Tiger Woods 2008 (PS3) - Mini review

[dane_peterson]

So after severe disappointment with this at first due to lack of EA online support, I'm starting to really appreciate this game. Here's a list of new features this year:

EA Sports Gamernet is a new option that allows you to load replays online to show off to fellow gamers. You can save one shot, one hole, front 9, back 9, or the ENTIRE round online! You can also challenge other players through this menu by challenging posted clips. Other challenges include "freestyle - trick shots", "long drive", etc.

Shot Confidence makes this years' edition a little more like real life. It tracks EVERY shot on EVERY hole in your career. Your performance on each swing will affect the aiming circle size in the future. As you perform well, your confidence will improve and the target will shrink. Performing not-so-well will adversely affect your aiming circle and performance in the future. You can view these statistics in the "Confidence" menu while paused.

The new fade/draw technology makes a lot more sense this time around, and getting a perfect swing is much more difficult. Pulling and slicing is much more common, and an indicator pops up after your swing to show shot power percentage and hook/perfect/slice status. This will be refreshing for those who could complete a season with their eyes closed in the past.

There's a lot more to complete in this year's version as well. The Tiger Challenge is much more involved, requiring you to complete several mini-events before challenging a player.
"Three Click Swing" is back like the good old days, where you can view the power bar and click anywhere within the power bar. Pull this option up by pressing R3. Convenient when you're in between clubs, or just sick of swinging the joystick.

They've also added 5 more courses this year: Cog Hill, Harbour Town, TPC Boston, Westchester CC, and East Lake.

The coolest feature by far is the new Photo Game Face, which allows users to upload photos of themselves and have faces custom-built by the graphics engines within the game. This feature was unaccessible for the last week, but I was finaly able to get a couple faces loaded and put together. The image posted below is my brother standing next to his photo gameface character. Pretty amazing.

[avelanchefan]

Hey Dane, I have this for the 360, and I have to say this is one incredible game. I do not have the photo-eye for the 360, but the graphic detail in this game is nothing short of amazing. To me this is by far the best Tiger yet.

I am halfway through the Tiger challenge and have yet to play a single round on the "Tour" but I am having a blast with the challenges, and it is easily keeping my attention.

I also agree with your assesment of the fade and draw. No longer do you have to hold the opposite stick to place your shot left or right. Just press and hold the "b" button, and then press "rb or lb" to fade or draw. Thats it!

I also like the 3 click option. Brings back fond memories of Links golf for the PC. I have yet to truely try it because I like the stick better.

I also found the putting to be more accurate than in the 2007 version. For some reason TW07 was just an odd array of glitchyness in the putting department. ONe shot would zoom pass the whole, and you would have the same shot in another round and compensate for the speed only for the ball to zoom past the whole again. I also like the putting marker. You press the "rb" button and it will show you where exactly the putt will run....BUT you can only use it once on each hole, so it has a nice effect.

Overall I give the game a solid 9/10. It loses a point due to the same lame commentary that they had last year. Cmon' EA, update the voice overs, it's not that it's bad, it's just the same comments from last year.

[krabby5]

I still wish you could map the power button though...if you switch the swing stick to the right, you aren't able to power up anymore, because the A button is in the way of the right stick...kinda odd..

I like the game though, and I was finally able to upload my pics to the EA server. I started laughing when my face came up..looks just like me..which is bad..:D

Ave fan...You do know that you don't need the Xbox camera to get your face in the game right? I'm not sure if I understood you there..

[swerve]

i picked up the gamefor ps2... i have no complaints so far.

i plan on picking up a ps3 soon with this game as well.
hopefully then i'll be playing online too.

[avelanchefan]

Ave fan...You do know that you don't need the Xbox camera to get your face in the game right? I'm not sure if I understood you there..

Hey tell me more this! I have not investigated it enough, I just thought you needed the camera to get your face on. So you send them a picture and they render your face?

[dane_peterson]

Yep.
You go to www.easportsworld.com, and create an account. From there you can upload a front and side profile photo, tweak the size, and access it online from your gaming system. Pretty cool as long as you're patient! It may take a few tries to get the photos loaded, as the server is getting its butt kicked still.

[swerve]

i recorded this video this morning during a quick round of match play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo5IwHbYPCc

[mrbigbluelight]

Great looking game, with some spiffy features.

My sons were playing and, after hitting a 50 ft putt, the ball rimmed the cup for about 30 seconds (literally). We thought we had sank into a glitch, but the ball finally sank.

They uploaded it to Xbox Live (?) gamer board (?) as a challenge ( I think that's what it's called).

So far...... cool game to watch !

[chillywilly]

I was totally let down with 07 to but 08 is a whole lot better. My wife and I are really enjoying it. (ps3)

[PADZZ]

I had trouble loading my pic on IE, then tried Netscape and it works fine. My ugly mug looks quite good on there. Pretty fun changing your look.

[Shizelbs]

Just thought I would add that my wife and I play this game for the Wii.

Side note, after playing about 5 rounds of TW on the Wii, my wife's real life golf swing is noticeably better, as is her overall form.

Anyways, being on the Wii, the game is obviously a crippled version of the other next gen versions. The graphics are truly PS2, if that good, no online matches, and I believe a few other missing features. Oh yeah, no uploading your pics and adding your face. However, the game is very fun. Best golf game on the Wii right no, no doubt about it. The Wii Sports version of golf is cute, but Tiger beats it in every possible way.

You control the game just like you think you would. The further back you draw the club, the more power you'll hit with. The Wii remote based on your pitch and angle can determine if you mishit the ball. It can detect draws, fades, hooks, pushes, all that stuff. There are even variations on straight. The Wii remote will detect hits that are lightly off center. The Wii technology is implemented very well, something that apparently was not the case for last years version.