Customer Reviews

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you're looking for maybe the best video golf experience ever, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 might just be the answer. As pleased as I was with TW 2004, this new installment makes the golf experience better by leaps and bounds.

New changes in this year's version offer a fresh perspective on scenarios themed around some of golf's greatest players. You complete multiple scenarios centered on 5 golf legends earning you Legend coins which you use to Tiger Proof your courses. Additionally, you go on the Legends Tour to unlock many PGA players in the game. Instead of earning Tiger Tour cards like in TW 2004, you get bonus multipliers by completing Legends challenges.

Many new courses are added this year as seen in the product description and they are just beautiful. The graphics are better than ever and the ability to change seasons, tee times, and course elements (Tiger Proofing) and to see it transform during your round is terrific. So far, I've played tee times in morning and late afternoon and sun position and time proceeds forward through your round in a realistic manner.

The new Game Face II option is so huge it is almost scary. You could spend a couple of hours (literally) tweaking your character to just the right parameters to appear exactly like yourself. I stayed with it for about 30 minutes before the need to go golf became too great. Along with your new game face, you can completely build and customize a golf swing to your tastes. Also returning is a bigger and better pro shop with many new items, new sponsors, and new equipment.

The new chipping and putting methods demand a bit more control but are easy to use after a little practice. Something new I like is the 'Tiger View' putting option. Although you only get a couple of these attempts per each round of golf, it is a view of the putting green as if Tiger would actually be lining up his putt. The game will give you an aiming target and when you put your aiming marker on the target, the putt never misses. Every time I've used it so far, some putts even from 40 feet or more, I've never missed yet using 'Tiger View'

The PGA 52 week schedule remains the same except for one excellent change. Now friends can play along (up to 3 people) while you play in a tournament. This hasn't been seen since TW 2003 and it's good to see it return. There's been a change in the Skill Zone also. You still have the Granite Reef venue but now they've added 'Diablo Valley' (desert terrain) and something called 'The Roof'. Upon starting the game, 'The Roof' is locked (I still haven't unlocked it yet), but from pictures on loading screens, it appears you hit balls from a tall building to other buildings at night in the middle of a city. It looks really cool.

As you can see, TW PGA Tour 2005 has great things to offer and if you've played earlier versions of this game, you'll probably love this new edition. I think I played for about 12 hours on the day I bought this game and never had a complaint. If you're a video golf fan, this game comes very highly recommended.

I'll say it right now: If you're into golf, you'll LOVE this game. If you aren't into golf at all...you'll still LOVE this game.

2005 is a remarkable game for several reasons. But in the interest of time, I'll narrow the game's good and bad points below. First, the good:

1) The game offers an intense 'create a player' option, where you can manipulate facial and body features to create your own golfer. Note: creating a player DOES take a while, so be prepared to spend some time on it if you're picky about how you want your golfer to look like.

2) The game has included an array of golf legends that you can unlock and play against.

3) If you're familiar with the 2004 version of this game, you'll be pleased to know that the format is more-or-less the same as last year, with a few added gameplay features, such as 'Tiger Vision,' where you can similate a putting scenario through the eyes of TW.

4) EA has added some cool new items and attributes to many of the existing ones found in 2004, including more sponsors, equipment, clothing and so on.

5) Putting is a bit more difficult, because it appears that the grid that users depended on in 2004 is not available. To me, this makes the game a bit more 'real' if you will.

And now, some of the bad points:

1) The in-flight graphics of the ball have taken a step backwards in my opinion, making it hard to anticipate where the ball will land.

2) The music is nowhere as good as it was in the 2004 version.

3) Some of the more familiar characters in the game were left out. Most notably, Vijay Singh.

But with that said, don't let these issues deter you from buying the game. It's a great product and you'll definitely get your money's-worth.

