Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07

No longer can you “Happy Gilmore” your way onto the tour, you have to earn it with patience and skill. Golf fans rejoice, your virtual messiah has arrived and it is the UCAP version of Tiger Woods.

From the roster of PGA pros in here, to the venerable and exciting new courses (Bandon Dunes and the Prince Course at Kauai), there's a lot to get excited about. Perhaps most exciting, however, is the new true aiming system implemented for Tiger Woods 07.

Simply put, EA has genuinely raised the bar in the world of golfing games and Tiger Woods 07 will become the benchmark game that all others will be compared to for some time to come.

So despite the course deficiency the 360 has compared to its cheaper and older rivals, EA has produced the golf outing they should¹ve released a year ago.

A good game of golf. A beautiful title on the Xbox 360 that should be used to sell HDTVs. A fun and deep experience on Xbox Live.

A huge improvement over last year’s Xbox 360 game. Although it doesn’t have the same number of courses or golfers as the current-generation games, the graphics and gameplay make it the definitive Tiger Woods experience.

EA did one hell of a job with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 making it easily the best golf game I have ever played on a home console, having a perfect mix of arcade type golf and simulation style that those hardcore fans are going to love.

While this new version still lacks a lot of the content (courses) you can still get playing on last-gen systems, it certainly is a huge improvement from last year’s “golf sampler”, and with the integrated ESPN, amazing GameFace features for your characters and UCAP technology for the pros, and an enhanced True Swing and True Aiming system, this is by far the best and most advanced professional golf simulation available.

Depending on how you look at it, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 on Xbox 360 is either fantastic value and the best golf game on the market, or it’s a somewhat less-than-fantastic value update to a game that, while undeniably good, hasn’t gotten a great deal better.

Most importantly, the gameplay keeps what we love about Tiger and adds True Aiming, which calls for course management and a bit of strategy.

Still, Tiger 07 is a strong upgrade with lots of smart ways to have a great time playing a virtual game of golf. [Dec. 2006, p.75]

The most realistic golf video game I have ever experienced.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is like a drive that lands on the edge of the fairway. It’s a good shot and you’ll certainly take it, but there’s still a little room for improvement.

Despite a mostly muddling putting interface, PGA Tour 07 stands out as a great second edition golf game on the Xbox 360.

One of this year’s improvements also happens to be a disappointment. Last year, we were only given 6 licensed golf courses to choose from. This year, the number has been doubled to 12. However, the PS2, Xbox and PSP versions all contain 21.

Electronic Arts improves upon the solid foundation they laid with Tiger Woods 06 and builds a great game in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07.

Given that fact, however, this game largely remains the same as it ever was--due to the consistency of the gameplay from last year. But because that the tour has adopted the new FedEx Cup system, your career can't help but feel a little different. [Nov. 2006, p.128]

There are nits to pick, like having to hammer at buttons to bypass a predictable array of strolling animations, but Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is still slick as hell, and any golf enthusiast should be thrilled to bits with the depth of play to be had within.

Delivers next-gen golf as it was intended, delivering realistic golf gameplay that challenges even the best players, the ability to create a golfer out of the blue, and a surprisingly robust online community loaded with events, tournaments, and ESPN Integration.

With polished online play, great visuals, and the right mix of authenticity and accessibility, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is a solid package for golf fans. Unfortunately, the insulting shortage of courses on the 360 smarts a bit, and there's not a whole lot new since last year.

Had the course count been on par with the current-gen releases there'd be no question over which version you should buy, but even with nine less courses, I'd still recommend you go with Tiger's next-gen offering.

The "True Aiming" system is a wonderful addition and the new putting changes make the game incredibly fun and well worth your time, while the practice range offers up a more flexible environment to build your overall stats.

Glorious rendition of the gentleman's game that features more options than you can shake a nin iron at. [Issue 14, p.88]

The game looks and plays well on most every level, but you still feel like you're playing a game that was made four years ago.

It'll be hard to enjoy last year's game with this on store shelves. [Issue 17, p.72]

If you rushed out and picked up 06 for the new console on release, there isn't enough here to make you upgrade unless you need some help on the course or just have to have the latest graphic features and online play as the 2006 edition will be retired from online play sometime in the future.

Woods games have often done volume, but this one does fidelity - and while the next-gen golfing genre isn't exactly broad, we suspect being the best in a field of one will do them fine, especially since, in this case, it feels like it is mostly as good as it could be.

With its emphasis on realism and the upgraded graphics, it’s the best Tiger game to date, but it fails to trump many aspects of "Links," which is several years old now.

The additions are conceptually great, but only True Aiming offers much innovation. Still the best version out there, though, if you don't mind a reduced number of courses.

Once again, we've been treated to - at its core - an updated version of last year's game with a few minor tweaks to try and spruce things up. ESPN integration is sparse, the game itself plays much like last year (even with True Aiming once your golfer is good), and the complicated menu system and buggy online game yield more frustration than fun.

It just doesn't feel that different the previous installments. But since those previous installments were good games, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But publishers should stop holding content back from their next-gen sports games, especially when more full-featured versions are available at a cheaper price.

Tremendously fun. The subtle nuances and sheer competitiveness still make it the best realistic golf experience out there. There are nagging issues that continue to get overlooked, but whether or not you've been playing the game in years past, Tiger 07 is a must-buy for cyber golfers.

A vast improvement upon it's predecessors and an extremely enjoyable golf game, there still aren't enough courses but EA are clearly working on improving the franchise.

A good game, but will be challenging for new players with little patience.

The one real knock is that it takes a while for the screen to load in between holes. Also, a large grid that appears when you putt clunks up the play and takes away from the detailed graphics.

If you have an Xbox 360, this version is much improved over last year’s offering.

Anyway, 07 plays just fine, but once again this edition leaves you wanting (and expecting) much more. [Dec. 2006, p.132]

The gameplay itself has changed very little. [Dec 2006, p.82]

There're no stunning next-gen visuals to be found, and it doesn't help that it has such strong competition to live up to from its own predecessors.

The gameplay is expertly refined to such a degree that little more improvement can be achieved. Now all we need is the actual atmospheric experience to be up to par.

The Xbox 360 version Icon tested features 12 beautifully recreated courses, astonishingly realistic player animation and convincing crowds that even react when you hit a wayward drive in their direction.

The cups in this golf game don't exactly runneth over in terms of significant content, but at the same time, players shouldn't feel like they’re getting shafted. This is what the first Xbox 360 golf game should have been all along, a familiar but fun time on the links with striking visuals.