Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 Hands-On - Graphics, Shot Options, and Old-School Threads
We take Tiger Woods 06 for the PC out for a "good walk spoiled" in our hands-on look at the upcoming links game.
Back in the day (you know, six or seven years ago), the PC was the best place to get your virtual golf game on. There simply wasn't another platform that could compete with the amount of flexibility and power--not to mention storage space--that golf games demand and PCs amply supplied. With the upgraded specs of consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation 2, the links landscape shifted to a more console-focused market. These days, EA Sports' Tiger Woods series has become synonymous with PGA golf games, and therefore Tiger's Cablanasian likeness is all over nearly every currently available gaming platform, including the PC. We recently got a chance to check out Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 for the PC, and the game is looking to make a strong case for the PC as the returning king of golf platforms.
If you've been sticking with consoles for your golfing experience for a while now, you might be surprised at how lush and attractive Tiger 06 looks on a high-end PC. With graphical details set to high, this is simply an amazing-looking game, with great-looking player models, detailed grass textures, some dramatically improved shadow effects, and, new for this year, 1024x768 resolution support. Of course, one expects the game to look great and run well on the top-of-the-line gaming machines, but producers assured us they are looking to make sure Tiger 06 runs well on a large variety of PC specs. There's even a helpful analyzer tool that will optimize the game to your specific hardware setup after you install the game for the first time.
Longtime Tiger fans will be pleased to hear that the game still supports both the two- and three-click swinging methods when you're using the mouse, but new this year is the implementation of game controller support. In our hands-on time with Tiger 06, we played a few holes using a wireless Logitech gamepad and got to check out the new analog swing control, which feels remarkably similar to last year's console game. Just as in Tiger Woods 2005 for consoles, you use the left analog stick to control your backswing and follow-through, and also like in last year's console game, you can add extra juice to your shot by rapidly pressing the assigned face button. Unfortunately, the PC game does not implement the right stick "shot shaping" controls that will be found in Tiger 06 for consoles.
Other cool PC-specific shot features include a shot analyzer--which gives you a quick overview of your performance after each shot, including crucial information such as angle of approach on the ball and club speed--and the implementation of a much-requested practice swing mode. Simply press the "p" button on your keyboard, and you enter practice mode, where you can take as many practice hacks as you like (complete with the aforementioned post-swing analyzer tool, to get an idea of how your shot is shaping up).
On the greens, the putting game in Tiger 06 for the PC has taken advantage of the new gamepad controller as well. Just as in the console games, you'll be using the left stick to putt the ball. The putting grid has also received an upgrade, mainly in the form of a color-coded system that indicates the slope of the putting surface--blue for downhill and red for uphill, with variations in between to designate the degree of slope. As opposed to relatively flat greens, such as those at Pinehurst's No. 2 course, the color-coded effect is most noticeable on rolling, undulating greens, such as those found at Pasatiempo (one of several new courses found in this year's game), where the grid appears as if it were strung with Christmas lights.
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