Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07

Developer(s)	EA Sports
Publisher(s)	EA
Series	PGA Tour
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Wii, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	PlayStation 2, Windows & Xbox AUS: September 21, 2006 EU: September 22, 2006 NA: October 10, 2006 JP: March 15, 2007 (PS2) PlayStation Portable EU: September 22, 2006 AUS: September 28, 2006 NA: October 10, 2006 JP: March 15, 2007 Xbox 360 NA: October 17, 2006 AUS: October 26, 2006 EU: October 27, 2006 PlayStation 3 NA: November 21, 2006 AUS: March 22, 2007 EU: March 23, 2007 Wii NA: March 13, 2007 AUS: March 15, 2007 EU: March 16, 2007
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is the ninth golfing video game in the PGA Tour series from Electronic Arts. It was released in 2006 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows, and on March 13, 2007 for the Wii. The game includes updated graphics, new courses, and other new features. It is also the final entry into the series to be compatible with the Xbox console.

New features

The "Game Face" feature has been vastly improved with more detail and customization available for each body part, and after designing their own golfer, players can choose from 3000 items in the "Pro Shop" which allows players to purchase new clothing, clubs, balls, gloves, and other golf-related miscellanea. However, many items are locked at the start of the game, and the player must complete certain tasks to unlock these items.

The "Game Setup" in the options menu has been changed vastly, to allow the player to choose their swing style. Another new feature allows players to choose the classic control settings or a newer swing style. There is also the new "Speed Golf" setting, which allows players to skip to the next shot after the ball has been struck without watching where the ball lands.

Game modes

Screenshot from the PSP version of the game

Seven new game modes have been added (One-Ball, Team One-Ball,no balls, Bloodsome, Greensome, Elimination and Team balls black balls).

Real time events

Several of the older game modes have been improved, such as the "Real Time Event Calendar" which allows the player to play special events on different days of the year based on their system's internal clock. This has replaced the classic "Scenario Mode" but there is now a Real Time Event for every day of the year.

Greensome/Bloodsome

Two new types of traditional game mode have been added this year, "greensome" and "bloodsome". In "greensome", two teams of two golfers both hit their golf balls from the tee, but after that, only one of the balls is played (this is the team captain's choice). Players will then alternate shots with the chosen ball until it is holed. The game of "bloodsome" has similar rules, with the exception that the opposing team chooses which ball is played. The scoring system uses match play rules.

Team tour

The "Team Tour" mode allows players using their own created golfers to build up their own team to travel the world playing in different types of game modes until they reach the final match against Tiger Woods' team. With each victory, the player is allowed more golfers to be added to their team. The golfers that are available are the golfers that they have just beaten. In each round, the player may also "Up the Ante" to gain extra experience and free modifiers if they win under specific circumstances; for example, the "Beat The Spread" option for Match Play games starts the opponent 4UP (see match play rules below), and the "Without a Net" option means that if the ball goes in the water or out of bounds, the player instantly loses. Team Tour is the quickest way to gain experience.

Stroke Play

Stroke play is in the "Traditional Game Modes" section. Stroke Play allows up to 4 players to compete on a round of 9 or 18 holes on any chosen course with variable difficulty settings (tee color, pin location etc.). All golfers use their own ball. The player numbers determine who tees off first on the first hole, but after the first hole, the player with the lowest score tees off first, then the second lowest score and so on. After the initial tee shot, the player furthest from the hole takes their shot next. However many shots or "strokes" the player takes is recorded on the scorecard after each hole.

Match play

A modified version of stroke play with the exception that the winner of each hole goes "1UP" depending on their current score. For example, on the first hole, the score will be "AS" (All Square), but the player that wins the hole will then score 1 hole, and their score will change to "1UP", meaning that player is winning by one hole. The game continues until either player wins enough holes that the other player(s) cannot win. If there is a situation where a player is the same number up as there are holes remaining (for example, 5UP with 5 holes to play), they are declared to be "Dormie X" (where X is the number of holes that player is winning by). Once a player is Dormie, the other player must then win every remaining hole to force Sudden Death, or else the player who is "Dormie" wins the match. If a hole is tied, the player who is "Dormie" wins, although the score does not change.

Skillzone

The Skillzone was introduced in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003; it features 3 unique areas which have 15 targets in each. The player can compete in various games in these areas for extra money to buy items from the pro shop. The three courses available are: Granite Pass, Diablo Valley, and The Roof. The various game modes each have their own rules which players must abide by. The game types are:

• Target: The player begins with 15 balls to hit as many of the targets as possible. Successive hits on the targets results in cash being earned and more balls being given.
• Target2Target: A variation of "Target". The computer randomly picks a target which the player must hit. The same rules as "Target" apply.
• Capture: This game mode requires 2 human players. The players alternate turns to hit targets and earn money. The first player to hit 5 targets wins. However, a player can "steal" a target by landing on the target closer to the bullseye than the opponent.
• T-I-G-E-R: A variation of the classic "Horse". The player hits a target, and their opponent must match the score (same ring on the particular target) or beat it. The first player to fail to do so receives a letter, and the first to spell "Tiger" loses.

