Fore! When I take the opportunity to hit my local eighteen, I find myself shouting this warning more often than not - often at passers-by in neighbouring fields (or even neighbouring counties!) Golf's a tough old game that takes practice and skill, neither of which I possess in any particular quantity. One thing I have always been good at, however, is taking my driver and putter into the virtual world of videogames, so naturally I jumped at the chance to review the latest entry in the Tiger Woods franchise. Unfortunately, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 shattered my dreams of another quality arcade golf-fest and left me stranded in a bunker by the ninth hole.

Now, I'm sure this next statement isn't going to win me any prizes with either fellow reviewers or golf purists, but the reason I dislike Tiger Woods 08 is that you have to play golf. No, I haven't taken leave of my senses; I have a good reason to say that. I can take my clubs down to the course any time I like and swing wildly away to my heart's content; but when I'm playing a videogame, I want a bit of escapism. Whereas previous titles have added arcade elements such as the Gamebreaker and ludicrously long drives and putts that, for me, added a fresh twist on the game, especially in multiplayer, Tiger Woods 08 dispenses with every single one of these arcade aspects - and the result is a long, drawn out simulation that barely beats watching golf on TV. "But that's ridiculous!" I hear you cry. Well, maybe. And just in case of such a reader uprising, I have some facts to back up this undoubtedly controversial opinion.

Beginning with what seems like endless round after round of playing against random characters to 'see if you're good at golf' (that's actually one of the first objectives), your aim is to master the control system in order to win the 'Hacks' Tournament, then work your way onto the Amateur circuit and, from there, golfing greatness. The control system in question is, admittedly, quite a nice idea. Using 'TrueSwing', you control your golfer's backswing and downswing, and by extension, the draw and fade of each shot. Move the mouse backwards to start the backswing and forwards to hit the ball. How far off centre you are determines how much the ball swings to the left or right. It takes a little bit of practice to learn but quickly becomes second nature and allows for some masterful shots. If you want to send the ball higher or across the floor, there's a slider to control this, and a menu lets you select a shot type. Alternatively, you can use the two-click or three-click methods of control that veterans of older golf games may remember. Overall, it's responsive and intuitive, so the control system gets thumbs up.

However, the inclusion of the new confidence meter almost negates any control system the game might possess. As far as I can tell, this serves only to make your golfer mis-hit shots that he would normally make, simply because there's some sand in the vicinity or because you missed a shot three holes back. There isn't any obvious point to this new system - and it certainly doesn't help the gameplay. You can 'upgrade' your confidence on certain holes or certain shot types by taking part in practice rounds, but these are more or less just a single hole of golf that you play to gain stats in later rounds. As far as unique selling points go, the Confidence meter is a damp squib.

Another problem is that the first few rounds of golf don't serve as a good introduction to the game. For starters, it can become quite boring. After you have taken your shot, your opponents seem more than happy to spend their time mis-hitting the ball into bunkers, water, trees, or anything else that's nearby. I know that real golfers sometimes do these things - but with every shot? Because there is no option of turning off opponents' shots, you might end up waiting for a turn for much longer than you had anticipated. Secondly, these initial rounds have no commentary or crowds, so it's just you and the sound of the birds tweeting merrily away, the sparse ambient sounds barely serving to create any atmosphere at all.

Soon you are allowed entry into the Hacks Tournament and if you win you reach amateur status, allowing you to enter more events. After this point, all the rounds have crowd effects and commentaries (by long-serving EA veterans Gary McCord and David Feherty) and the game becomes somewhat more engaging. Indeed, Tiger Woods 08's biggest redeeming feature is its often hilarious commentary, which is both brilliantly written and this time around actually keeps track of what is going on to offer advice and assistance. The witty one-liners of Feherty and McCord's droll responses kept me amused for far longer than the gameplay ever did. The competition at this point becomes somewhat easy though and you might find yourself simply going through the motions in order to unlock the next round. Oftentimes you won't need to even select a different shot type or club and you can easily win by simply hitting the ball in the direction you're facing. Challenging, it isn't.

To counteract this relatively simple game mode, there are alternatives. The FedEx Cup is available once you've levelled your character up sufficiently, but it does provide the toughest challenge as you tee-off against the cream of the world's golfers. You'll need almost max stats to even take part in this competition, which effectively bars you from playing in it unless you've worked your way through either the aforementioned PGA Tour mode or Tiger Challenge. Once you do get to play, it's almost identical to the PGA Tour mode, but you start as a professional and don't have to play all the fiddly little warm-up matches.

Speaking of the Tiger Challenge, this mode allows your golfer take on various challenges and competitors for experience points and money, with the ultimate aim of defeating Woods and becoming Lord High Ruler of all that is Golf (or something along those lines). There are different challenges arranged in groups and with each one you complete (they're simple tasks: sink a par three, out drive your competitors or get closest to the pin in three shots), its neighbouring challenges are unlocked until you eventually either reach Woods or complete them all. There are a lot of these challenges, although many of them are duplicates played on different courses, so it will take a long time to complete.

Of course, there is also the multiplayer aspect. Playable either on a LAN or across the Internet with 'Gamer Net', you can partake in various game modes (Skins, Stableford, Fourball, etc) on any of the fourteen courses and as any of the twenty-three professional golfers, or your own created golfer. Multiplayer is a bit more interesting than the single player because there is more of a skill element involved in order to not look like a complete hack. Shockingly though, there is no option of playing a multiplayer match on one PC! In previous versions this made the game much more of a 'party-style' and was the series' biggest selling point in my opinion; as such, the omission of such an important play mode that's so easy to implement is simply unforgivable.

I have been mentioning Created Golfers throughout this review, and I was saving the details until now because I quite like the golfer creation and I didn't want it to stand out as too much of a plus point. Game Face! No, not you. It's EA's name for the golfer creation options. There are a myriad of options available, ranging from head shape and eye colour, to body mass and nose length. The number of options you can alter means that almost anybody can create a virtual version of themselves in minutes, simply by moving sliders around. Fat, thin, tall, short; any type of character can be made quickly and easily, and seeing yourself on the virtual Links is a delight. There is also an option of importing a photograph of yourself to get that true realism (although I haven't tested it personally - I'm a shy bloke. Besides, there isn't a camera lens strong enough to withstand my striking features…). The Game Face system has always been impressive and now with the new graphical features on display it really takes customisation to the next level.

Ah, the graphics! When you first see the mist descend over St. Andrew's, or the sun stream through the trees to highlight the shimmering lake, you might be forgiven for overlooking some of the game's bad points. I admit it's a gorgeous looking game. Not quite on the same level as BioShock or Ghost Recon, but it still manages to make the gameplay seem less boring when you can take in the sights of nature in all their splendour. The golfers' animations are smooth and fluid, while the detail on their clothing really adds to the realism factor. But it's hard to appreciate all this when all you're doing is waiting for your opponents - again. This is a direct antithesis to the sound - where the sound is lacking, the graphics certainly are not.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 is a gorgeous looking simulation, rather than the satisfying looking arcade games that typify earlier entries in the series. The lack of sufficient sound effects and the often repetitive, boring gameplay mar the lush visuals and in-depth character creation, while the lack of single PC turn-based multiplayer is a sin that manages to add another minus to the game's score. Whilst still an accurate representation of the real-life intricacies of golf, it simply does not hold your interest long enough before bringing in the meat of the game modes. Consequently, this is a title that is (pun alert) below par; it lines up its shot well, but hooks it at the last minute and ends up in the lake. So you'd better get the scuba gear out, because this one's sunk.

Reviewed by John Barnes for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).