Why is computer golf so addictive? Well, the real thing is darned addictive - just ask the many golf widows out there. However, real golf is also hard; even an average standard and consistency is tricky to achieve on the fairway.

That's where virtual golf comes in. While it's not exactly easy to overcome all the challenges PGA 08 throws at you, an excellent standard of play is attainable with some practice. And sinking those eagle putts feels almost as good as doing it for real. Plus it's a damn sight less expensive.

The latest Tiger Woods game is the usual incremental yearly release. The hub of EA's golfing giant remains the same, based around the by-now standard “trueswing” shot method, in which the player moves the mouse as if it were the club (pulling it back for the back-swing, then forwards for the shot, keeping as straight a line as possible otherwise the ball hooks or slices off as it would do in reality). A variety of different shot types (such as power hit or backspin) can be selected, and the control system is easy to grasp, yet maintains enough depth to make it interesting.

There are twenty-three real pro golfers (and a host of amateurs) to compete against over some fourteen courses, five of which are new for this year. The career mode is the heart of PGA 08, where you create a “hack” golfer (a rank amateur) who has to tackle a series of events, eventually breaking into the pro ranks and taking on the best in the world.

Winning tournaments gains you money and standing, along with experience points which can be spent to improve attributes (power, long game, short game and putting). It's a neat little system, with lots of extras to deal with such as buying new gear and clubs, securing sponsorships and so forth. This campaign mode's quality presentation and structure give the player a great sense of an actual developing golf career.

To win extra experience and boosts your stats further, you can partake of the “Tiger Challenge”. This has nothing to do with collecting vouchers from Esso petrol stations; instead it's a fresh set of golfing skill challenges for PGA 08. These vary from short rounds of “skins” play (where money is won on each hole) through to distance driving competitions, putting challenges (nearest the hole wins) and full matches against seasoned pros. Completing the tasks progresses you across a hexagon board, at the end of which you get to face the great man himself in the ultimate showdown.

The other new addition to the mix is the confidence meter. On every hole, you're rated on your attributes and previous performance, modified by the type of shot you are trying to pull off. The riskier the shot, the more the confidence meter diminishes, and if you're low on confidence then there's a greater chance that you'll muck things up and finish in a bunker. This doesn't make a huge difference to the overall gameplay, but it does add an interesting dynamic whereby playing to your strengths guarantees a more solid performance - just as with real golf.

On the whole, the changes in this incarnation of Tiger Woods are clearly on the slender side. Having said that, there's no doubting it's still an excellent golf game. The career mode has considerable depth, the graphics are of a reasonably high standard, aside from the odd glitch (plus they run well on a middling PC), and when you eventually exhaust single player mode, the online play gives plenty more courses for your horses. Not literally, of course; although the hybrid sport of golf polo could be an interesting promotional idea for Volkswagen.

PGA 08 is fine tuned rather than massively different to the previous Tiger game, but that's no great surprise. Still, this remains a top-notch golf sim, although if you own last year's version, the question is clearly: Is it a worthwhile upgrade? We'd say yes, but only just, and it would be nice to see a more thorough overhaul for PGA 09.