Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (Xbox 360, 2005)

Gameplay 5/10: If you like what the Tiger Woods series has been for the last 5-years, just expect more of the same. I think the controls in the series are overly simplistic and the ability to make good shots far too easy. There is one addition, the shape stick. Links 2004 already had it 2 years ago! EA can be sly in their marketing, pretending they invented the shape stick. Fact is, Links 2004 had it and it works much better in Links. Putting is a slight attempt to mimic Links 2004, but swing power is broken down into 10-yard increments. This ruins having "feel" over a put. Power control is the left shoulder button. OK, I get it (said sarcastically), it is hard to use your left pointer finger and thumb at the same time. This is really lame trying to control difficulty this way. Links had a power up feature that did need some tweaking of its own, but was still better. Online still does not have the 4-player simultaneous mode that Links had, which was an absolute HOOT!

Graphics 6/10: The courses look OK, but nothing special. I am shocked not to see any weather effects, no sun or shadow shifts due to time passing, no divots, and no remaining ball marks, everything looks too simple and too clean (unrealistic). The grass is OK, the sand and greens look OK. There is nothing next-generation about the graphics, other than the character creation and models.

Sound 7/10: The announcers are fun, but nothing new. The music provided is OK, at least it is not rock or rap like in past versions. Overall, there is nothing special about the sound.

Features 5/10: Only 6 courses. There is SO much more that could be done. One feature that is absolutely disgusting to me is the luck feature. As a person who plays golf in real life on a frequent basis, I can tell you the most rewarding thing in golf is making that chip in, long putt, or (maybe some day for me) that hole in one. In Tiger Woods, you can expect a hole in one nearly every round, and sometimes twice. All I ask from a video game is to create some physics and let the ball fly, bounce, and roll where it may. When I make a hole-in-one in Tiger Woods, I don't feel joy, I feel patronized and insulted!

Conclusion: If you haven't noticed by now, I am not happy with this game. I held of buying it for a while (with the $60 tag). I found it used for $45, and am disappointed I wasted that money on it. It is inferior to Hot Shots Golf 3, Fore, and Links 2004 golf games that have been out for a long time. The basic gameplay elements are flawed and it really isn't much fun. Besides that...this is SUPPOSED to be a next-generation game! Where is the innovation??? Where is the FUN? Where is the CHALLENGE?

I've been playing the Tiger Woods PGA series for about 5 years now. There is nothing like this game on the face of earth. If you are one of the lucky 39 people on the planet to have received an Xbox 360, then you need to get this game.

The players are fully customizable. I made someone look EXACTLY like me...of course, I needed a picture of myself while I was doing it. All jokes aside, the graphics are absolutely gorgeous. It is actually relaxing to sit back and play a few strokes, either as Tiger or as yourself. There are MANY challenges to attempt for actual gameplay. What is great is that it allows you to start of as a beginner and work your way up. The controls are VERY easy to get ahold of.

Even if you aren't a fan of golf, I think you'll enjoy this video game. Its a true masterpiece - graphics and gameplay. If you're lucky enough to have a Widescreen HDTV, then grab a pillow, a martini (21+ only), and sit back and play some golf. You might actually want to go to the driving range on your next day off!

...Another review by Sublime Boutique.

This is a true golf simulator, can be difficult to learn, just then the "game breaker" feature miraculously scores you an arcade miracle hole in run.
Game play is great, on line, for some reason the mathces are very laggy and tiresome to suffer through. EA could take a page out of Microsoft's links title which played online seamlessly. Limited courses, but all licensed real life courses are graphically awesome. If the online could be tweaked this game would be a 6 out of 5!
If you're just into the career mode, or playing as one of many ulockable pros, than this game is a home run for you.

I bought the game because I am getting started in playing golf this year and I felt that some situations in the game were helping out as far as learing on the real course. It is also a fun game to play and creating your own golfer makes it more interesting.

the game is very exciting if your into golf. you have the chance to play a nice verity of courses and use tons of equipment. It helps you read greens for real play and frustrates you in the drive distance. Just like real life, only down side is you get no credit for the play now feature.