Graphics

• The graphics in Tiger Woods were some of the best that EA had to offer in a first generation 360 game.
• Character models look great and the character creation tool allows you to create some satisfyingly original golfers.
• While the fairways, rough, and trees looked better than ever, a lot of the detail seemed to be missing.
• Some lies will look like they are on a slope, however, the slope in the lie screen is never taken into account.
• Hitting the ball off the course isn’t shown at all because there is no rendering of any of the course outside the current hole you are on.
• Each hole is in perfect condition.
• This seems highly unlikely in the fourth round of major tournament.
• There are no weather effects.
• The lighting effects could have been more dynamic.
• Static shadows are produced by the trees.
• Some courses are darker for some reason making it harder to make out the differences between fairway and rough.
• This ties into the fact that there are no weather effects to change the lighting on the course.
• It is fun though to watch the ball bounce off one of the 3D spectators when hit into the crowd.
• Overall the graphics looked really good and crisp in HD, but there was a lack of dynamics to the graphics.
• Every hole looked the same every time you played the hole.
• Still for a launch title I think they did a pretty good job but I expect to see a lot more in the future.

Sound

• The sound in PGA Tour 06 is a bit on the poor side.
• Sound effects are kept to a minimum, with chirping birds and sounds surrounding the ball, and crowd cheers
• The crowd sounds nice and cheers in full surround sound, however, there are a lot of times where the crowd could have cheered louder or at all.
• There is also some voice work in the game.
• Fans of the series will recognize the banter between the two commentators Gary McCord and David Ferridy.
• Before each hole you’ll be given an explanation on how to play the hole and what to watch out for during a fly by.
• Your character will even have some canned phrases that he will say as he makes or misses certain shots.
• Musically the game’s theme song is pretty good since it’s done by the well known artist Dave Mathews.
• However, it seems like the entire music budget must have went to Dave, because the rest of the music is boring no named instrumentals that just fill space with melodic repetitious beats.
• I suppose you don’t need much of a soundtrack in a golf game, but EA usually has a better showing that, and you’ll no doubt want to listen to custom tracks on your hard drive or something else.
• You can turn on the music to play during the game too which is probably worth it since there isn’t much else to listen too.

Captivation

• Over the years, Tiger Woods has lost some of its captivation by offering the same game repackaged.
• But on the 360, even more cuts have caused the replay value to be diminished.
• Having only six courses makes the game get older faster.
• The lack of need to collect equipment or to have any incentive to make money takes away from the experience.
• Also the lack of a special events calendar takes away from some of the replay value
• It was sort of cool to have to play the challenges to become a pro, but since I was already used to the controls and the challenges from previous versions it seemed more like busy work.
• What is left is a fun number of challenges and tournaments that you can play to max out your characters attributes and win your typical trophy balls.
• Unfortunately this is another game that really fails to use the achievement system to its full potential.
• The only way to get the achievements is to play the game online.
• It seems like the achievements should somehow be tied to the unlockables and the trophy balls as well.
• Most of the replay will come in the form of online play.
• Because using Tiger is almost as good as using a fully maxed user character, many people may not even bother playing the offline mode.
• Overall the game is fun, but too many features are lacking to provide much replay ability and captivation.

Final Thoughts

• Positives
• Improved visuals over the current-gen versions.
• The same old familiar gameplay that fans of the series are used to.
• Decent sound effects and music.
• Good online play for Xbox Live.
• Negatives
• Yet another EA game that takes away features that we are used too.
• A lack of detail in graphics and gameplay makes the game feel simplistic.
• A poor achievement system makes the game less rewarding for those who like to collect achievements.

Bottom Line

• A good launch title that might still be of value to golf fans who want a bargain game.