OVERVIEW: If you're at all familiar with the Tiger Woods PGA series of golf games for PS2 or XBox, you'll know that it's the most realistic and fun golfing game on the market. The graphics are wonderful as usual. Swing is fairly easy to get used to. Animation is fluid. Decent soundtrack and sound effects. Though a few minor flaws in this package, it's still an awesome game and no one can come close to it. Amazon is wrong in saying this is a 1-player game (up to 4 can play at once).

THE GOOD: 14 courses in all (8 new courses) - including classics like Pebble Beach (CA), Harbour Town (Hilton Head, SC), Troon North Monument (AZ), and my favorite on this '05 game being Edgewood in Lake Tahoe (CA). All look very realistic and I commend the designers for their attention to detail. There are also a few "fantasy" type courses that you have to unlock (these may or may not exist in real life?) - Greek Isles, Paradise Cove, Emerald Dragon - and Tiger's Dream 18. All the features from 2004 return including all the different kinds of tournaments and stroke play. The "Skill Zone" is modestly improved with 2 new places in Diablo Valley and the locked "Roof" - definitely fun and a good way to earn some quick cash. Picking your tee time is a neat feature... if you're start time is 6:00am - the sun is just coming up and the roosters are making some noise in the background. If you're finishing late in the day, the atmosphere really looks like the sun is setting. Sound effects are good - featuring dogs barking, birds chirping, planes flying overhead, lawn mowers, crowd noises, car alarms going off from being hit by a stray ball, roosters, ocean surf, and more. The "GameFace-II" feature is incredible - where you can build a golfing character from the ground up (from foot size, calf girth, arms & legs muscle definition, to a complete face makeover). The Pro Shop features all kinds of things to buy for your golfer (new clothes, shoes, jackets, sunglasses, hats, jewelry and tattoos... not to mention new golf clubs, balls, grips, gloves - choose from all the best known manufacturers; including Ping, Taylor-Made, Callaway, etc. The game play itself is for the most part unchanged from the 2003/2004 versions of the game, so if you've played Tiger Woods PGA Golf before, you'll pick it up easily. I've suggested before on past Tiger Woods PGA game reviews that the old classic golfers should be brought to life on these games... in 2005, they're here. Play as or against the great ones, including Nicklaus, Palmer and Hogan.

THE NOT SO GOOD: This is such a good game, however it's not without flaws. Tiger Woods takes a decent amount of time to play (you better allow 20-30 minutes for 18 holes)... and I still can not believe there isn't a SAVE button (meaning, you have to complete the 18 holes before you can save a game). Too many little things slow the pace of the game down: Numerous celebrations by the golfers as they make a nice putt (if you're good at this game and you are consistently shooting better than par, you'll get tired of all the hoopla). Too many times your golfer bends down to tie his shoes (once or twice during the 18 holes I could expect, but 6 times?). Too many slow motion putts - from any distance if it reverts to slo-mo, you know the ball is going in the cup when it does this and it somehow takes the guess-work or chance out of it. Some of the remarks the commentators make are questionable at best. Semi-sarcastic comments like, "The ball appears to be heading toward the RIGHT side of the green." (well, that's where the pin is!); "The ball MIGHT make the green" (and the ball lands in the middle of the green); or after I lipped out a 28 foot putt leaving it inches away from the cup, he says "Well, that's just a BAD putt". The commentators also call you an "idiot" and a "moron" from time to time when you make a bad shot. The XBox version of this game moves from hole to hole at a slightly quicker pace than the PS2 version. Again, these things are very minor and should not take away from the incredible game play of Tiger Woods '05... the best golf SIM out there in '05.

Tiger Proofing, legends and new courses, that's the features this year. The graphics are the same,still no voice overs, and the PGA Tour is still a bit shabby. Vijay Singh is dropped from this years game, seeing as he is going to star in his own game, 'Vijay Singh Pro Golf 2006', which will probably come out next summer. Only legend worth playing is Jack Nicklaus.

Enough trasing this game, it was pretty good, but still not reaching it's golf simulating realism aim.

