Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 Hands-On

We spent some quality time with Tiger Woods and a few of his golf cronies in the latest mobile golf offering from EA. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 borrows elements from both the console and handheld versions of the game and notably uses the up/down mechanic for swinging, instead of the more traditional sliding bars seen in most mobile golf games. Tiger Woods for mobile is a sleek game that makes use of the platform's controls very well, and we were pleased with all that we saw of it so far.

There are five total golfers in the game, with only the namesake, Tiger, open from the start. As you play through, you'll be able to unlock Vijay Singh, John Daly, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus. On higher-end handsets, each character will have multiple animations, but on phones with less bandwidth, each golfer will be restricted to just one. The course open from the beginning is Pebble Beach, but you can unlock four additional courses through gameplay, including TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale, Sherwood Country Club, and Bay Hill. And all the courses are licensed and rendered in full 3D.

There are several modes in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, including stroke and match games that can either be played against the computer or against another human opponent via pass-and-play. Challenge mode is played only against the computer, and it requires that you satisfy certain tasks, like shooting around an obstacle or making the hole in under a certain number of strokes. It's through challenge mode that you'll unlock the other characters and courses.

The gameplay is easy to learn but difficult to master, which is the perfect combination for this type of game. In it, you have the option to switch between the third-person, behind-the-golfer view to an overhead camera, which you can use to survey the course. From the overhead view, you'll be given an idea of how close your shot will get to the hole, but you'll need to factor in both wind and lie to get right on target. To swing, you simply press and hold down the directional pad until you've pulled the club all the way back. Once you've reach the height you desire, press up to bring the club down and make contact with the ball. It takes a little getting used to, but it's nice to feel like you're playing golf instead of playing a game of controlling sliders.

In this version, you'll also be able to unlock trophy balls by completing certain challenges, like achieving a hole in one or getting an eagle during match play. The game will tell you what objectives are necessary for trophy balls, so acquiring them involves more than just luck. Tiger Woods 06 is an extremely attractive game, both in graphics and animation, and it's complemented by easily facilitated controls. The game will include announcer voice-overs from the console versions, and we're promised that it will include the more sarcastic and witty lines. So far, we think Tiger Woods is coming along famously, but we promise to bring more information when the game comes out early this fall.