We’ve all watched TV shows that we’ve loved for the first few series, only to find ourselves suddenly and unexpectedly falling out of love with them in their third/fourth/nth incarnation. For me (to paraphrase Newman and Baddiel’s history professors), that’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, that is.

So, has Tiger become a sickly, mewling kitten? Well, not quite, but he doesn’t look as slick, dominant and impressive as he once did. Which is kind of ironic seeing as that was what people were saying about the great golfer himself just a year ago before his return to form in 2005. Sadly, the game that bears his illustrious name has gone the other way, from a peak reached with TW PGA Tour 2005 to this year’s rather disappointing effort.

It’s not that TW06 is a bad game - it’s not. And it’s important that I state that categorically now because the rest of the review is going to focus primarily on what’s wrong with the game. Despite its flaws, it remains playable, at times genuinely enjoyable, and it retains many good features. And yet…

The best place to start is with the mechanics of the game. A new putting system and the use of the second analog stick as a ‘shape stick’, to put draw/fade/spin etc. on your shots, are interesting developments, but neither really works as they could, indeed should, have. Although the new putting system is an improvement on the old (you get to read the green by means of a green grid and have to judge how hard to hit the putt), it remains far, far too easy to sink even long putts, especially if you use the frankly asinine ‘ideal putt camera’ which gives you the line of the putt on a plate. It is possible to make putting more difficult by switching off the green grid (and not using the ‘ideal putt camera’), but as it is easier to read some greens with the naked eye than others, that can mean putting is a matter of guesswork at times. Still, that’s arguably preferable to regularly sinking putts of over 20, 30, even 40 feet. Before long, the thrill of holing that 35-footer is replaced by a sense of dull inevitability that on the green means in the hole next shot on the vast majority of occasions.

Then there are the gameplay mechanics that haven’t changed (but should have). While the basic idea of using an analog stick to replicate a golf swing is brilliant, there isn’t enough sensitivity built into the stick meaning that it’s still too easy to hit clean, straight shots. The excellent Tour difficulty setting obviates this problem to a reasonable degree, although sadly you have little or no choice over whether to turn it on when playing either of the game’s two main modes, Rivals mode and the PGA Tour.

Even worse is how easy it remains to hit out of sand or rough. While real golfers try to avoid bunkers and the thick stuff like the plague, in TW06 you can quite happily risk sinking an approach deep in a sand trap secure in the knowledge that you will not only get out next shot but be able to put it within a few feet of the hole. Just occasionally, a wayward shot that leaves you in a bunker or deep rough can put you in trouble, but not often enough. As a result, the game becomes less strategic, with water being the only course hazard that you need to give much thought to avoiding.

The AI in TW06 is at times more ham-fisted than a pig in boxing gloves. Rivals mode, one of the two main modes in the game, could potentially have been very good. The idea is that you travel in time taking on players (mostly fantasy characters, some of which are lame, others well-observed) from different eras and eventually pitting yourself against the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and, of course, Tiger himself. The fact that you can wear clothing and use equipment from the various eras is a nice touch, although the old style clubs perform rather better than they should compared to today’s awesome hi-tech weapons of choice. Unfortunately, though, the whole mode is severely undermined by awful AI which makes it pathetically easy to beat all but a handful of the many opponents you face. On the very few occasions that you look like you might not thrash your adversary, they generally seem to throw in a drive that goes 45 yards or they miss a putt from two feet just to give you a helping hand. Unsurprisingly, taking on the fairly lengthy procession of players who are put up for you to knock down soon becomes dull - even tedious. Thankfully, a few decent opponents towards the end prevent Rivals mode from being a complete washout, but, be warned: it requires quite a bit of time to get to the good stuff.

It’s perhaps better, then, to take a newly created character onto the PGA Tour and build up your stats until they’re at a level where you’re capable of winning any tournament, but aren’t a shoe-in from the first tee. The downside to this is that you have to spend quite a bit of time playing events you’ve little or no hope of winning, which, though realistic maybe, can be rather lacklustre - the idea won’t appeal to everybody because it’s hard to get excited about finishing twelfth, despite the fact that as a rookie you’d be over the moon. It’d also be nice to be able to play the PGA Tour with a real golfer, particularly as you could then choose a player to match your ability at the game – weaker players could go for Tiger, better ones for a less gifted golfer – but sadly you can’t.

TW06 is regrettably only at its best outside the two main modes. Playing a one-off round, you can not only choose a golfer to suit your proficiency at the game, but also switch on Tour difficulty for a proper challenge. If that’s still not enough, go for Tigerproofing, which allows courses to be made more difficult such as by increasing the size of bunkers or reducing the size of the fairways. If only they’d incorporated some kind of difficulty setting into Rivals mode and the PGA Tour…

Graphically, TW06 looks good enough without blowing your mind. The occasional glaring graphical glitch is really of no great importance and the game looks quite nice overall. The ‘gameface’ feature, which allows you to determine the appearance of created golfers, remains genuinely first-rate, enabling you to get a passable likeness of yourself or anyone else you fancy modelling your golfer on. That does rather beg the question, however, why some of the real-life golfers in the game don’t look as much like their real selves as they could (if I were Chris Di Marco I’d be contemplating a law suit…).

The sound is solid too, and you can thankfully turn off the music that greets you on various menus. Commentary is once again supplied by Gary McCord and David Feherty and provides a few smiles; at least until it reaches the point where it starts to repeat and thus grate and you’re forced to turn it off. This year, your golfer also has a voice. Unfortunately, all the available accents are American and your golfer will insist upon repeating the same inane phrases, such as ‘Get in your home!’ (apparently an instruction to the ball to go in the hole) or the pseudo-Zen ‘Be the stick!’. In the interests of preserving your sanity, you’ll probably want to switch that off too, then.

Overall, most of the problems with TW06 stem from the fact that it seems to be suffering from something of an identity crisis. In hindsight, you could see it coming in previous incarnations, but now it’s more open and obvious than ever before. Basically, it can’t decide whether it wants to be a serious attempt at a golf sim that appeals mostly to adult gamers, many of whom play golf, or a fantasy golf game that scores with younger players whether they’ve ever picked up a club or not. In trying to be both (and, of course, get both groups to fork out the cash to buy it…), it ultimately leaves something to be desired on each front. Compromise can be a tremendous thing. It can prevent wars and save marriages. In the world of gaming, however, it can be a serious weakness, and that is certainly the case with TW06.

In concluding, I feel compelled to reiterate that TW06 is not a bad game. It’s just not a particularly good one either. If you’re a fan of the series like I am (or perhaps that should be ‘was’), then it’s probably worth picking up if you see a copy at a reduced price. If you’ve never played Tiger Woods golf before, I’d recommend going for TW PGA Tour 2005 ahead of this latest version. There are more courses and it provides a bit more of a challenge overall (though it’s still rather too easy).

For me, the Tiger Woods series is at a crossroads. If EA revamp the gameplay mechanics, decide whether it’s a proper golf sim or a fantasy game, and make it more challenging, there’s definitely gas in the tank yet. If they continue to compromise and keep it too easy, though, I for one won’t be looking to bag myself a tiger this time next year.