Every year we look forward to the Tour coming to town because every year we notice the extra little touches that make Tiger Woods such an enjoyable golf game. We notice the tweaks to the animation, the new play modes, and every year each update evokes similar sentiments: ‘if you liked the last one, you’ll like this’, ‘another holein- one for EA’ and it goes on to receive a respectable score. Well, this time we were hoping Tiger would shake off the tedium of tiny changes with the leap onto Xbox 360, but unfortunately, PGA Tour 06 on the X360 isn’t much of an improvement.

The increased texture resolutions and new swing animation only lead to superficial advancements rather than groundbreaking ones. The gameplay has undergone some slight adjustments with dual analogue mechanics introduced, making for a game that’s accessible but not too routinely simple to stop it from posing a challenge. One stick is used to swing the club, while the other is reserved for placing the strike point on the ball, leaving you more vulnerable to a miss-hit. In the same vein, the putting dynamic has received treatment, now featuring a mapped grid to help read the green better. However, the grid is fairly pointless and there are still some balance issues relating to the strength of swing when making that vital putt.

Infecting every EA game like some ferocious cancer is the Game Breaker and this year PGA Tour also falls victim. However, this function doesn’t guarantee a hole-in-one, but simply enhances your shot, adding distance or accuracy. There are plenty of multiplayer modes too, as well as a comprehensive Game Face system, which allows you to create a virtual likeness of yourself.

Like almost all of EA’s next-gen offerings, this serves one simple purpose – to re-establish the franchise on this new console. So while Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 may offer slight improvements, it’s still merely an appetiser for what is to come in the future.

Keith Hennessey