If you are here, then you must like Golf, or at least want to try video game golf. Tiger Woods 2005 will not Disappoint. There are enough courses to keep the replay level high, enough modes to keep the 100% achievers busy for months or even years, enough new features to bring in Tiger owners that have been away for a few years, and they added Xbox Live to get the 2004 Tiger owners like me to buy the new version. That and the fact that they added the Cour'deLane course, which I have actually played, and they did a very good job re-creating it and the other courses digitally. They have also added features to the Game Face player customizer and swing customizer, but while this is cool, they kind of overdue it. By the time you are half way done creating a character, you realize there are almost too many options and you kind of breeze through the end. My character does look an awful lot like me, so the extra features are pretty nice. I also got my swing to look kind of like my real-life crappy swing, so that was fun too. There of course are more sponsorships, more equipment, more clothing and misc. items, but don't get your hopes up looking for Titleist or a few other big names, because they still aren't all there. This also reminds me that while they let you customize a logo or tattoo, and you can now add logos to your custom courses, the logo editor is just a paint program, and you still can't actually design a course. You can only pick your favorite holes and then Tiger Proof them (or in other words, make the fairways, greens, and sandtraps harder). One big change is that the Lengends tour and Legends challanges now replace the world tour and scenerios from 2003 and 2004. I think this turned out better. You unlock the same stuff and earn approximately the same money as last year, but you have extra bonuses to work towards, as well as unlocking the old time players like Gary Player, and their trophy rooms. You can even get them to challenge you on your own custom tiger proofed course if you get enough holes unlocked to make it interetsing for them. Online play works well; being to talk while you are playing, as well as set a shot clock option so that someone doesn't take too long. One nice feature is that I was able to use my custom guy online, and it only takes a handful of rounds offline to build your stats up enough to take on any of the computer made players. I thought before I started online that I would have to start from scratch, and being able to take the guy I had made the week before was a nice surprise. There are new 3 hole challenges for quick online matches, as well as 9 and 18 hole match and stroke games. Overall, this is a great game, and the best in the series. The swing style of Tiger's golf games is more like the arcade version than the old triple-click method, which is good. The graphics are great. The soundtrack and announcers are good, and allow for you to mix in your own tracks (which is a must if you play month after month). The value is great because the price recently went down, but even at $50 it was still worth it, especially if you wanted online play, or didn't have 2004 yet. All that's needed is better editors, and the other big sponsors and a few more courses (Bandon Dunes, OR) and they will have a 10 next year.
Other Helpful Reviews for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
By Ds_Bloodlust | Review Date: Mar 02, 2006 | XBOX
The music is really good. The gameplay is fun and very challenging. The graphics were good. The various real players you can be is fun. I believe that the controls were easy and that after a while the game really started... Read Full Review
I thought this game was outstanding. The courses were more realistic than ever before. The graphics were one of the best in my 2005 collection. Not only can you add sunglasses and watches to your character, you can get a... Read Full Review