Graphics

Still the same, but not in a bad way. Atleast models have been improved by 15% and nike logos are more visible and real

8/10

Sound

Failed to put voice overs this year, but grunts and stupid announcing from sarcastic scotsmen make the sound ok to listen to. The tracks are soothing, not much hip hop like last year, although i fail to see what hip hop's gotta do with golf. Ain't golf a game of concentration.

8.9/10

Gameplay

Great, you'll come back for more, just like last year's edition. If you want to make your Playstation experience more golf like, buy a golf club simulating controler, available in 9 iron and sand wedge, and the game will actually be more fun to play, guaranteed.

10/10.

Overall

This game might be the same if you played last year's game, but the features are revamped and more greater. This game could reach classic status.

9/10.

Buy this if you are a golf fan, duh.

Tiger Woods 2004 is a very fun game, and although 2005 is just as fun, it is really just more-of-the-same. The golfing interface is almost identical to 2004, with only 1 improvement among the continuing set of flaws, and that 1 improvement may not even really be an improvement. I get the impression (and it may be this way with many of the game manufacturers) that they are just biding their time until next year when the PS3 comes out, and they are not wasting their energy to improve PS2 games. I'll think seriously about buying any more games this year at all, if this is going to be one of the best of the bunch for PS2.

PROS:

* Game play interface (analog swing, etc) is the same, and still good. In fact the best of all golf games.

* Online play is fun with friends or strangers.

CONS:

* Graphics/textures lacking. The clothes LOOK TERRIBLE in this game. Half of the pants look "soiled" unless they're a solid color, like black. It's obvious they didn't put much effort into improving the way this game looks, regarding grass, shadows, etc. The clothing designers should be embarrassed. The clothes look "frozen" in place like video games from a few years ago.

* Game Face II is tedious and annoying. It took me forever to make my first character because there is screen after screen after screen of options. Half of them you can't figure out what they're doing either, because there are no prompts telling you what's happening. It's a nice idea but the execution leaves much to be desired. The skin tone system is completely un-intuitive. First you pick some sort of "base tone" that looks like no human skin you've ever seen before, then "modify" it with TWO different sliders? This makes no sense -- you think you're making a caucasian and the guy comes out with gray alien skin. What's up with that?

* Finding items/clothing in pro-shop is SLOW, TEDIOUS and ANNOYING. The interface is WORSE than TW 2004. It honestly takes a full 2-3 seconds to scroll from item to item down a list that could have 50 items in it. Item sorting mechanism sucks, and for some reason when you go to the Pro Shop there are "Featured" items that are for some reason NEVER worth buying. Why is this even in the game? I suspect it has to do with how much money sponsors are paying to get products in the game.

* Game is still one giant golf equipment commercial. True, equipment is important in golf and it is a brilliant way to tie in product placements and make money for EA SPORTS. But still, I shouldn't have to feel like I'm prostituting myself just for selecting NIKE golf balls when I'm playing a game -- for no other reason than they have a higher spin rating. I honestly wish there were an option to TURN OFF THE BRAND NAMES. I'm certain this will never happen though.

* Leveling-up system gets old. It's the same video-game pattern as always. Win a game, get money, spend money on Attribute points. Rinse. Repeat. Until you get to Tiger who is like 99 on everything. By the time you've done that you're a good golfer and you can win. Yay.

* Chipping interface STILL SUCKS BAD!!!!! What's up with that square thing with the crawler dots? This is the worst part of the playing interface, and it makes no sense why they left it that way when the rest of the game is so good. ?????

* The course designer-thing is lame. Why can't I design a course from start to finish they way I want? Why do I have to pick a hole from this course, pick a hole from that course... I actually know why, it's because that would be a lot of work to build a level-creation engine into the game itself, but you play all the courses so dang many times you get tired of looking at them.

I'll be waiting until a major update for Playstation 3 to come out before I buy any more Tiger Woods golf games.

I have been playing Tiger Woods PGA tour 2005 every day for the last week. I have to say this is the best sports video game ever made. Here is why.....

1) It is very challenging. You will spend some time mastering this game. You make it through the legends tour and you think you are done, but no then you have the legend scenarios to go through. Not to mention the PGA career mode.

