Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 on Xbox 360

* * * This review contains spoilers * * *

HonestPraise from Paignton [Highly rated reviewer] , 03/04/2008

Another year, another Tiger game. It’s normal to expect the same weaksauce offering as we had last year for the Xbox 360, but you’d be wrong to a degree. Somebody lit a fire underneath the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 crew, and the result is a full-featured golf title that feels more like a sim than an arcade game.

The new sim-like feel begins from the very first time you see the new interface. The H.U.D. has gone from cheesy to professional, with all pertinent shot information displayed in an easy-to-read font and color combination. A picture of your selected club is displayed as well, with a percentage of the maximum club length shown. A nice feature in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 is that the displayed club will tilt depending on how much backspin or topspin is placed on the ball. The pop-up leaderboard is a nice feature too, especially when partaking in a scheduled tournament during Career mode.

The control scheme stays relatively the same, even though EA claims that it is now easier for beginners. The left stick is defaulted to the analog swing north and south, and draw/fade on the east and west axis. The right stick is called the “loft” stick, and adjusts trajectory/spin on the ball. Beginners will still have to watch how much backspin they put on the ball, as this seriously shortens the maximum distance for the higher-lofted clubs.

A new system called True Aiming assists players in choosing the right club and shot for the situation. This system consists of the same aiming circle as the Tiger games of the past, but the circle will become more precise as the player progresses. The progression can take place with individual club groups like the driver, woods, irons, wedges, and so forth, so the reticle will have varying sizes for a more realistic experience (as some players on tour are more accurate with the driver than their irons, and vice-versa, etc.).

A bunch of new games modes and six new courses afford myriad playing options in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07. Courses such as Firestone Country Club, Spyglass Hill, and St. Andrews join updated versions of last year’s courses. New game modes fill these courses with more than just normal golf. There are tons of new Training Challenges which build player skill and luck. Ten mini-games - including a Long Drive Contest and Capture the Flag - are meant to bring the lightheartedness back to the edgier Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07. And the Tiger Challenge is all about playing and beating the man himself in a round to prove your mettle. There are also new tutorials, foursome and twosome contests (variations of Best Ball and Scramble formats), and a new structure to the PGA Tour Season Mode that integrates the FedEx Cup championship format.

The revamped online portion of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 is much more feature-rich than in Tiger games of past. There are online tournaments that are integrated into the Career Mode, Battle Golf and One Ball for those just looking to mess around. The ESPN streaming updates are very well implemented, and the full stat tracking (including league leaders) is icing on the cake.

There are many elements in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 that make it superior to earlier iterations of this franchise. For one, the online play is simply better than in years past, with more ways to play, and up to four players per event. You’ll also notice things like daily online tournaments in the Career Mode, and ESPN integration helps to tie everything together. The Marketplace is also a big part of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07, so expect new courses and bonus content for months to come.

The actual golf gameplay in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 is, well, pretty much like what you have come to expect from the series. It’s by no means a sim, but 2007 marks the first year where the franchise feels like a PGA-style title, instead of something that belongs in a sideshow. The interface is more professional and informative, the new aiming system and game modes skew more toward the simulation side, and the reactive difficulty makes shooting sub-60 rounds tough. We still don't have a Tiger game that makes players compensate for side-hill lies and what not (even though an intricate lie system is integrated into the PSP version of Hot Shots).

The big news on the graphical front is EA’s in-house UCAP (Universal Capture) technology, which has been built to deliver life-like realism in facial mapping. I saw UCAP in action at EA’s Summer spectacular, and it was pretty mind-blowing. I wasn’t sure how well it would translate into the game at first, but now I can see that the process is fairly adaptable. The effect in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 isn’t as awe-inspiring as the demo, but you’ll have a hard time finding better athlete likenesses on the Xbox 360.

