Tiger Woods PGA tour 2005 (PS2, Xbox)

(Herald rating: ****)

You know you've hit the big time when they're making a video game carrying your name. Tiger Woods has been hitting the big time for years in the golfing world and his franchise of golfing games keeps getting better.

Golfing game fanatics have criticised EA for pandering to golfing newbies with Tiger Woods 2005, making the game too easy to play in the opinion of some. Having nothing more than a mild interest in golf myself, any attempt to make it easier to pick it up is welcome. Yes, you do take to the game easily, especially if you go through the user-friendly tutorial.

It's fun to play, the first golfing game I have found to be so. And anyway, you can set the difficulty level for a more realistic game.

Tiger Woods 2005 is most enjoyable when you're locked in a tight contest with a well-matched competitor. You'll ponder each shot because it could spell victory or defeat.

The tattooed Billy Bear Hightower is the first character you'll face off against. Billy is heavy-handed with the club and even a novice golfer should be able to beat him in one game.

Apart from one-off games, you'll spend most of your time competing in the year-long PGA tour where the winners purses are huge and you can attract sponsorship deals if you make the cut.

A legends tournament lets you take on golfing greats such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. You can also play as your favourite golfer, choosing from one of 15 masters of the game.

There are fewer courses to play than in previous instalments - 14 down from 19. But new courses have been licensed to keep things fresh.

A feature known as Tigerproofing allows you to modify golf courses, rearranging fairways and bunkers and deciding what season you want to play in.

On the green you can take advantage of another new feature, Tiger View, which tells you exactly where to hit the ball to sink it in one shot. It's cheating, but use of the feature is limited and is really a last resort for you to claw your way back after a string of bogeys.

The graphics are commendable, a big improvement on the previous edition. Impressive camera angles, fly-overs and introductory narration set the scene nicely.

It's one thing to animate a collection of rugby football stadiums and the players taking to the field, but another, more complex challenge to animate 14 golf courses in accurate detail. If the slope of the green on the 9th hole at St Andrews isn't on a par with real life, players are going to get upset.

The commentary, provided by seasoned personalities Gary McCord and David Feherty, becomes repetitive but not as quickly as you would expect.

In the rough, golfers walk through 3D grass and heat shimmers off the desert. The sounds of barking dogs, passing jetliners and the cheering of spectators punctuate the soundtrack. Trees sway in the wind and the crack of steel on golf-ball will take you right back to the driving range.

The Gameface II feature, which lets you personalise your player, is a good indication of the attention to detail the game makers have pursued. From the bushiness of your player's eyebrows down to the golfing shoe they wear, you have control. You can even set the eccentricities of your swing.

The only slip-up is the game's bizarre intro sequence, which tries to fuse hip-hop and golf. What were they thinking?

Tiger Woods 2005 is a game you will play as much or little as you want, but its easier controls and introductory lessons should bring the game to a wider audience.

Price: $100