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CNET editors' rating:
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Excellent
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Product summary
Don't let the understated presentation fool you: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 is a great portable golf game.
Specifications: ESRB: Everyone; Genre: Sports; Number of players: 1-4 Players See full specs
Price range: $15.33 - $29.99
Gamespot editors' review
- Reviewed on: 09/21/2007
- Released on: 08/28/2007
Armchair golfers have grown accustomed to getting yearly updates of the Tiger Woods series on consoles, but Nintendo DS owners had to wait nearly three years for their latest Tiger fix. However, that long wait was worth it, because Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 surpasses its predecessor in every possible way. All of the play options you could want are here, including offline and online multiplayer. The new touch-screen swing controls are intuitive and engaging, and though the overall presentation is a touch plain, the onscreen depiction of the various professional golfers and PGA Tour courses is remarkably realistic.
An abundance of play modes let you get in a few quick swings or spend your whole afternoon on the green. You can practice specific holes, go through a full round on any of the eight included PGA courses, test your skills in dozens of golf-inspired minigames (called Tiger Challenges), or take advantage of the built-in memory to gradually work through an entire season. The more you play, the more you'll find yourself bouncing between the different Tiger challenges and PGA events to earn the money necessary to buy into individual contests and to purchase new clothes and better equipment for your custom golfer. Stroke, match, skins, Stableford, and shootout-style configurations are available for both solo and local multiplayer. Match play under the "one ball" option is especially fun because you and a friend have to take alternate shots using the same ball. Sadly, the online component drops match play, but it does allow head-to-head competitions in all of the other configurations.
Wisely, the development team threw out the trace-based shooting mechanic from the previous Tiger Woods game and implemented a more intuitive drag-and-flick mechanic for this latest installment. After selecting a shot type and club from the touch screen, you simply drag the stylus downward on the touch screen to initiate your backswing, and then pull it upward to strike the ball. You can take a brief pause between the backswing and downswing to charge power into the shot, but the overall shot strength and distance is mainly determined by how quickly you draw upward on the touch screen. Dragging in a straight line will result in a straight drive, and angling your stroke will cause the ball to veer to the left or right. Once the ball is in flight, you can put frontspin or backspin on the ball by rapidly drawing upward or downward strokes on the touch screen. As you can see, every aspect of the shot is handled with the touch screen. By and large, this drag-and-flick mechanic mimics the act of swinging a club really well. However, if you prefer the classic button-based tap-and-release mechanic, you can choose that control option from the settings menu.
The putting controls take time to master, and you'll probably gnash your teeth the first few times you're asked to sink the ball from the green. Instead of flicking the stylus, all you have to do is position a target marker to set the power and angle of your shot, and then tap to make contact with the ball. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done, given that it isn't immediately obvious how power translates into distance. Likewise, changes in elevation can have a major impact on how far the ball travels. Just like in real golf, you'll need to make a few crummy putts to get a feel for the process.
Continue reading- See more CNET content tagged:
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- Electronic Arts Inc.
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Where to buy
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (DS):
$15.33 - $29.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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$29.99 | Yes |
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$29.99 | Yes |
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$18.99 | No |
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$15.33 | Yes |
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