Tiger Woods roars into stores

Tiger Woods went to Stanford, is the best golfer in the world (and possibly history), is married to a Swedish model, is a gazillionaire, and is an endorser for American Express, Buick, Nike, and more. What else does the man need? How about an annual game that features his name and likeness and that's consistently a top seller?

Electronic Arts today announced that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 has shipped to stores for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. A PSP version will be released September 26, and an Xbox 360 version will also be teed up. The game was developed by EA Redwood Shores and is rated E for Everyone.

PGA Tour 06 uses an alteration of the series' popular swing mechanic, called dual analog swing. The left stick controls the swing, and the right stick controls the swing's impact point. This lets gamers "shape" their shots with spin for backspin, draws, and fades.

The rivals single-player mode doubles as a golf history lesson. Using a created golfer, players will attempt to topple some of golf's most storied achievements from the past and present. Competition will come from current swingers such as Woods and from legends like Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer.

This year's game has 12 official PGA courses, such as Pebble Beach, Reflection Bay, and Doral. There are 19 PGA players in the game, including Vijay Singh, Chris DiMarco, and Mike Weir.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 retails for $49.99 on the Xbox, PS2, and PSP and for $39.99 on the GameCube and PC. For a detailed overview of the game, check back later for GameSpot's full review.

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