[ ( B ) Buy Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 DVD ]
[ ( O ) Order Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 DVD ]
{ Rating: 3.5 out of 5 }
The opinions on this game seem to be rather polarized, but the truth is in the middle. While this is still a very good golf game, it's not as good as previous iterations. Let's examine the pros and cons.
Pros:
Decent graphics
Many different types of gameplay
The new confidence meter is an improvement
Cons:
May lack compatibility with newer Op Systems
Took away a lot of features from prior versions, some of which were really fun
Lack of in depth and challenging courses
THE BUSHES!!
Let me begin by addressing each of the pros and cons. The graphics are decent overall, some facets are pretty good, such as the waves moving alone Pebble Beach, and some are meh, e.g. your created golfer may look very cartoon-ish. I do have to complain a bit, as they're not much improved over 2005 or 2006.
There are many types of gameplay, such as stroke play, Stableford, matches, Skins play and even online play. This is basically the most you can ask from an ordinary golf game, the only thing they forgot was putt-putt!
The new confidence meter is really very cool, as it eliminates pure reliance on the attribute improvements. Your confidence can go up substantially over the course of a full season or even multiple years. There are also occasionally added bonuses, for free, e.g. the game lets you suddenly take a lesson in putting or the short-game and your confidence in that department goes way up! However, if you're not doing well, you will only suffer a little bit for it. You can turn it around in a reasonable manner.
Now, the cons.
Several people have said this may not work with certain versions of Windows 7 and even Vista. I actually did get it to work, though with a good bit of freezing and crashing, in W7 Ultimate via compatibility mode.
I miss some of the removed features of prior versions, like getting to play against the all time greats, the ability to win some of the gear instead of only being able to purchase it, etc.
Yet the biggest issue is the lack of challenging courses. So many of them are not only easy, but they also feel exactly the same, with only the graphics seeming a bit different. The bit of good news is that you can easily find a ton of other courses to make the game interesting for free, and online.
One of my biggest complaints that has stayed around from past years is the difficulty of hitting the darned ball out of the simple bushes! I've used max power with heavy woods and yet the bushes seem to be made out of metal, as they simply repel the ball. I
Overall, it's a good game and a shame that EA gave up on PC gaming. It's just a sign of their greed and laziness, I guess. If you have $10 and need a good golf game for PC, I certainly endorse this version unless you have 2005 or 2006, in which case, you aren't in need of this version.