Skills 18

This game mode was only introduced in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, so it is one of the most recent additions. The player chooses a course and difficulty settings to play on before beginning. On each hole there are 3 hovering rings; a large green ring, a medium-sized yellow ring, and a small red ring. The player must attempt to hit their ball through these rings while maintaining a good score (Birdies, Eagles etc.). The harder the ring, the more points it is worth. Hitting the ball through more than one ring in a single shot results in bonus points being awarded.

Shootout mode

Shootout Mode is entirely different from any of the other game modes. Before the match begins, 2 or more players pick up to 8 golfers per team on 2 teams. These teams then play against each other in stroke play format on each hole of the chosen course. The loser of the hole is eliminated from the match, and the next player in their team takes their place, while the winner keeps playing until he/she is defeated. If players tie on a hole, both players advance to the next hole.

One-ball/team one-ball

In One-Ball, as the name suggests, both players will use only one ball, and will alternate shots with it until the ball is holed. Whoever sinks the ball will win the hole. Although the player is allowed to make it more difficult for their opponent by striking the ball into an undesirable position such as a bunker, the rough, etc., the shot must travel at least half of the distance to the hole on each stroke. If the player fails to do this, he or she will be marked with a "Betrayal," and will lose one turn. Similarly, if a player hits the ball out of bounds, he or she will be penalized with a "Double Betrayal," and will lose two consecutive turns. This gives the gameplay a tactical twist, in that the players are typically trying to make the worst legal shot possible. Additionally, a player must carefully decide when to finally attack the hole, since a narrowly missed putt or chip-in can set up the opponent for an easy hole.

Team-One Ball is played in the same format, but uses two teams of two golfers each.

Bestball/fourball

These are both 2-team, 4-player (mix of human and CPU players is allowed) games. All four players play all of their balls for the hole, in the same style as what would be if it was a 4-player Stroke Play match. The best scoring golfer on each team's score will be applied in either Stroke or Match play.

PGA tour season mode

General

The PGA Tour Season Mode allows players to play in various tournaments across a 30-year career, using their own created golfer. Each tournament is 72 holes (4 rounds) played at different courses, usually determined by the name of the event (e.g. "The Pebble Beach Open" or "The UK Major Championship"). The game mode is designed to be as realistic as possible, with players able to view the scoreboard after each hole, which shows the scores for each round, how many holes the golfer has played in the current round and the total number of strokes they have taken.

Guests & the cut

The player whose profile is being used may "invite" other human players into the tournaments as guests, but this is only possible in the first round, and the guests must play all four rounds, they cannot skip a round, however, the profile's owner (the profile whose PGA Tour Season Mode it is) can choose to "Cut" the guest (remove them from the tournament) before any round. Note that guests cannot receive trophies, earn FedEx Cup points or improve their PGA Tour Ranking while playing as a guest. After the second round of a tournament, only the Top 70 golfers in the tournament advance, the rest are cut.

Requirements

Some tournaments have specific entry requirements such as "Top 20 PGA Tour Ranked Players Only" - if the player does not meet the requirement, they are not allowed to participate in that tournament and the first round will be locked, preventing entry.

Match play tournaments

Some tournaments such as the Australian Challenge and the EA Match Play Championship are played against an opponent with match play rules, and guests cannot be invited into match play tournaments.

"Game Face" and "My Team" menus

"Game Face"

The "Game Face" menu has been combined with a new "My Team" option which allows players to modify their skills, buy equipment from the pro shop, change the animations their golfer uses, and change their team's logo, name and uniform. However, initially, the player must design his/her custom golfer using the game face option from the main menu. The Game Face feature has been greatly improved, and now the player must customize everything, from muscles on the arms and length of the legs to the smallest detail of wrinkles or the bridge of the nose. The new system also allows players to create the way their golfer looks in terms of body part size, muscle, fat, feature positioning (face) and the overall height.

"My Team"

On entering the "Game Face" option and selecting a golfer that has already been created, the player is faced with the "My Team" menu which shows the team's name and logo at the top of the screen, as well as four portraits of members of the player's current team. The portrait of the created golfer also features several menu options including (in no particular order): My Skills, My Appearance, My Animations, Pro Shop, Team Name, Team Logo & Team Uniform. Each of these different menu commands takes the player to different parts of the "My Team" area.

• My Skills: This option goes to the stats screen, where the player can view and edit their stats, as well as check their current experience and any equipped modifiers.
• My Appearance: This option accesses the "Game Face" tool to allow the player to make any more changes to the way their golfer looks. Height, size and details can all be changed here just as they could be in the initial character creation.
• My Animations: This option allows the player to choose what their golfer does after a good hole such as scoring Birdie or Eagle, what the golfer does after scoring Bogey or worse, and allows the player to buy a new swing style, or customize their own unique swing. Note that customized swings cannot contain modifiers, while most of the swings available to purchase have one level one power modifier.
• Pro Shop: The pro shop contains (when everything is unlocked) a total of 3000 items in different categories ranging from Shirts and Pants to Clubs, Gloves and Balls.
• Team Name: This allows the player to name their team. As with the player name, there is an 8-character limit.
• Team Logo: This allows the player to choose a logo from a long list of pre-made logos or design their own, and even edit pre-made logos with an advanced designing tool that allows players to create almost any image.
• Team Uniform: This section allows the player to choose what other members of their team as well as the player will wear. This is somewhat basic, the only option here is to choose the colour of the shirt that the players' teammate(s) will wear.

