Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 [X360]

With such a variety of possibilities, EA has separated GamerNet into a few themed channels: Single Hole Challenge, Nine Hole Challenge, 18 Hole Showdown, Grip it and Rip It (your basic long drive contest), and Freestyle (trick shots). A search feature will help you sort by point values and help you locate your friends' challenges.

EA is hoping that GamerNet will take on a life of its own as users compete for GamerNet points and spots on leaderboards. With a staggering number of win conditions -- ball height, air time, skim a water hazard and land on the green, to name a few -- the challenges will inspire an entire online community to go off the roof, off the seat, off the backboard, nothing but net, ala Bird and Jordan years ago. As all of GamerNet is server-driven, EA can continually update GamerNet based on user preferences. The idea is not to limit content, but to encourage it.

"Every day we come up with a new good idea," says Taramykin.

While a successful GamerNet could revolutionize online play, the new Photo Face feature is the next logical evolution of the character creator, known in Tiger as Game Face. The idea isn't new: take a picture of yourself and upload it on a character model. While we've seen this before with mixed results in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, Tiger 08 takes it to an entirely new level. First you import a front and side photo from the Xbox Live Vision Camera, the Sony Eye Toy or a picture on your PC. Next you simply match up a number of markers with key points on your face, like eyes, nose, lips, ears and chin (a template shows you exactly where to put the points). Finally, hit go and Tiger 08 starts building a brand new character head (rather than wrapping a photo texture around a blank face as in Rainbow Six).

"Tiger has easily the greatest player creator in sports," Taramykin says. "But that came out in 2004. It's time for an overhaul."

You can see the results of my first Photo Face, which EA was kind enough to create. The team only used a front photo -- a side photo makes for even more accuracy. My new head blinks and smiles and grimaces and grins and everything else the lifelike characters in Tiger tend to do. But I'm bald and my new head reminds myself of Lex Luthor in a polo shirt. But my new head and I can go right into the traditional Game Face mode and add a new hairstyle, tweak color and even elongate my nose, if I so choose. If I want I can create a head for every day of the week and one for special occasions. If I want I can upload Nick Nolte or Richard Nixon or Brad Pitt pictures, depending on my mood.

"Can you put a head on a female body?" asks Taramykin. "That's up to you. I don't recommend it."

And the answer to the question all of you are trying to ask is no, you can't create Ass Face.

"The first thing we tried to do," Taramykin says, "is create Ass Face. Thankfully that won't work."

What will work is bringing your ugly mug online and in GamerNet. While parental controls can be tweaked so that online faces will appear as Tiger, EA is hoping Photo Face -- a working title -- will be an outlet of creativity. And mohawks.

"We want to create celebrities out of people that play," Taramykin says.

Simply create a character, knock out a few fans, upload the clip and you are well on your way.

While GamerNet and Photo Face are excellent new additions, Tiger wouldn't by Tiger without a solid experience on the course. We weren't able to play, but we did learn some new details about Tiburon's plans for gameplay.

As Woods lives only 15 minutes away from the studio, he's been an invaluable resource for Tiburon.

"We want to re-create what Tiger thinks about when he plays golf, not what I think about when I play golf with a controller," Taramykin says.

The first feature is player confidence. Throughout a player's career, his confidence will ebb and flow for a variety of shots. Just two years ago Tiger was in a slump -- if you can call it that -- and had lost confidence in his drive. Other players may get nervous hitting over water or trying to draw the ball. In Tiger 08, player confidence will change for different shots dynamically through a player's career, still based around the FedEx Cup. Confidence will affect the size of the True Aim landing area, introduced in Tiger 07.

Taramykin says the team is also focusing on shot making. This year, fade and draw will play prominently into shots as the mechanic has been revamped with a new visual indicator. Instead of guessing where a successful draw will land, you will now know exactly where you are headed.

Weather and conditions will also play a bigger role in Tiger 08. On a nice day, when the pins are in easy locations and the weather is calm, any player can win a tournament, Woods told EA. But when the pins are in tough locations, a strong wind is shaking the sticks and the greens are fast, there are only about 10 players in the world that can win consistently.

We also know that there will be only 15 courses on the PS3 and 360 -- too few, we say. But look for Boston, Westchester, Cog Hill and the rest of the FedEx Cup courses to be included.

There are still a few months before Tiger 08 hits stores, but if the new features we saw this week hold up, videogame golf will never be the same. Tiburon revolutionized football years ago. Golf is up next.

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