Tiger Woods 07 is another notch in EA Sports’ belt of great sport games.  The latest edition to the Tiger Woods golf line is still impressive with some novel ideas like the new Game Face character creation tool, 12 new championship and fantasy courses, 20 or so PGA pros including a couple from the LPGA, and the new Team Tour Mode. In my opinion it does fall short of looking or sounding like a game that possesses the most recent graphic engines or other new fangled technology.  Not to say it’s a bad game, it just does not send my senses into overload.

The character creation tool allows you to create players giving them a unique look.  You have the power to adjust just about every feature from type of build, eyes, nose, body, cheeks, hair, etc.  I mean you literally can adjust just about every detail with a handy slider bar to have your player resemble you or anyone you can imagine.  Once you get the basics down you could find yourself spending hours just making new golfers. Once your new golfers start winning tourneys and earning a nice bankroll, you can spend the new found cash on some apparel.  This gives you even more creative options.

 Once you have your new player looking all professional and ready to hit the links, you can spend a bit of your start up money to get some lessons.  These are essential for both learning the basics as well as developing some special skills for those tough lies.  You can always practice on the driving range, but the lessons will certainly take some newbie frustration right out of the learning curve.  Those familiar with the TW games may not find these lessons as valuable as someone new to the game.
 
The all-new team tour mode allows you to take on a team of champions that Tiger has assembled.  You can master your skills, recruit and manage an unstoppable squad, and set your sights on a showdown against team Tiger Woods.  Also new to TW 2007 is the new Risk meter.  On the left side of the screen is a handy tool that gives you the odds before your shot.  This gives you an idea if it would be better to lay up or go for the glory.  As you adjust your clubs, stance or aim, the meter goes up or down giving you a better idea what is more likely going to be a good shot.  Great for those in between club type shots!

 Speaking of shots, players will find that there are multiple ways in which you choose to play the game.  You can use keyboard commands, a game pad or my favorite “True swing” with the mouse.  This is the most realistic way to play golf on a PC.  You actually move the mouse back (your back swing) then push it forward (your down swing).  Depending on your speed in which you do these has a direct effect on the flight of the ball.  With my cordless mouse on my dining room table it slides pretty good so I actually push it forward and let it go as it slides across the table.  This gives me the feel of playing the old coin operated stand up version of Golden Tee, which utilizes a track ball for control.  True swing has been part of the Tiger Woods line of golf games for some time now but it is still a fantastic feature.

There are 12 Championship and Fantasy Courses — New PGA TOUR licensed courses include The Four Seasons Resort Aviara, The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Riviera Country Club, The National, and The K Club, home of The Ryder Cup 2006.  These 12 new courses are sure to pose quite a challenge even to those die-hard video golfers out there.

Tiger Woods golf games brought to us from EA have always been quite popular and this new edition is no exception.  I would have liked to have seen some better graphics offered as technology has certainly offered us gamers more realistic visual quality over the past few years.  Unfortunately this coupled with so-so audio quality does not make this new title really that much different than any previous ones.  Yes there are some nice new features, and courses and the game face allows creativity beyond most conventional games, but there is nothing that new that screams BUY ME!  I do think TW07 is certainly a fun game and if you have not bought a golf game in the last couple of years, I would absolutely recommend picking this one up.

Gameplay: 8           
Those old TW fans will find that basics are still the same.  Those new to the TW golf games will find that there are numerous ways to actually swing your clubs and all are quite easy to learn.  It is just a matter of finding what works best for you. The user interface is pretty straightforward and there are plenty of game variations to give this title replay ability.

Graphics: 7
Visually the game looks good.  There is a lot of detail found on the courses but unfortunately it looks a bit blocky. The players could have been a more defined as well.  They too looked like players from older titles.  Though you can play this game on most systems, it would have been nice to see a more modern looking graphic engine to add to the realism of the game. Having complete camera control lets you get a look at every shot from different points of view.
 
Sound: 7
The music in the game is nothing to write home about and the ambient sounds and the commentating is ok.  One note about the commentating is that every once and a while there are a couple of good one liners that will be sure to have you giggling in your back swing. The birds chirping, the gallery applauding, and every other smidgeon of audible detail help to give you a sense of actually being on a course.  There were times though that the animal sounds were a bit over done and I thought I was putting in a zoo.  Ever see a loon on a desert course?  Me neither but I guess you can hear them here! I also would note that I would expect to hear a rattlesnake on a desert course especially out of bounds or in the rough, but not every 5th or 6th green.  Just a bit overdone is all but hey that’s my opinion.

Difficulty: Medium
Sure you can pick up the sticks, hone your skills, and climb your way to the top of the leader board, but there are some pretty challenging game modes as well as playing against other hacks online.  As with all games you can always find somebody better if you look long enough.

Concept: 6
I have been a fan of the Tiger Woods PGA games since day one, but as far as a concept goes I just do not see anything ground breaking here to justify a “new concept”.   Its golf!  Always will be but at least we have a couple of new game options and an up to date pro list of 21 players to choose from.

Multiplayer: 8
MP is supported on both LAN and the Internet, You are sure to find plenty of other video golfers out there to challenge to make this game fun for quite sometime.  You can play up to 8 players over 14 different games.  You can also take on up to 3 different players in an online tournament.

Overall: 7.5
It’s a sure bet that this will be a hit this Christmas for all those golf fans that can’t get on the course until the snow melts or away from the office long enough for a round. The best thing about this one is that for about the price of a round of golf you will get great golfing at some pretty nice courses all year long.  Still not a bad deal in my book.