The rest of the graphics are much better than we saw in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07’s predecessor, but there’s still room for work. The clothing is too basic (not enough polygons, and the textures don’t move independent of the body), there are far too many jaggies, and the action is still a bit choppy. Improved areas include better looking rough and fairway areas, a more realistic flying ball, and better depth-of-field effects.

The audio is very similar to the recent Tiger games in that the commentary features McCord and Feherty. Everything else is, well, golf-like sound effects, which aren’t very entertaining. EA did a fine job making birdies sound like birdies, both in the trees and on the course. You’ll hear some nice wind effects and background noises like planes and the ohh’s and ahh’s of the gallery. EA has programmed additional gallery comments in to spice things up a bit, and it pays off in most instances. The audio will lag behind the action, however, which is a bit annoying.

With Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07, EA made a pretty nice drive that unfortunately hit a divot in the fairway. With its emphasis on realism and the upgraded graphics, it’s the best Tiger game to date, but it fails to trump many aspects of Links, which is several years old now. If you’re a fan of the Tiger series or the superhuman golfer, then definitely pick this one up. Those of you that must play a new golf game this year will need to buy Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 too, as Pro Stroke offers little in the way of competition.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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A customer from manchester england , 23/08/2007

without a doubt the most difficult of all the tiger woods series a bit more realstic then as the first 6 were easy not any more with this baby, no more straight in from 100 ft+ this will take you ages to do the tourneys you have been warned great game though in all honesty if you want a challenge then this is it

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A customer from England , 30/09/2007

Unlike some of the older (and still thoroughly playable) Tiger Woods games on the PS2/X-Box, the 2007 edition forces you to engage in a LOT of levelling up via the Challenge Mode before you even stand a chance of coming in the top 10 golfers on the PGA Tour.

The Challenge Mode has 20 opponents that must be defeated before Tiger himself can be challenged. By beating each opponent, better gear will be unlocked, which can help your stats, despite the fact that your golfer may look incredibly tragic whilst wearing them!

The graphics are detailed, conclusive and lush. Spectators wander along the length of the course in order to follow your play, and waves crash and spray beautiful particle effects upon the shoreline.

On a negative side of things, some of the information seems to have little consequence when the clubs come out, such as when a light wind will sometimes blow you off the course, and sometimes do nothing, and when a massive increase in elevation will not have any bearing on how far your shot travels (but other times it will behave as it should!).

If you can get over the petty annoyances, this version of the game has a lot of hours of gaming to offer the dedicated player, complete with (mostly) lag-free multiplayer over Live. And, is not bugged like the pre-patch 2008 version, which has just been released.

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A customer from Birmingham , 03/05/2008

Can't comment on this one, as we had just bought a 2nd hand copy of the 2006 version. So we just sent this one straight back.

  1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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* * * This review contains spoilers * * *

HonestPraise from Paignton [Highly rated reviewer] , 03/04/2008

Another year, another Tiger game. It’s normal to expect the same weaksauce offering as we had last year for the Xbox 360, but you’d be wrong to a degree. Somebody lit a fire underneath the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 crew, and the result is a full-featured golf title that feels more like a sim than an arcade game.

The new sim-like feel begins from the very first time you see the new interface. The H.U.D. has gone from cheesy to professional, with all pertinent shot information displayed in an easy-to-read font and color combination. A picture of your selected club is displayed as well, with a percentage of the maximum club length shown. A nice feature in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 is that the displayed club will tilt depending on how much backspin or topspin is placed on the ball. The pop-up leaderboard is a nice feature too, especially when partaking in a scheduled tournament during Career mode.

The control scheme stays relatively the same, even though EA claims that it is now easier for beginners. The left stick is defaulted to the analog swing north and south, and draw/fade on the east and west axis. The right stick is called the “loft” stick, and adjusts trajectory/spin on the ball. Beginners will still have to watch how much backspin they put on the ball, as this seriously shortens the maximum distance for the higher-lofted clubs.

