Tiger Woods 08 impressions

TJ39 · Post by **TJ39** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 10:41 pm

Bought the 360 version tonight at Target. Graphics are outstanding. MUCH better than 07. The trees, golfers, water etc. are exceptionally well done. I love the 3 click method of hitting. Also, the game is much more difficult this year. Im playing on the balanced difficulty level and it's a real challenge. there appears to be a lot more items in the pro shop as well.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:19 pm

Wuh??? It's out already??

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:26 pm

I had it marked down as Aug 29th. How does it play online?

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:28 pm

Is it more challenging because of the gameplay or because of the 3-click mechanics? I always thought the analog stick made TW somewhat easy in the past.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:43 pm

Is this guy for real? I see it's his first post, so I'm skeptical.

TJ39 · Post by **TJ39** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:45 pm

The 3 click is definitely challenging. I haven't tried analog much yet. You can choose to draw or fade before the shot as well.

TJ39 · Post by **TJ39** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:47 pm

Actually, I have been posting here for a number of years but I re registered because my e-mail adress changed.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:55 pm

TJ39 wrote:Actually, I have been posting here for a number of years but I re registered because my e-mail adress changed.

My apologies. Now please tell us more! (I have to wait till Tuesday)

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 12:00 am

The 3-Click shot is what made Links so tough and at the same time fair. It got too easy using the mouse and right analog stick for your shots. How many courses are there in this years game?

TJ39 · Post by **TJ39** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 12:08 am

There are 16 courses in the game. I heard that EA is going to put 2 courses for download on the Marketplace when the game is officially released on Wednesday.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 12:14 am

Some Targets are selling the game. My Target has it on the shelf, but isn't selling it at the register.

Anyway, there's an impressions thread over at OS that is pretty detailed.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 12:14 am

I hope they don't charge for it but then again we're talking about EA and MS, nuff said. I think i'm going to stay with the PC version this year as I did with Madden.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 12:19 am

Of course they're going to charge for the two courses. Links did the same on the original XBOX.

Not sure if true, but BigBerthaEA over at OS (DivotMaker here???) stated that Tiger 08 for the PC took a step backward or two. No course architect, no way to import old courses, etc? Hard to believe, but i'm sure he's in position to be in the know. Much more so than I anyway.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 1:21 am

I'm hearing some really good stuff about Tiger this year...that is, if you don't count those who pick away at every little thing...

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 2:12 am

must not buy Tiger...

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 2:26 am

Since when do you need to re-register when your email address changes? Just changed mine last week...wow, still got the same u/n.

Don't believe the hype.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 3:59 am

Probably just DivotMaker posting here to generate hype for Tiger.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:56 am

JRod wrote:Probably just DivotMaker posting here to generate hype for Tiger.

Man, what IS your freaking problem? Are you so biased in your contempt for me that you would accuse me of making a new username to hype a friggin videogame? Man, get off my back with this unnecessary BULLSHIT. If you have anything else you want to accuse me of, take it to PM's.

I purposely stayed away from DSP regarding TW08 because of crap like this.

Back on topic.....

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:59 am

TW08 plays so much more challenging than 07 ever could even in TOUR Pro. Every difficulty level has been improved and mis- hits and improper tempo will GREATLY impact your shot results. I HIGHLY recommend that you spend a great deal of time practicing in this game before starting Career or PGA TOUR mode. Quite honestly, it is a MAJOR challenge to hit the ball straight and "Perfect" in this game. Right now I would estimate that I am hitting a perfect shot 1 in 20 swings and a straight shot 2 in 10. They have really modelled mis- hits and tempo extremely well considering the short time I have had to play the game.

The courses are INCREDIBLE, especially the new ones with enhanced textures for the rough, first cut and fairways. You will also notice degradation of the courses in spots that highlight that the textures are not "tiled" as in previous TW courses. The older courses have some of these upgrades, but there was not enough development time to allow to re-do all of them. EA's goal is to re-do all of them for TW09. Sixteen courses on the CD and at least 2 will be available sometime after release as DLC.

