Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: 1998
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Golf
• Similar Games: PGA Tour 96 (IBM PC Compatible), PGA Tour Pro (IBM PC Compatible), Jack Nicklaus 4 (Macintosh), PGA Tour 96 (3DO), PGA Tour 96 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), PGA Tour 96 (Sega Genesis), PGA Tour 96 (PlayStation), PGA Tour Gold (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

Tiger Woods has lent more than his name to the PGA Tour Golf series by Electronic Arts. Throughout the documentation are Tiger bios and throughout the game Tiger will provide the player with tips to help improve their game.

You can play as Tiger, one of seven other professional golfers, or you can create your own golfer. Setting up a game involves a variety of selections. Adjustments can be made to: difficulty level, tap-ins, risk meter, targeting arc, power guide, putting lines, putting caddie, mulligans, handicap, Tiger vision, swing type, wind, rough, greens, holes, shot clock, and fast play. Modes of play include: practice, stroke play, tournament, the skins game, shoot-out, match play, four ball, foursomes, and driving range.

With the PGA Tour license three actual courses are in the game: Pebble Beach Golf Links, TPC at Sawgrass, and TPC at Summerlin. Additional courses are sold separately.

Review: Overall

While Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf does not break a lot of new ground, it is a very entertaining golf game. Internet play and the addition of commentary is what sets this game apart from golf games released prior to 1998. Controls include the usual point and click system with a meter bar. This works fine and gets the job done. The spacebar can also be used in place of the mouse button. However, there is another way to play called the analog stroke. Here the movement of the mouse controls the player's swing. It sounds strange but it actually works and adds some action to the game.

Players can play as any of the actual golf pros included or create their own. The actual pros are no different than the created players. In fact, the created player will look like the golf pro you choose to represent yourself. So the only difference is the name you use. Statistics for every player are kept in a wide range of categories. Another great feature is the game will automatically save a player's amazing shots. Although one problem is that existing shots will be overwritten if the computer judges one of your shots to be better than the one saved.

Gameplay itself is very accurate and responsive to the player's actions. Wind, hills, and ball lie impact the game a lot. Everything in real golf is included to make Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf quite realistic. Although putting is realistic, it is also a bit hard to judge. Sometimes it seems a lot easier to make a chip shot from the side of the green rather than trying to make a 10 foot putt. Guessing how much the ball will curve when putted can at times be very frustrating.

Graphics look really good. Golfers are actual images and the backgrounds are digitized versions of a real picture. The courses are based on actual courses but are computer generated. Weather effects are included that cause the sky to change from clear to overcast. Sounds are extremely accurate. Swinging a club and hitting a ball sound exactly like they should. The announcer gets repetitive but since he does not say a lot he never becomes annoying and ultimately does improve the overall experience.

Golf fans, especially Tiger Woods fans, will enjoy this game a lot. Occasionally Tiger Woods can be called upon for advice, but the advice is more useful if you are an actual golfer. Video footage of Tiger can also be seen when a player wins a tournament. Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf delivers an accurate and fun representation of the real thing.

Review: Enjoyment

The game can be played many times as users attempt to improve upon their golf game; plus the addition of internet play is great.

Review: Graphics

A good mix of computer generated graphics and digitized images.

Review: Sound

Realistic effects throughout.

Review: Replay Value

Includes only three courses but more courses can be purchased separately.

Review: Documentation

Everything is explained well but there is no mention about the 2nd disc. Upon exploration of the 2nd disc you will find a complete representation of the actual manual as well as historical golf information.

Production Credits