A new system called True Aiming assists players in choosing the right club and shot for the situation. This system consists of the same aiming circle as the Tiger games of the past, but the circle will become more precise as the player progresses. The progression can take place with individual club groups like the driver, woods, irons, wedges, and so forth, so the reticle will have varying sizes for a more realistic experience (as some players on tour are more accurate with the driver than their irons, and vice-versa, etc.).

A bunch of new games modes and six new courses afford myriad playing options in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07. Courses such as Firestone Country Club, Spyglass Hill, and St. Andrews join updated versions of last year’s courses. New game modes fill these courses with more than just normal golf. There are tons of new Training Challenges which build player skill and luck. Ten mini-games - including a Long Drive Contest and Capture the Flag - are meant to bring the lightheartedness back to the edgier Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07. And the Tiger Challenge is all about playing and beating the man himself in a round to prove your mettle. There are also new tutorials, foursome and twosome contests (variations of Best Ball and Scramble formats), and a new structure to the PGA Tour Season Mode that integrates the FedEx Cup championship format.

The revamped online portion of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 is much more feature-rich than in Tiger games of past. There are online tournaments that are integrated into the Career Mode, Battle Golf and One Ball for those just looking to mess around. The ESPN streaming updates are very well implemented, and the full stat tracking (including league leaders) is icing on the cake.

There are many elements in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 that make it superior to earlier iterations of this franchise. For one, the online play is simply better than in years past, with more ways to play, and up to four players per event. You’ll also notice things like daily online tournaments in the Career Mode, and ESPN integration helps to tie everything together. The Marketplace is also a big part of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07, so expect new courses and bonus content for months to come.

The actual golf gameplay in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 is, well, pretty much like what you have come to expect from the series. It’s by no means a sim, but 2007 marks the first year where the franchise feels like a PGA-style title, instead of something that belongs in a sideshow. The interface is more professional and informative, the new aiming system and game modes skew more toward the simulation side, and the reactive difficulty makes shooting sub-60 rounds tough. We still don't have a Tiger game that makes players compensate for side-hill lies and what not (even though an intricate lie system is integrated into the PSP version of Hot Shots).

The big news on the graphical front is EA’s in-house UCAP (Universal Capture) technology, which has been built to deliver life-like realism in facial mapping. I saw UCAP in action at EA’s Summer spectacular, and it was pretty mind-blowing. I wasn’t sure how well it would translate into the game at first, but now I can see that the process is fairly adaptable. The effect in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 isn’t as awe-inspiring as the demo, but you’ll have a hard time finding better athlete likenesses on the Xbox 360.

The rest of the graphics are much better than we saw in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07’s predecessor, but there’s still room for work. The clothing is too basic (not enough polygons, and the textures don’t move independent of the body), there are far too many jaggies, and the action is still a bit choppy. Improved areas include better looking rough and fairway areas, a more realistic flying ball, and better depth-of-field effects.

The audio is very similar to the recent Tiger games in that the commentary features McCord and Feherty. Everything else is, well, golf-like sound effects, which aren’t very entertaining. EA did a fine job making birdies sound like birdies, both in the trees and on the course. You’ll hear some nice wind effects and background noises like planes and the ohh’s and ahh’s of the gallery. EA has programmed additional gallery comments in to spice things up a bit, and it pays off in most instances. The audio will lag behind the action, however, which is a bit annoying.

With Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07, EA made a pretty nice drive that unfortunately hit a divot in the fairway. With its emphasis on realism and the upgraded graphics, it’s the best Tiger game to date, but it fails to trump many aspects of Links, which is several years old now. If you’re a fan of the Tiger series or the superhuman golfer, then definitely pick this one up. Those of you that must play a new golf game this year will need to buy Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 too, as Pro Stroke offers little in the way of competition.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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A customer from manchester england , 23/08/2007

without a doubt the most difficult of all the tiger woods series a bit more realstic then as the first 6 were easy not any more with this baby, no more straight in from 100 ft+ this will take you ages to do the tourneys you have been warned great game though in all honesty if you want a challenge then this is it

Read all highest rated reviews