Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 – PSP – Review

I feel like I’m writing this
again, I cannot stand sports games, I would rather go out and play baseball,
basketball or football, but for whatever reason (actually I have a lengthy
list) I really dig on golf games. Oh sure, I like Poker games, and some people
say that’s a sport, it’s on ESPN 2 all the time, but I don’t regard it as so.
But golf games are the cat’s meow in my book. The whole idea of a huge course
and the physics of the ball and all that control just translate well into the
medium and gosh darn it if we here in David household don’t think that is just
great.

With that, I am torn in which golf
series I find the most enjoyable, the Tiger Woods series or the Hot Shots Golf
series. Sure, there are many more versions (one every year) for the folks at
EA and their golden boy Tiger, but Hot Shots has its qualities too,
unfortunately putting out a game every three years does not count as a
quality, and with that, I must hand it to the folks at EA sports, whether it
is needed or not, we get a Tiger Woods PGA game every year.

"Hey Tiger! You got a rubber glove in yo
pocket!"

I hope I am not sounding too mean,
because that is not my point, my point is that most of the time, there is very
little if any improvements when it comes to these yearly editions. So, I will
start off with the very few things that did not impress me about this title,
and then we’ll get to the good stuff.

First and foremost, the game
introduces this odd little quirk called the confidence meter. Meaning, that as
you play and you make shots that aren’t so great, your players confidence will
diminish and you, in turn, begin suffering on the course. This is culminated
with a boring little mini game that appears after your confidence has become
so shaken you cannot stand it anymore. Now, at this point, I would like to say
that the confidence meter is a good thing, as anyone who has played golf in
real life (or any sport for that matter) when you screw up, you are more apt
to continue to screw up and then you become your own worst enemy. This is a
known fact; some sports players call it "quicksand" the more you struggle the
quicker you sink. The problem is, the mini-games themselves are a dumb little
exercise that feels very out of place in this title. Sure you can hit some
good shots and boost your confidence, but they should have left it at that and
dropped the mini-games.

Next, the graphics while swell
looking with their greens and trees, are lacking the little touches that would
make this game even better. I personally would have liked to see other
activities going on in the background. This is Tiger Woods were talking about,
like 7,000 people follow him around the course when he plays. Where are they
all at? And where is anything else for that matter. All the graphics are piled
into the smooth greens and character models, but the game is missing that
little extra to put you in the game.

"And here we see Tiger’s back yard and
guest house."

Now the sound effects and voice
work from the commentary seems to be a rehash from last year’s version. It
doesn’t sound bad, but it isn’t anything new either. Since the handheld
versions of the game are basically a slimmed-down version of the console, I
can take some satisfaction in knowing that they did at least put the audio in
the title. I can’t complain, but I can’t champion it either. You hear lots of
people clapping and cheering, but it sounds out of place.

Of course if you have the
opportunity to play this game, you are more then likely going to be satisfied.
The game does feature some of the most realistic-looking courses and real
world physics when it comes to the ball slicing through the air. In this new
08 PSP version, you do get a few more courses then you would expect, one more
then I believe then last year. The courses are all real world courses and I
can only imagine playing them in real life; I would have to have the last name
of Trump to afford to play them. In reality, the PGA has added another big
tourney on its schedule this year, the FedExCup. The FedExCup is sort of a big
thing in the world of golf, while casual players could really care less, the
introduction of a fourth biggie on the tour makes the challenge of grabbing
the turkey (winning all four) that much more challenging. And in reality, it
would be a miracle to see someone actually do it.

"Westchester Country Club, home of the
three time champion, Yuppies!

What this means to you if you have
this game, is that you can create a player and try and do it. Aside from
playing as many of the pros that have followed Tiger on to the EA juggernaut,
the challenge for me is to make a character and go for the wins. If anything,
this is what makes the game so much fun. Putting on the other hand is a whole
other story. While driving and playing with the sometimes odd power meter can
be more than enough fun, the whole putting thing is still unbalanced and
troublesome. Sometimes you can read the green and a miracle will occur and you
will sink a long putt. Most of the time though, your putt will sail wide and
past the hole. Getting par on any of the courses is a challenge on its own.

Now I seem to be getting a little
long in the tooth when it comes to beating up this title. And that’s not
right, the game is genuinely fun, and should you really consider it if you are
looking for a fun sport game. I just need you to know that I don’t think EA
brought enough new things to this version as opposed to last years version. If
this is your first time playing a Tiger Woods game, then you are golden; if
not, then you had better really like the series or have a lot of disposable
income.

Gameplay: 7.0
The controls can be a little rough
getting used to, the nub is not the most delicate tool for precision play.
Putting can be rough, but hitting for power when you can line up the right
shot, is pure pleasure.

Graphics: 7.8
While the characters look great,
as do the courses, the little things in the background are non existent. If
the wind is blowing, then shouldn’t some leaves float by?

Sound: 6.5
It is the same as last year, some
decent sound effects and commentary. Nothing new or exciting.

Difficulty: Hard
Winning on every course is not an
easy task.

Concept: 6.0
It really isn’t anything new and
one version to the next for the past few years takes very little steps forward
in terms of innovation. The mini-games on the confidence meter was just not
all that good.

Multiplayer: 7.5
I was able to play ad-hoc against my buddy who also picked the game
up, I find real-life competition much more engaging to play against.

Overall: 7.4
If you played last year’s game, then I hate to say this, but you
really don’t need to play this year’s version. It really isn’t much different.
If you have never played one of the games in the series, then now would be a
fine time to start.