Experience points and stats

By playing in certain game types, the player earns experience points represented by gold markers on the left of the screen. Performing different actions earns different types of experience, for example, hitting a long drive will yield Power experience, while sinking a long putt will give Concentration experience. To use the experience points they have earned, players must go into the Game Face/My Team section and select the option "My Skills" - this section shows what level the player's stats currently are, how much experience they need to advance to the next level and how much experience they have. If the player has enough experience in either a particular stat, or a combination of that stat and "General" experience, they are allowed to increase the stat level by one.

The roster

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 features an extensive roster of 53 golfers, 21 of which are real, and the other 32 are fictional which EA have designed, many fictional from previous games return in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, such as Edwin Masterson, Takeharu Moto and Moa Ta'a Vatu.

The courses

In this year's Tiger Woods PGA Tour, there are a total of 21 courses, 16 of which are real, and 5 are fictional however, some are locked at the beginning of the game. Several of this year's fantasy courses are returning courses from previous games. However, in the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game there are only 12 courses available.

Reception

Reception

Review scores Publication Score PC PS2 PS3 PSP Wii Xbox Xbox 360 EGM N/A N/A N/A N/A 7.33/10[1] N/A 7.17/10[2] Eurogamer N/A 7/10[3] N/A N/A 7/10[4] N/A 8/10[5] Game Informer 8/10[6] 8/10[7] N/A N/A 6.5/10[8] 8/10[7] 8/10[6] GamePro N/A 3.5/5[9] 3.75/5[10] N/A 3.5/5[11] 3.5/5[9] 3.75/5[12] Game Revolution N/A N/A N/A N/A C[13] N/A N/A GameSpot 7.5/10[14] 7.8/10[15] 8.2/10[16] 7/10[17] 7.5/10[18] 7.8/10[15] 8.2/10[19] GameSpy N/A [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] GameTrailers N/A N/A N/A N/A 7.3/10[26] N/A N/A GameZone 7.5/10[27] 8.5/10[28] 8.5/10[29] 8.6/10[30] 8.3/10[31] 8.7/10[32] 8.5/10[33] IGN 7.5/10[34] 8.5/10[35] 8.3/10[36] 8/10[37] 7/10[38] 8.5/10[35] 8.5/10[39] Nintendo Power N/A N/A N/A N/A 8.5/10[40] N/A N/A OPM (US) N/A 8/10[41] 7.5/10[42] 8/10[43] N/A N/A N/A OXM (US) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 9/10[44] 8.5/10[45] PC Gamer (UK) 74%[46] N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A The A.V. Club N/A N/A N/A N/A B[47] N/A N/A Detroit Free Press N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A [48] Aggregate scores GameRankings 73.23%[49] 79.39%[50] 81.14%[51] 79.77%[52] 72.96%[53] 81.40%[54] 81.25%[55] Metacritic 73/100[56] 79/100[57] 81/100[58] 78/100[59] 71/100[60] 81/100[61] 80/100[62]

The game was met with positive to average reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 81.40% and 81 out of 100 for the Xbox version;^[54][61] 81.25% and 80 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version;^[55][62] 81.14% and 81 out of 100 for the PlayStation 3 version;^[51][58] 79.77% and 78 out of 100 for the PSP version;^[52][59] 79.39% and 79 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;^[50][57] 73.23% and 73 out of 100 for the PC version;^[49][56] and 72.96% and 71 out of 100 for the Wii version.^[53][60]

Detroit Free Press gave the X360 version a score of three stars out of four and stated that "The one real knock is that it takes a while for the screen to load in between holes. Also, a large grid that appears when you putt clunks up the play and takes away from the detailed graphics."^[48] Charles Herold of The New York Times gave the Wii version a positive reception, saying, "I actually got the best results when I sat on my couch and swung the remote from side to side, which generally resulted in straight, powerful drives. But I just didn’t feel right playing the game that way; I’m sure Tiger Woods wouldn’t approve."^[63] The A.V. Club gave the same version a B and said, "Every golf and back-injury enthusiast should give this a try. The controls will aggravate for a while, but with enough practice, they're a non-issue."^[47] The Sydney Morning Herald, however, gave the game a score of three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "The Xbox 360 version Icon tested features 12 beautifully recreated courses, astonishingly realistic player animation and convincing crowds that even react when you hit a wayward drive in their direction."^[64]

See also

• Tiger Woods PGA Tour
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08

References

External links

• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 at MobyGames
• Official Website for Tiger Woods
• PGA Tour Official Website