Reviewed: November 10, 2006
Reviewed by: Travis Young

Publisher
Electronic Arts

Developer
EA Canada - Team Fusion
EA Redwood Shores

Released: October 12, 2006
Genre: Sports
Players: 1-2

8
8
7
8
7.9

Supported Features:

PGA Tour boasts 12 championship and fantasy courses including Bethpage Black, Pinehurst No. 2, Cog Hill, Pasatiempo, and Fancourt Links., as well as 11 of the world's top players, including Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh, plus the newly added John Daly, Luke Donald, and Ian Poulter. Throw in a pack of game modes, mini-games, wireless multiplayer, and integrated ESPN support and you have quite the handy (and portable) golf package.

But creating your own golfer is just the first step in a lengthy career of personal development, as you slowly advance by tweaking stats using skill points earned through gameplay as well as purchasing gloves, shoes, clubs, balls, and other licensed pro shop equipment that will add significant bonuses to your attributes.

The new ESPN integration that allows you to hear live feeds of ESPN radio as well as having a sports ticker scroll along the bottom of the screen with all your favorite sports, teams, scores, and news. This is ESPN integration at its finest and a great addition for the gamer on the go who wants to access ESPN without carrying around a laptop.

So once you have created your golfer and logged a few hours of practice playing the normal stroke, skins, match, and Stableford game modes you can head for the PGA Tour Career mode – the heart of this game. Here, you have access to a massive calendar of events, mid-week training exercises, challenges, and pro tournaments, all leading to the FedEx Cup. You’ll need to train and earn prestige points to qualify to play in many of these events. The bigger the tournament, the more points you earn and the faster your rise to stardom.

If you want to take a break from the demanding PGA Tour there are some fun mini-games to divert your attention. Head to the Shooting Gallery to practice your speed and accuracy or check out Putting Frenzy to sink as many putts within the time limit. These can be enjoyed solo or with a friend via ad hoc or Wi-Fi.

Playing golf on the PSP can be a bit frustrating at times. The analog pad doesn’t feel nearly as nice or intuitive as an actual stick, but it works, and with a bit of practice you’ll get the hang of it. The PSP has the swing meter to show you exactly how hard you are swinging, but everything you do is all based on the skills and stats of your golfer. This means the game starts off as extremely hard with a fresh golfer, then slowly gets easier as your skills improve. Of course, if your ego needs some massaging you can always go play as Tiger and tear up the course with a 10-under par.

The characters are definitely far more primitive than their next-gen cousins, but you can still recognize Tiger and the other pros. Custom characters are diverse, but with far less variables available during the creation and customization process. You’ll still manage to create a unique persona that swings and moves like a real golfer.

The camera work is excellent with all sorts of coverage and camera angles, some realistic and others only possibly in a video game. There are excellent replays and you can save your favorite moments to a personal scrapbook that you can share with over players and even view using the PSP system software.

The environmental and ambient sound effects really bring these courses to life with wind, water, and wildlife, plus all the physical sounds of golf like clubs whiffing through grass, sand, and the striking of the ball against woods and irons or the clank as you hit the flag or drop the ball into the cup.

For rookie golfers, David Feherty and Gary McCord’s commentary might be funny and refreshing, but for anyone who has played a PGA Tour game in the past three years, we’ve heard 90% of this recycled commentary before and it’s getting pretty tired. We need new guys in the booth for 2008 or at least a new script.

A course designer would have been nice, but instead we get My Dream 18, where you can pick your favorite holes from all the courses and assemble your own custom course. You can then invite others to play on that course.