Genre: Sports
Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Sports
Release Date: March 24, 2005

Buy 'TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 2005': PSP

The Sony PSP presents a unique opportunity for developers to release a game that is almost identical to its console counterparts. Nowhere is this more evident than in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005. EA has come up with a golf game that resembles the console versions so much it's uncanny. While the results of this port are impressive, the game didn't come across without its share of flaws.

Tiger Woods can be considered the penultimate video game golf experience. The whole feel of becoming a professional golfer is represented quite well, and the presentation of this game is so incredible, you'll likely be blown away. When you start the game, you'll first create your golfer, and you'll be able to customize or alter just about everything. From the length of your hair to the size of your nose and the muscles on your arms and legs, an insane number of physical attributes can be altered to create a golfer that looks as much or as little like your real life persona as you want. Following this, you can pick out the clothes that your golfer wears, being able to select among shorts, pants, jeans, polo shirts, mock turtlenecks, hats, headbands, glasses, watches, shoes, sandals, and just about anything else that you can possibly imagine. As you progress, you'll open up tons of new and different looking clothing items as well.

All of this physical customization is just the start of the experience. You can also purchase new clubs, grips, gloves, balls, tees, and other golf-related equipment. Depending on the cost of the items, they can help boost some of your attribute scores as well, since these different items can enhance things like recovery, power, spin, accuracy, and all the other attributes. It takes money to buy the best items, which is what golfing and winning tournaments is for. As you make money through your victories, you can purchase better clubs, or just pump up your attributes to turn your golfer into some sort of an insane super-pro.

While half of the fun is creating and customizing your golfer, the real meat of the game is obviously hitting the links and playing the game. There are 12 courses to experience, and each one of them is accurately represented as far as the hardware allows it to be. For instance, the course at Hilton Head, South Carolina, looks incredibly close to the real thing. I've been there, and I've also watched the course be played on television, so it's nice to see such little details as the lighthouse and the boats lined up at their docks represented just as they are in real life. Courses like the legendary St. Andrews are present as well, each modeled after the real thing with as much detail as possible, so it's apparent that the development team went the extra mile to get everything down and accurate. I've played the console versions, and the courses are just about identical to what's seen on those versions, which is really quite a feat.

The actual mechanics of golfing remain unchanged from the console versions as well. The analog nub is used to swing the club, by drawing back and pushing it forward. Unfortunately, the analog nub doesn't feel quite as accurate as the console analog sticks do, so it's hard to avoid hitting a slice or a draw when you swing. After a bit of practice, you can almost completely eliminate this from happening, but it seems to occur a bit too frequently. The right trigger can be pressed repeatedly when you draw the club back to increase power, and you can also hit it while the ball is in flight to cause the ball to spin in any direction you want. The left trigger is used for club selection. Putting is also identical to the console versions, in that you choose the location to aim your putt and then use the analog nub to hit the ball. Your caddy assists you with putting, and for the most part is accurate, but it's best to learn to read the breaks yourself and make your own judgment, using the caddy tips as a loose guideline.

Playing 18 holes can unfortunately take quite a long time, due to an insane amount of loading that takes place between holes. It takes around 30 seconds between holes for the next one to load, which is really a pain to have to wait so long to get back into the action. It might be forgivable if the loading were limited to between holes, but almost every action is accompanied by a lengthy load time. Buying new clubs, editing your appearance, heck, even bringing up the menu in the middle of the game precipitates loading, which really hurts the overall flow of the game.

And there is a LOT of game to be played here. There are three different modes of play: rookie, pro, and legend. Each one of these tours has both tournaments to play and rivals to face, and as you face the rivals, you unlock that golfer as well as the next challenge in line. As you progress, you'll have to keep on upgrading your attributes and equipment in order to remain competitive and complete the challenges ahead. There are also other challenges that require you to win medals by completing certain shots. All in all, this adds up to a lengthy experience that will take quite a while to finish to 100%.

Graphically, the game is amazing. The character models are quite detailed and look absolutely stunning. The courses are also realistic, and the water is reflective and rivals anything that you'd see on a console. The only things that really need a bit of work are the textures. The grass is fairly bland and stale looking, and outside of the main course area, the backgrounds are pretty empty as well. Overall, the game looks quite nice, and you can hardly find much to complain about.

The sound is also implemented well. There are some good announcers who make timely commentary on your shots. The ambient sounds while you are golfing are also realistic and help add to the impression that you're really hitting the links. There are also some nice musical tracks on the menu screens. EA typically does a good job on the sound, and there is no exception for the portable rendition of Tiger Woods on the PSP.

Another welcome feature of the portable version is the multiplayer. You can link up to another system wirelessly for some head-to-head play, as well as taking turns on the same system and passing it around between your friends. There are the typical skins and versus modes as well as some added modes to help throw in some variation to the ordinary golfing experience. If you can find some friends to play along with, you'll certainly find a lot to enjoy.

EA's first version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour on Sony's handheld is an impressive outing and a must-play for fans of the console versions of the game. The only problems are the excessive load times and some of the control issues that don't quite mesh with the new handheld. Everything else represents the complete console version of the game, wrapped up in a small package for the PSP. If you can get past the issues that plague this golf endeavor, you'll find a fun and lengthy experience awaiting you.

Score: 8.0/10