PSP

Tiger Woods PGA Tour

It's a great game, and if you're a PSP owner that likes golf, you have to have this one. I have other games for the unit, but TW never stays out for long. I find myself needing to do better on certain courses and the burning desire to win more money to get a new "lucky hat!!" This is a keeper and now one of the best hand-held games I have ever played on any system. I'll still play my 2004 Mario Golf from time to time, but this is realistic golf and I can't imagine it getting any better than this. EA has definitely scored an Eagle with this one.

All-in all a worthy purchase with ooooodles of replay value; even for non-sports fans like myself, who last enjoyed a sports video game back in the NES days with 10-Yard Fight.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the PSP is, across the board, the best handheld golf game to date. Though it lacks the online play and a few other details found in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005, it's actually a better game in some ways, as it takes the sport a little more seriously. Though there isn't any direct competition for Tiger just yet, this is still one of the best choices a sports fan can make at the US launch of the PSP.

As long as you have a spare battery or a power outlet handy Tiger Woods PGA Tour is still a fantastic game, and easily the most realistic simulation of the sport you can play on a handheld. It manages to capture and bring over just about every element from the console version and pack it into the palm of your hand.

Handheld versions of this franchise haven't fared well, but golf fans on the go can confidently wrap their hands around this game and all its mighty PSPness.

Given that it's their first foray onto the PSP, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour development team did an impressive job, successfully managing to translate the franchise's distinct feel from the console to the portable. However, if they want to ensure that they'll stay on top for good, they'll need to fix the analog swing system and work hard on cutting down on the frequent load times. If they can manage to do that, the competition won't stand a chance.

I'm a huge fan of the Tiger series, so please take my criticisms with that perspective in mind. The game is a blast on the consoles and I'm happy to have it on PSP. I've enjoyed it over many a breakfast, on the train, and while watching TV over my roomates' shoulders. I recommend it to those less discerning golf fanatics, but true Tiger fans will probably be a little frustrated with the less sensitive analog stick swing. It would probably be sacrilege to suggest Tiger Woods PGA Tour would have been better with a three-click swing system, but the fact is that it really would have. There were a lot of times I just didn't understand why my shot was short, too long, or off-the-mark. Perhaps it needed more visual cues, like a swing-meter that still used the analog stick -- something to make it clearer to the user. They did little things like adding red ball trails so you can keep track of the little white dot, but I think more of this was needed for the handheld.

Seeing as how Tiger is one of the launch titles for the PSP, the game's atrocious load times are understandable, but entirely inexcusable. Sure, Tiger isn't the only launch game guilty of long load times, as there are sure to be programming hurdles with first generation games, but the end result is that if you want to play Tiger on the go, you've gotta wait. So, if you can be a little forgiving on that end and even deal with extra precision you need to take with every swing of the analog stick, definitely consider picking this up. The next best option, of course, requires a PS2 and television.