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Largely Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 for GBA but with online support. I’m probably in the minority but I actually enjoy golf games quite a bit. I own a Gamecube and Gameboy Advance version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004, so I knew what I was getting myself into with this N-Gage edition. After playing for a few hours, I can safely say that this is the basically the GBA game with online play. Given that there is no review of the game on GBA, I guess I’ll go ahead and review both of them, starting with this N-Gage review.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 features three main single-player game modes. The first is the standard Career mode, which features numerous 18-hole games. The Career mode also allows you to play in smaller, 3-hole games. Finally, the Practice mode allows you to play one hole at a time, without competition to get your game up to snuff. While not the most varied in terms of game modes compared to other portable golf games like Mario Golf Advance, it is enough.
The actual gameplay in this game is about golfing, as expected. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 mimics the new analog swinging method found in newer console games compared to the “three-click” system found in previous games. Since neither N-Gage platform has an analog stick, EA Sports mimicked the analog system by letting you press down on the D-Pad, then quickly pressing up. The pseudo-analog system is sometimes inaccurate, particularly if you don’t use the full swing, but works rather well. In addition, you can control the power and spin of the ball with the 3 key.
If the behind the golfer view point doesn’t work for you, you can press the 5 key to see an overhead view point. This lets you see the hole (if you’re close enough), align your shot and chose the distance. Overall, I found myself using this viewpoint for a large part of the game. The only time I didn’t use it was in the first shot per course since I couldn’t see the hole anyway.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 also features a “Versus” mode for multiplayer. In this mode, you can connect to another N-Gage via wireless Bluetooth technology and play against each other. Bluetooth has a maximum range of about thirty feet, allowing you to move quite freely while in competition. If you don’t know another person with an N-Gage and a copy of the game, you can play four-player multiplayer by passing one system around.
The biggest draw is actual online play via Nokia’s N-Gage Arena. You connect your N-Gage to Nokia’s N-Gage Arena servers via your carrier (AT&T Wireless, Cingular and T-Mobile are currently supported)’s GPRS service. Here, you’ll see a simple lobby and choose which course you wish to play in. Playing online, you won’t have to wait for your competitors to finish a turn; instead you’ll simply see their progress at the end of the hole. A leaderboard keeps track of your wins and losses, as well as, the overall ranking of players. The only problem with online play is that there is no way to communicate with your competitors. Hopefully, this is something EA Sports will implement next time around.
The visuals in the game are acceptable but not great. The main viewpoint has you looking behind a pre-rendered golfer. The golfer looks pretty good, as does the scenery and foliage you’ll see. As you take a closer look though, you’ll notice that everything is a bit pixilated, but nothing too bad. The swinging animation is good and looks realistic. The narrow screen doesn’t allow you to view as much as the scenery as you could on the GBA, but never becomes a problem since you’ll primarily be interested in looking forward.
In terms of sound, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is decent. The sound effects in the game are basically the golf ball hitting something whether that something is your club, the grass or water. You’ll occasional hear the crowd cheering and birds whistling, as well. The game’s menus actually have a score, but are rather low quality.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is an enjoyable golf game, which is great news since it is the N-Gage’s only golf game. The addition of online play was a great idea since it adds much replay value to the game. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Aug 11, 2004
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