Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07

UPC: 014633152142

Platform: Xbox 360

Publisher: EA Sports

Developer: EA Redwood Shores

Category: Sports

Style(s): Golf

Synopsis: Putt, swing, and slice with some of the biggest names in golf as you travel to various real and fantasy courses in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. Practice your swing, play against human opponents online, or gather a team of golfers and go head-to-head against Tiger Woods and his team of birdie-scoring buddies. The game features 21 courses including the Four Seasons Resort Avaira, the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Riviera Country Club, the K Club, and more with in-game commentary provided by David Feherty and Gary McCord. Select your character from such golfers as Vijay Singh, Ian Poulter, Annika Sorenstam, and John Daly, or create your own character from a variety of clothing, facial features, equipment licenses, and specialty items. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 comes with several gameplay options including "Team Tour," "Career," "Practice," and mini-games such as One-Ball, Battle Golf, and more. Characters will no longer spend money to earn experience points, and will gain experience by spending time in the "Practice" area shooting from six different tee boxes. Performance of your skills on the practice green translates to improved character stats that carry over into your career game. You also have two types of swing styles, Standard and Swing Stick, and the game will adjust the difficulty based on how well you are playing. To aim your shot, look for the circular area with a size determined by such factors as attributes and club choice, and then take a shot towards your goal. Online play features three person tournaments, stat trackers, leader boards, the ESPN ticker, radio updates, and news. ~ Gracie Leach, All Game Guide

Package Contents: 12-page Instruction Manual

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

The included documentation covers the basics and not much more, but the in-game tutorial is all most will need to start playing. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The player models look more realistic this time around, and the new "picture-in-picture" mode adds some excitement to the presentation. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Since its 1998 launch, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series has been the top-selling golf title on nearly every platform it has appeared on. Yet, for the most part, each new installment is more a subtle improvement than a strong departure from its predecessor. Like most golf games, Tiger Woods earns its mileage from the variety of playable courses and its exclusive relationship with both the PGA Tour and the sport's most marketable star. So it should come as no surprise that the franchise's core elements, the analog-based swing system, the detailed face creator, commentary by David Feherty and Gary McCord, and the role-playing like aspects of earning items and building stats are still a big part of PGA Tour 07. Of course, the developers always manage to add one or two new elements in the hopes that players will purchase the game again, but PGA Tour 07's changes won't exactly convert the unfaithful. The Xbox 360 version has seen the most attention, building on 2005's disappointingly shallow debut by doubling the courses, expanding the career mode to include more events, adding some match types, and introducing a new targeting system that aims to correct one of the series' biggest faults: its difficulty. Gone is the arrow that lets you know precisely where each shot is about to land. In its place is a circle appearing directly on the links, whose size or coverage area is influenced by your golfer's skill level, the club type, and so forth. The larger the circle, the riskier the shot, as the ball could fall anywhere within the highlighted region. This seemingly small change makes the game far more interesting, especially when starting a career as a rookie golfer trying to build a professional career. You may have seen more birdies in previous Tiger Woods games than a disoriented Looney Tunes character, but shooting below par in PGA Tour 07 is no longer a given. The highest difficulty setting removes such arcade-style fluff as being able to adjust the spin or power of a ball once its in the air, and players actually have to read the green's slope instead of relying on the "aim here, stupid" putting line. The result is a game that ultimately feels more realistic than previous attempts, requiring players to think about their shots instead of just gripping and ripping. Xbox 360 owners disappointed in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 will find PGA Tour 07 a marked improvement. The competition will have players breaking a sweat, the online play is smoother, and the refinements to the presentation make this a great choice for golf fans new to the system. On the other hand, the developers still have not included all the content found on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC versions of the game. The Xbox 360 disc has fewer courses, fewer PGA Tour professionals, fewer options to customize the gameplay, and no "Team Tour" mode. Though there is still the possibility of EA releasing additional courses and golfers via Xbox Live, it's a shame that the title isn't quite the definitive version many were hoping for. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Twelve courses is a big improvement over the six found in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 on Xbox 360, but the other versions feature a staggering 21 venues. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The commentary is starting to get old, but the sound effects are generally spot-on. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The new targeting system adds some degree of challenge to the game, and the mini-games and career mode are genuinely fun to play. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.