Amazon.com: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005: PC: Video Games

18 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

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3.6 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent follow-up to 2004, November 12, 2004

By	Jasmine T. Baer - See all my reviews

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 is a nice follow-up to the 2004 version. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the title, here is a brief summary:

Create your own golfer and take him from the ranks of the amateurs to the PGA tour, or play as one of several PGA Tour personalities included in the game, including up-and-coming youngsters Adam Scott, Charles Howell III, battle-hardened veterans like Colin Montgomery and Jesper Parnevik, multiple major winners Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen, LPGA hottie Natalie Gulbis, friend of Tiger Notah Begay III, and the man himself, Tiger Woods. Play on close to a dozen real courses (Pebble Beach, TPC at Sawgrass, Harbortown, etc.) and two fantasy courses.

Here's where 2005 improves on 2004:
1. More licensed equipment and clothing
2. More detailed character construction ("Game Face")
3. Sharper graphics
4. Legends Tour, where one can climb the ranks to challenge all-time studs Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, and Gary Player, as well as Seve Ballesteros and new legend Tiger Woods.

Here's where 2004 is better:
1. More well-known courses (Plantation course at Kapalua, Princeville, Poppy Hills, Spyglass, Sahalee, Coeur d'Alene, Bethpage Black, TPC at Avenel, etc.).
2. Driving range for practice.
3. Less-buggy.

I found one particularly irritating bug -
When I was playing against any legend on any course that was comprised of a compilation of holes from the included courses, there was one hole from St. Andrews (Old Course) in which the computer player would tee off on the par 4 with a lob wedge! Then, they'd putt about 20 feet. So, basically, I would tee off, hit the ball 275+ yards, and pretty much be up a stroke right off the bat.

Another irritating bug -
The commentary doesn't match the situation or outcome. For example, I'll hit an approach shot from 200+ yards away to within 8 feet of the cup, and David Feherety's voice will say something like, "That's not the worst shot in the world, but its not the best, either." Or, you could make a putt, and he'd say, "That's going to be way short," right when the ball drops into the cup. There are other silly mismatched comments, too.

The game ran well on my terrible MSI GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB video card, but I did run into a little lag from time to time. I upgraded to an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, and I can pretty much play the game at the highest quality levels now. I also tried the game on my same computer (P4 2.8c, 1 Gig of Corsair XMS RAM) with an ATI Radeon 9550 card, and it ran extremely well. Both Radeon cards were big time upgrades over the GeForce FX 5600XT.

Although 2005's courses aren't as great as 2004's, you can load 2004's courses into 2005, although they won't be available for tournament play, but you can still play matches on them. Check out any of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour forums online for more information on how to play 2004 courses in the 2005 game.

This is a really fun golf game with terrific graphics. I found the improved graphics, better "game face," and more licensed equipment a worthwhile reason for purchasing TW2005 even though I also own TW2004. I really don't think there is any other golf game out there that can match TW2005. MAKE SURE you have a PC and Video Card that MORE than meets the minimum requirements if you want to see graphics that will make you drool. I've seen what TW2004 looked like on a PC with only 16MB of Video RAM (the minimum system requirements) and a P4 2.0Ghz, and it wasn't pretty!

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars After 20 years, my dad is golfing again, April 26, 2005

By	Donald P. Martin Jr. "d_p_m_j" (Concord, NH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought Tiger Woods 2005 for my dad for Christmas. He's in his 60's, and TW'05 might be the first "toy" he's received for Christmas since his Red Ryder Air Rifle, with which he nearly put his eye out.

Anyway! We loaded up the game on his recently-purchased no-frills Dell computer and began playing immediately. He, my brother-in-law, and I played a few rounds and were able to understand most of the controls right away. As with TW'04, this version utilizes "True Swing" controls, where you roll the mouse back to pull back your club, and then push the mouse forward to swing. The mouse-swing determines how hard you hit the ball and if there is any slice or pull, and after several months of game play I can report that it is quite accurate (sometimes frustratingly accurate) and a great representation of a golf swing.

After playing a few rounds, my dad decided to create his own golfer. I am convinced that this was his favorite part of the game because he was laughing so hard he was hiccupping. "Game Face II" allows you to create a character who comes very close to looking like your own doppleganger. My dad's golfer looks just like him, and my golfer looks almost exactly like me (except for he's lost the twenty or so extra pounds).

