Dominate the PGA in Electronic Arts' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08. This year's edition of the company's annual golf franchise retains the quality play of last year's game, but developer Tiburon injected it with some key features that'll make it stand out from its predecessor.
It starts with EA Sports GamerNet, an online feature designed to build community and get competitive juices flowing. This mode allows you to record and upload everything you do, from dramatic hole in ones to impossible shots. Not only does this give other gamers something to look at, but they can also attempt to recreate your classic moments, the goal to prove that what you did wasn't that amazing. You'll also earn points for successfully completing challenges, and these get uploaded onto online leader boards. Even better, EA may upload its own challenges. Gamers can even vote on which ones they like the best, which (in theory), causes the best ones to bubble to the top. Thus, the mode has infinite replay value. You could play this for months without tapping into the rest of the game.
We envision EA applying GamerNet to all of its sports games. In NBA Live, for example, users could upload their late game heroics and then challenge you to match them. The same goes for Madden and NHL. Score two touchdowns with a minute left in the fourth quarter? No problem.
We also love the Confidence Meter, which will change sports video games forever. Instead of approaching the next hole with all your abilities intact, how you perform depends on what you previously did. If you take risky shots and fail to deliver, for example, your pro golfer loses confidence, increasing the likelihood that you'll screw up even more. Other factors, such as shot type, club used and distance also determine your shakiness. This also affects the targeting circle. If you suck, the circle grows, making it difficult to play. If you dominate the course it decreases, giving you a much better opportunity to make the tour-winning putt.





Reader Comments (0)