Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 [X360]

For a sport that isn't as season-centric as the NFL or NBA, Tiger sure comes out to play each and every year. In Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, however, it seems the digital club-swinger is in a slump. Perhaps porting the game over to the brand spanking new Xbox 360 will be the shot in the arm that the series needs. Or, maybe it's just the same thing with a prettier candy shell. Which do you think?

After a breakout year with PGA Tour 2004, there wasn't much left that could be done. Even still, 2005 came out like clockwork, and actually enhanced a few things. This year -- as with many of its franchises -- EA has seen fit to actually complicate matters in its games.

Putting has now been made much more difficult, as it's treated like a regular shot. This means instead of aiming with the cursor and letting fly, you have to adjust for varying shot power. Bad move, guys. With elevation changes, this adds up to a nightmare on the greens. It's hard enough to swing at less-than-optimal strength on approach shots (especially between 90 and 50 yards from the pin); now the most consistently intuitive part of the game has been messed with.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 does bring forth some improvements, though. The right analog stick is used for picking your spot on the actual ball -- be it for draws, fades, or higher or lower trajectory on your shots. Gamebreakers replace Tiger Vision as the arcadey addition; earn one, and you're assured a perfect shot. These are nice to see, but this year still has to be considered a step back, gameplay-wise.

On the Xbox 360 specifically, graphics have to be the first thing discussed. Really, when your game is about one guy in a field, how can it not look phenomenal? The character models are amazingly detailed, yes, and the fictional camera angles are darn cool; but what's really impressive are the environments. Individual blades of grass abound, giving texture to every square foot of country club. Trees jump off your screen, and water hazards feature the best aquatic effects seen in a console game to date -- the way foamy waves crash against the rocky shore is breathtaking. The only complaint is that the HUD doesn't feature near enough information; it doesn't even show how above or below par your golfer is!