Aug 31, 2007

Tiger Woods has been running roughshod over hapless golfers for more than a decade now.  Much like his legendary bank account, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 sports an embarrassment of riches. Packed to the gills with features and modes, EA's annual golf outing is a rousing success - provided you're willing to put in some work. After all, beating The Man doesn't come easy.

It's tough to compete with the big boys at first, since your created character starts as a flat-out terrible hack. There's no set path to becoming a top-flight player, other than spending plenty of time in the game honing your skills and nabbing upgraded gear. Initially, the Tiger Challenge mode is a more forgiving way than the PGA season to build up your stats, but regardless of which way you go you'd better be prepared to hit some pretty awful shots. A lot. No matter how badly you play, though, each good walk ruined contributes to your abilities - just be sure not to smash your controller along the way.

Two sets of controls are available, depending on your mood. The left analog stick can handle the swing, which is more natural but tends to allow for some serious wildness in all directions if you don't focus like a laser beam. There's also the more traditional three-click approach that golf game gurus have been using for decades. It all works perfectly well - almost too well when you don't line up the club, wind, and course layout just right. Spectators beware!