![]() Wouldn't features like that bring us closer to a next-generation of videogame golfing? I've also long been dreaming of a PGA Tour that has some TV presentation. The career mode has been set back and still the console versions lack all-important presentation elements like random weather. We've got our Tiger for 360 launch, but at the price of a rushed entry. It runs on an upgraded graphical engine, that I fancy on my HDTV (finally widescreen Tiger is here!), but at its core it's nothing more than minor tweaks over the console versions with fewer features. As it turns out, Tiger 06 for the Xbox 360 launch isn't so different. I've been hearing for months that Tiger for the 360 will bring simulation nerds a truer experience and amp up the level of the immersion. ![]() As the years progress, we hope EA rethinks its strategy and tries to one-up all its current Tigers (including PC), bringing fans a deeply immersive golfing experience, tons of courses, features, weather effects, and, hey, maybe even another tweak or two to the swinging and putting systems. EA has given you a respectable option, but it's also not adding much value over the current generation Tiger titles. All of those things considered, it seems like Tiger 06 is more for the hardcore fans who just can't do without a more technologically impressive golf game for their 360s. There's no return of skill tests or target shootouts, but since Tiger 06 for 360 seems to focus more on the realism of the sport, maybe that's not so fitting anyway. ![]() As well, multiplayer options are still available both online and off. Normally you didn't get that atmosphere, but now you do and you can even peg them with errant hits, whereupon they'll react pretty accurately to where they got smacked. Additionally EA has added in the crowds, which is a big deal for those that have previously played on the PGA Tour modes in past Tigers. It also has the advanced create-a-player options it's always had in addition to a bevy of custom animations you'll be able to unlock - a number of which are actually quite funny. However, it still has many of the advancements that the series has made with dual analog swinging and putting. It's hitting the reset button on the graphics engine and the game features. What you get with it on the Xbox 360 is very straightforward. Now, having brought up some of these downsides, it's important to still understand that Tiger is still fundamentally enjoyable. This franchise still does not meet fans with a level of immersion that puts you deep in the tour with club house presentation, fancy camera work, or perhaps cut-scene updates with highlights from competing players. And when you finally enter the Tour the lack of presentation continues. ![]() Other than having the desire to unlock some pro shop items and max out your created player, there's not a lot of incentive to keep playing these courses, let alone the PGA Tour. You are trapped in time and space you will never experience the dewy fairways of Sawgrass' mornings, the uncertainty of dense fog, or the difficulties of a rainy day or twilight - all features PC fans will know are not new to the Tiger series. It's pretty much the same thing in repetition. You've got four 18-hole rounds (72 holes) to play in these conditions. To help you better get a sense of it all, imagine this: it's sunset, the wind is gently blowing, and the crowds are gathered. Q-School is a great example of how the game can fall flat because of this. A big part of that issue, as we've said, is only having access to six courses. It's a core problem with the new Tiger for 360 - there's only an average amount of work put into the presentation. It became a tedious obstacle that stood between us and the PGA Tour. The 72 holes of Q-School were so gruelingly redundant that for one of the first times in the history of EA's Tiger franchise, we wanted to just stop playing all together. This setup doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, when you start to experience a game over such a small amount of courses that are devoid of variety, things get old fast. Once you open TPC, Q-School will be in session - the four-round tournament that decides your entry into pro status and the PGA Tour which is the bulk of the career experience. You begin with simple chip-in challenges and par three limited face-offs at Pebble Beach, but soon after you will unlock Riviera and TPC Sawgrass. The idea is that you will work your way up from being an amateur to a full-fledged PGA pro that takes the masters one day. This means you'll be playing a lot of Pebble Beach if you don't start a career. To even get a hold of these six courses, you have to play through Career mode.
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