Delightfully addictive
Game modes range from traditional stroke play where you have a simple round of golf at a chosen course to battle golf. The latter is great to play with friends, especially if you keep winning holes giving you the option to take a club from your rival, it is just a shame you can’t take away the putter. The best mode, however, is the PGA Season Tour mode where you get to create your own golfer, fully customisable with equipment and clothes from named brands such as “adidas” and “mizuno”. The only problem is that all the faces end up looking similar, even with the massive amount of customisation options available. Throughout the game there are plenty of players and equipment to unlock, that is if you have the patience to fully complete the game.
The gameplay in Tiger Woods is simple to pick up and play, but exceptionally difficult to master. All you have to do is swing with the left analog stick and hit the ball; the right analog stick can be used to apply draw and fade. For those who prefer to whack a ball that much further, tapping L1 during the backswing applies more power, and hitting L2 whilst the ball is in the air applies spin. It sounds simple enough, but it is incredibly annoying when you find yourself ‘shanking’ a ball well off target destroying your hopes of par.
Visually the game hasn’t changed much since the previous instalment, but you never expect miracles from a sports franchise. All the actual players have been recreated in 3d well enough and creating your own character is fun, especially with options to apply detail down to the bags under your eyes.
Overall Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 is a good addition to the series and marks a chapter where the franchise becomes more about realism and less about pick-up and play fun. That might sound like a bad thing, but when you sink that first birdie or eagle you will know you earned it and that feeling is priceless.