Golf fans, the first true next-gen version of your sport has finally arrived. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 offers twice as many courses as last year, a ton of modes, great create-a-character, and some innovative new gameplay features that make this the best playing golf game yet. And best of all, the Xbox 360 version is actually better than the older-gen versions.
Quick Hits
- Title: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Publisher: EA
- Developer: EA
- ESRB: “E” for Everyone
- Genre: Golf
- Pros: Great gameplay; true aim system; lots of courses and golfers; create-a-character
- Cons: Not as many courses as other versions; lame cheats on the Xbox Live Marketplace
Features and Modes
Tiger 07 offers a ton of different modes to keep you occupied. Match play, stroke play, skins, practice, four-ball, and the new bloodsome and greensome matches. And there is a nifty new mode called one-ball where you and your opponent share the same ball and alternate shots. The idea is to give your opponent the toughest shot possible within the target area. Whoever makes the putt wins the hole, so you try to make it as difficult as possible to do so. You can play many of these modes online, and the experience is fairly smooth and fun. There are also single-player career modes. The team tour mode isn’t available in the 360 version, and instead we get the Tiger Challenge where you play a round against other characters until you eventually reach Tiger himself. There is also a full PGA Tour mode. Tying all of these modes together is the best-in-the-busieness create-a-character mode.
Gameplay
EA
The gameplay is one area where the Xbox 360 version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is a notable improvement over other versions of the game. At its core, the gameplay is the same as before – you use the left analog stick to swing – but the 360 version adds something called the true aim system which changes the game rather dramatically. In previous games, wherever your cursor was on the course was generally where the ball would land. In the 360 version of Tiger 07, the potential landing point of your ball is represented by a large circle. The ball can land anywhere in that circle and there isn’t really anything you can do about it. This makes the game play much more realistically than ever before because even the best golfer in real life can’t hit the ball in the same spot every time, and now that has carried over to the videogames. Each club will have a different size of true aim circle, so choosing between your big driver that might put you in the rough or a smaller club that is a safer choice is a gamble you have to make constantly, which makes the whole experience very fun and very realistic.
Graphics and Sound
The Xbox 360 version also stands well above the rest of the pack thanks to its presentation. The courses are lush and green and really look like a real golf course. Once you have seen the 360 version, it is hard to go back to the flat and lifeless courses on the PS2 and Xbox. The golfers are also more detailed and look better than ever.
The sound is also very well done. Significant in the 360 version is that you can use custom soundtracks, and nothing is better than kicking back and playing a round or two of golf to your own music.
Bottom Line
EA
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 for the Xbox 360 is a fantastic looking and great playing golf game that fans will love. It doesn’t have as many courses (12) or real golfers (15) as the other versions of the game, but it introduces new gameplay elements that change the way you play the game and that is always a good thing. Because of the greatly enhanced presentation and gameplay, the Xbox 360 version is undeniably the best version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 and it is highly recommended for Tiger fans and golf fans in general.
