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> Results: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
Catch a ﾑTigerﾒ for your homeItﾒs easy to become blas￩ about sports game sequels because they appear every year like clockwork, and often do not have enough new features to justify the purchase. But after taking a swing with the latest ﾓTiger Woodsﾔ title, itﾒs evident EA Sports has spent considerable time and effort to evolve this franchise by adding more game modes, an intuitive swing mechanism, online play, life-like graphics and more depth, options and customizability.  Quite simply, no other game is on ﾓparﾔ with ﾓTiger Woods PGA Tour 2004ﾔ ﾖ itﾒs simply the best golf game around. As its name suggests, ﾓTiger 2004ﾔ title lets gamers play as ﾖ or against ﾖ Tiger Woods and about 15 other PGA pros such as Ty Tryon, Vijay Singh and Charles Howell III. Five new players have been added since last yearﾒs game, including John Daly, Adam Scott and Natalie Gulbis (the first time a LGA player has made it to this franchise). If players donﾒt want to play as someone else, this yearﾒs game introduces the ﾓEA Sports Game Faceﾔ option, allowing players to create a unique golfer from scratch, right down to his or her clothes, face, hair color and style, skin color, body type, name and more. Like the real Tiger, gamers can vie for sponsorships from real golf clothing and equipment manufacturers such as Nike ﾖ and wear the apparel during matches. And similar to a feature usually found in role-playing games (RPGs), players can also spend cash won from successful matches to increase golfer attributes in various areas such as power, spin, luck and drive accuracy. But one of the most dramatic changes in ﾓTiger 2004ﾔ over past games in the series is the introduction of a real-time analog stick swing, compared to the classic ﾓthree-tapﾔ button approach. Therefore, players simply pull back on the console controllerﾒs left analog stick (or on the PCﾒs mouse) and then pushes forward to strike the ball. This takes some getting used to, but proves to be a more intuitive swing mechanism after the learning curve is hurdled. Plus, the narrated tutorial helps teach players how to best get a grip on putts, chips, swings, pitches and spins. Seven new courses are added to this yearﾒs game for a total of 19, including prestigious links such as Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and the Royal Birkdale Golf Club. A handful of fantasy courses are in the game, too. With hip-hop or alt rock music playing in the background, the main screen lets users choose the desired game mode: ﾓPlay Nowﾔ quick matches; a deep and customizable career mode; head-to-head gaming matches and tournaments over the Internet (PlayStation 2 and PC versions only); a ﾓWorld Tourﾔ mode to unlock new golfers, accessories and bonus ﾓswingﾔ styles; and alternative golf games such as Battle Golf, Long Drive Shootout and Best Ball.  Like many sports video games today, the disc also houses DVD-like ﾓEA Sports Extrasﾔ with Tiger interviews, career highlights and trailers to other EA Sports games. ﾓTiger Woods PGA Tour 2004ﾔ will appeal to novice and seasoned gamers alike, and will provide many hours of family-friendly fun ﾖ especially for serious fans of the sport who canﾒt tee off in real life as often as theyﾒd like. Platforms: The PC version is the clear winner here. The Internet options are the most generous, the graphics look the best, and youﾒve got the mouse swing (which beats using the analog stick. The GameCube version and Xbox versions are about equal because thereﾒs no online multiplayer (EA wonﾒt play with Xbox Live and Xbox owners should probably wait for Links because of this). The PS2 version has multiplayer, decent graphics, and probably the best controller for this game, aside from the PC mouse. Kid Factor: Sports games are great for kids but golf is pretty staid, even when Tiger gussies it up with rockinﾒ music. Save this one for the pre-teens and the teens, who will appreciate the nuance. Itﾒs a great supplement if youﾒre trying to teach your son or daughter to be the next Tiger. And, come on, how else can a GamerParent and Child play Pebble Beach together? Kid Factor by Andrew S. Bub  Reviewer Recommended Ages: 12+ ESRB Rating: E for Everyone Genre: Sports Developer: EA Sports Publisher: EA Sports 
Sports games are great for kids but golf is pretty staid, even when Tiger gussies it up with rockinﾒ music. Save this one for the pre-teens and the teens, who will appreciate the nuance. Itﾒs a great supplement if youﾒre trying to teach your son or daughter to be the next Tiger. And, come on, how else can a GamerParent and Child play Pebble Beach together?
Kid Factor by Marc Saltzman
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