2) The anouncers in this game are the very best. I have played every day for a week. And I am still hearing the anouncers say things I have never heard them say before.

3) Most sports games are only fun if you are playing with a friend. Not this game, it is just as much fun wether you are trying to beat all the legends of golf, or if you are dropping a 40 foot put on your friend to win a match. I am not a golf fan, nor have I ever played golf, but this game is fun.

4) All the customizing you can do to your golfer. From choosing how he looks, what clothes he wears, to what animation he uses to celebrate good and bad shots. You can customize golf courses too, I havent even gotten into that.

5) The graphics are great, but I am so focused on trying to make shots. I rarely even notice them.

To be fair there are a few bad things and those are....

1) I almost would give this game 1 star for not having a warning that Justin Timberlake was in this game on the box. EA couldnt find anyone better for a celebrity appearance? Who are they marketing this game to any way?

2) Like someone else said, the PGA season mode gets pretty easy. Especailly after you have played through the legends tour, and get accustomed to having to make at least birdy on every hole. I have played 5 tournments and I have been averaging around -45 each one. Thats with tour difficulty on too. The courses for the legend tour are a lot harder than the courses for the PGA season mode.

3) I like having Tiger vision, but I wish you couldnt earn trophy balls, or records if you use it. There is no real way to read the green when putting so having Tiger vision does come in handy from time to time. But it is still kind of cheap to get trophy balls from using it.

and thats it, you wont have to worry about wasting money with this game.

I really liked this game. I'm not a golfer but really enjoyed this game alot. The commentary and gameplay are good and all of the courses are very realistic. It doesn't take too long to understand your controls either and the game gives you pointers on hitting the ball. If you've ever thought about buying a golf game, I'd recommend this one.

Hello. I've been a reviewer of games on Amazon for a long time, but I've NEVER seen a game like this. It's 200% out of 100% fun, and 1,000,00% out of 100% addictive. Legend Tour is the funnest mode. Now, I'm a fan of good multi-player games. We have A LOT of games here, and I havn't tried most of the single-player modes, either 'cause they're too hard... or because I like multi-player so much. This game was different. I got it for Christmas and I believe I've played it every day since. Legend Tour has you compete against legends like Arnold Palmer, Gary Player... and of course, Tiger Woods. You can also compete in the PGA Tour. When you create your player (yes, you can do that!), you can change stuff like, how pointy your nose is, adjust the curve of your eye fat, ex. You can also get better attributes from playing and earning money. When you get money, you can buy attributes, or go too the pro shop and but a lucky wristband, or choose your golf balls, or get some Tag Haeur, Nike, Taylormade, addidas, Cobra, Calloway, Cleveland, Dunlop, Never Compromise, Oakley, Oddessey, Rossa, Maxfli, or Ea Sports clothing or equipment. You can also buy animations, set your custom swing, and go through all the levels like Prodigy, Phenom, Champion, ex. while earning trophy balls, trophys, player of the month awards, and much much MUCH more! Oh, yeah, you can also unlock Justin Timberlake (not that you'd want to).

Sincerely, RedHawk48. GO COWBOYS! GO DESPERADOS! GO WHITE SOX!

I'm not commenting on how this compares to 2004, all I know is this is a fine video game. Honestly, I don't know what more they can do. Playing against the legends can be frustrating, and seem impossible, but when you beat them (finally) it's actually rewarding instead of just over with.

This game is the best TW game ever. It has the legend tour where you beat people to get to the Legends. Including: Jack Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Hogan, and Ballesteros. When you beat them then you unlock them to play with them or challenge them to a match.
Everything else is the same the same as last year. The thing that bugs me is where is all the good golfers? DiMarco, Couples, Sergio Garcia, and much more golfers I didn't mention. In 2005 they have Notah Begay, Charles Howell III, and Ty Tyron. These aren't elite golfers.
This is the only thing I don't like about this game, but if you are a golf fan go out and buy this game.