Online play is super smooth from what I witnessed at TW Community Day and I just played a round with the Executive Producer of TW08 (he was in Florida and I am in Texas) and NONE of the online play issues that were in TW07 have been seen so far. The real test will be when there are big loads on the servers when the game is out to the public. I spoke at length with the Online Play Engineers and they stated that they made a number of changes and improvements to the online play code, especially the matchup P2P connections. Tiburon is taking online play VERY seriously.

PhotoFace is freaking phenomenal. I created one for myself using the Live Vision camera and it is VERY realistic in the game. I will probably upload a better photo to the EA servers when that feature is enabled (should be day of launch).

Have not tried GamerNet yet as I am engrossed in the Tiger Challenge and building up my Golfer, but will post more later when I have time.

Keep in mind, there are just my impressions about what I have seen so far at TW Community Day at Tiburon and now with the retail copy. I am not trying to hype the game in any way, shape or form. The game plays and looks that good, so I recommend to EVERYONE who is interested in video game Golf and/or that like Links 2004 for XBox, give the game a rental and see if you feel the same way about it that I do.

Fire away with questions...I will do my best to answer them...

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:00 am

10spro wrote:I had it marked down as Aug 29th. How does it play online?

10,

So far, I have seen none of the issues that plagued TW07 and it has been silky smooth in every online match I have played so far.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:08 am

PRBoom wrote:Of course they're going to charge for the two courses. Links did the same on the original XBOX.

Not sure if true, but BigBerthaEA over at OS (DivotMaker here???) stated that Tiger 08 for the PC took a step backward or two. No course architect, no way to import old courses, etc? Hard to believe, but i'm sure he's in position to be in the know. Much more so than I anyway.

One in the same. They will be charging for the DLC courses. No indication of how much.

The PC version is basically the 07 PC version with the GUI changed to the same one that is used for Wii/PS2 (not good IMO), and no Course Utilities to import additional user or previous TW version courses. I can't believe they shipped the game without this. I will be contacting the PC producer this week to see why that decision was made and how to correct it. Otherwise, the PC version is pretty much dead to the hardcore/online users.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:10 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:Don't believe the hype.

That is fair considering past TW titles for the console. I recommend a rental, then tell us what you think. Seems it is not just me who is posting that the game is vastly improved over previous TW versions...

http://forums.xbox.com/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=710

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:13 am

Thanks for the impressions Divot. Which version do you have 360 or PS3? and when you were at Tiburon did you get a chsnce to compare the two? I'm leaning on getting the 360 version because of the rumble feature.

I got the PC version and oh man did this game take two steps back. I find the game too easy. The interface looks good but the gameplay is not as good as in the past. Well it looks like you guys convinced me to get the 360 version.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:46 am

I'd like to add the Wii version to the question of which version to get?

The Wii was made for golf games, and last year's Tiger was good, but not spectacular. Did 08 for the Wii get any major improvements, or is the only real game in town found on the PS3?

Thanks,

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:14 am

Rodster wrote:Thanks for the impressions Divot. Which version do you have 360 or PS3? and when you were at Tiburon did you get a chsnce to compare the two? I'm leaning on getting the 360 version because of the rumble feature.

I got the PC version and oh man did this game take two steps back. I find the game too easy. The interface looks good but the gameplay is not as good as in the past. Well it looks like you guys convinced me to get the 360 version.

Rod,

I have both versions, but I will be exchanging the PS3 version since I had to return my PS3 earlier this week because my graphics card took a crap and I need a graphics card more than I need a PS3 at this time.

I cannot tell you how cool it is to mis-hit a shot and have the 360 controller give your rumble feedback that intensifies the more you have mis-hit the shot...even on putts. For that reason alone, the 360 version is better than the PS3. I did not get a chance to see the PS3 version, but I was assured that the two are virtually identical in every respect, even framerates. I don't think the 360 version is 60 fps all the time as I do see some mild stuttering in very intense (lush vegetation and trees) camera angles. But, that is the only place I have seen even a hint of any kind of framerate issues.

The PC version is a major disappointment to me and the PC community. I am hoping that the TW PC Producer will listen to the concerns of the community (and I can guarantee you they ARE reading the forums at EA, OS, XBox.com, etc...). This Tiburon development team is committed to turning the TW franchise around (save for the 08 PC in its current state)...