Tiger Woods PGA Tour is one of those games that have a fairly large appeal to even the biggest golf hater. Take my wife (rim shot please) for example. She completely despises golf, but for some reason Tiger Woods and Mario Golf are two of her favorite games. One could argue that Mario is cutesy and that would appeal to a different group of people as well as golf fans, but that doesn't really make any exceptions for Tiger. Either way, Tiger Woods is the premier golf game for fans of the sport and a few outsiders. So, what's different about the PSP version? Not much.

True to the latest Tiger Woods titles, there's an extreme amount of customization that goes into each player-made character. You can alter pretty much everything about the characters physical appearance as to make them look like you or some abomination that is an affront to God and all that is holy in the world. This really doesn't have any effect at all on your characters skills, but it's fun to mess around with. There's a certain appeal to playing an extreme simpleton on the PGA tour.

As well as just physical appearance, you can buy clothing for your golfer, and the farther you get in the game the more clothing is unlocked. Other than clothing, you can also purchase new clubs that will improve your stats and help you win more rounds. A lot of these items depend on what sponsorships you receive and how far you are in the tour. Once again, some of these things are purely for looks while others have real world effect, but the real character improvement comes in when buying stats.

Your character has a series of stats that you can spend money to improve. These stats range from the accuracy and distance of which you can drive a ball, to luck. As you buy percentage points, the price goes up, of course, so it can be rather expensive to get a good score. Then again, as the game progresses, you get more money for wins on the tour.

So, there aren't really too many gripes about this game, but there are a few little issues. One is that, as with all the console versions, the game requires you to use it's swing system of pulling the stick back and then pushing it forward in order to strike the ball. This works to some extent on the consoles, but it's a bit more difficult on the PSP. It makes you wish that they'd bring back the option of the swing bar.

Other than the swing movement problem, the only other glaring problem is the load times. These load times are almost PS1 throwback style. The load between holes is pretty serious, but when the game first starts you might as well go get a drink and jog around your house a few times because you won't be playing the game for a little while. In fact, it's so bad that it almost appears as if it has hung up the program.

There are a few little problems with Tiger Woods, but nothing that's completely game breaking. The load times are pretty bad, but once the game is loaded it's a pretty good time. If you love golf or are just a fan of golf games, than this is the one for you.