When you start out with your golfers career, you have only a certain amount of money with which to buy attributes (your golfer's abilities) and equipment. There are several different ways to earn money; skills challenges, tournaments, and the legend's tour (match play against everyone from a middle-aged Vegas card-dealer to Palmer, Nicholas, and Tiger himself). There are also trophy balls that earn you cash... your first birdie, par, 300-yard drive, sub-60 round, bogie-free round, and hole-in-one are some trophy balls to put in your case, and when you get them, you're rewarded with some extra spending dough.

As your golfer's attributes improve, golfing lessons will be made available for a fee. If you pass the lesson, then new options or toolbar controls are added to the golf screen, including pitch, punch, flop, power, and chip shots, and sliders that will help you control how far your ball will fly or how much spin will be put on it when it hits the green.

I love the instant replays. If you strike a really good ball and it's going to come close to the hole, the screen will narrow to a widescreen format and the "camera" closes up on the pin. This is where my dad and I pray that the ball plops right on the rim of the cup and drops in for an ace or a double-eagle. Then you get to see the shot replayed from the ball's point-of-view, or from an invisible crane camera. You have the option of saving your replays to show your own dad later!

I brought up the fact that my dad's computer is an "economy" version (it was $400 new) because there was a pop-up warning when we first ran the game that reported his video card didn't meet the minimum requirements for the game. There were very few areas where this effected play, but recently I brought over a higher-end Dell laptop to his house and we tried the game on that. The difference was night-and-day. It was incredibly similar to watching golf on TV... but I imagine this is the case with most game software, so it's hard to single this out as a fault with TW'05. I just thought it note-worthy.

I have not experienced some of the issues others have had with the game, such as the competitor who decides to use a lob wedge on a long par four or five. What I do agree with, however, is some of the issues people have with the commentary. Sometimes it is dreadfully inaccurate. I've made countless shots that have either gone in the hole or achingly close, and the commentator says "whoa, that's going to come up well short" or "that might make the front of the green... not a horrible shot." Those comments are irritating, but what gets my dad is when they tell you that a putt looks dead straight when it fact it's as sharp a right or left slope as found on any mountain ledge.

But the biggest thing for me about Tiger Woods 2005 is this: In the middle of the winter, my dad was able to sit down at his computer and hit a golf ball. When my mom told me on the phone that my dad said to her "it feels just like I'm actually on the golf course" my day was made. He plays for at least a little while every day, and he enjoyed the game so much that I purchased TW'04 for his birthday last week, and I'm beginning to plan for the computer upgrades necessary for his computer for when TW'06 comes out later this year.

About the only reason why I don't give TW'05 a 5-star rating is that even though it is full of features and challenges, there simply needs to be more. The game is so much fun, but there comes a time when there is nothing else on which to spend the money you win, not enough courses, not enough challenges once you pass a certain level. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 is an excellent, excellent game, but once you're completely hooked, there's nothing more to achieve.

Still, and I must restate this, my dad and I have a blast when we get together and play a round or two. My wife has been a TW'05 widow for the past month or so when I break out my game, and more than once the next morning I've woken up groggy for work because I've had so much fun. If you're looking for a game that can be PLAYED by grown-ups (i/e, you don't wield a laser-cannon and shoot everything in sight at 90-MPH 'til you have a siezure) then by all means, give TW'05 a try, at least to rent, and don't be surprised if you put an order on this page soon thereafter.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy the gamepad controllers! Tiger Woods 2005 rocks!, July 11, 2005

By	C. Plumley "im2bavet" (Whitefield NH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

TW2005 is fantastic in almost every regard BUT do not naively buy the Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 (or any other gamepad) listed below as an accessory because this game does not support gamepad use. Technically you can program the gamepad to work with the game but it will not work effectively (i.e. not sensitive enough to emulate a full power swing). So use your good old mouse and send a little letter to EA Games begging for gamepad compatibility!

Otherwise, this game is incredible is every regard! Graphics are lifelike, sound is sweet, commentators are hilarious (even if they stink at reading putts), and the options are endless!