The same goes for the absurd gamebreaker feature. This is one of those that makes you wonder how desperate sports game developers have become. Strapped for ideas, you'll build a meter as the game goes on. Fill it and use it on a par 3, it's an instant hole-in-one. There's no sense of accomplishment here and it will plague online games and stat sheets.
Brought on from last year, Tiger-proofing makes the game harder for players who find the game too easy (in other words, everyone). Instead of switching the engine or limiting the 300+ yard drives which would be the logical thing to do, the developers modify the courses as you play. Fairways will shrink, greens will run faster, and the rough will grow. In the time it took to program this, someone could have created something to make this realistic.
The final new addition to the system is the "shape stick," a fancy marketing term for "lazy addition that has no point." This will adjust the trajectory of the ball, and start the spin once in the air (which can then still be adjusted depending on how the shot went). This would be somewhat ok on the PS2, but not on the Xbox. It's impossible to hit the white button for power and use the analog stick to "shape" your shot. Buried in a bunker, you'll need both. However, you can do just fine by powering up as you could the previous three years.
Multiple cases of identity crisis ruin this golf game. Yes, each feature could be turned off if you want, but then it's still too easy and players are only human. Every single shot feature in this game, besides the analog swing mechanic, would have players kicked off Xbox Live for cheating in a different golf game. In Tiger Woods '06, it's the norm.
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