. I know they are on the right track and while this year’s version is going to impressed gamers I can’t wait to see what they place in the 09 version. I walked away thoroughly impressed and can actually say I would buy Tiger Woods this year. In closing the team and our community leader did everything to show us the game and a great time. I also like the nice official Tiger Woods 08 golf polo they handed us before leaving. This was yet another community event that showed me EA has a different attitude this year and I really like the end result.

Thanks to:

Will Kinsler – EA Community Manager

 The Whole Tiger Woods Devolvement Team
 

Filed under: Previews • Xbox 360

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