do i need this game?

i have already got forza, gt3 and gt4 so is the really any justification on laying out the cash for enthusia?

i don't want to be missing out on anything if you think it's an essential purchase but on the other hand i don't want to shell out for something i don't need.

your opinions please..........................

I had enthusia for two weeks, graphics are good, handling of cars - good/realistic thats about the pluspoints.

Bad points - gameplay is crap didnt like the respect points system, no way of tuning car it goes up automatically, and theres hardly any performance difference the handling increases slightly, thats about it.

i enjoyed the challenges but two weeks was enough, Gran Turismo 100 times better, dont miss enthuisia at all.

hope that helps,

you should search for Enthusia in the forum search if i remember theres a good few that should help.

Barry

bugger. forgot about the search thing

cheers anyhoo

The driving experience is so much better than in GT4, although the game structure is a bit weak indeed; A must-have for every simulation-racingfan nevertheless....

Max_DC

The driving experience is so much better than in GT4, although the game structure is a bit weak indeed; A must-have for every simulation-racingfan nevertheless....

Click to expand...

AGREED. Also, I started to play enthusia again, god dammit, this is so good Street cars feel even better than in lfs s2 I also did '5 drift lessons on tsukuba in s15' that were presented in not so old Video Option Vol. It was Tsuchiya driving with Orido on the passenger seat acting as an amateur, screaming and getting excited, hillarous But what was amazing.. I did the same moves with the car on the same places, and the way in which car acted.. It looked just like on the video Here are those 5 lessons(Im not sure if order is correct):

1. Go wide from the outside to tsukuba first corner and on 50-60 km/h speed in the middle of the turn press clutch->turn hard right and press handbarke. In the end you should be looking at the entrance of the corner

2. Accel Over - Park the car on straightway, steer the wheel max to the right, press clutch, tap the gas a few times , then harder on gas and let of the clutch(wheel still max to the left or right) and in the right moment let of the gas and press brake so the car will stop perfectly in the opposite way.

3. Handbrake drift - no need to explain..

4. Clutch kick - no need to explain either i guess

5. The whole tsukuba drift lap.

So, poolio:

Pros of enthusia:

Very realistic physics - Every car feels really different, not only power and weight, the overal feel of the steering and of the car. Example: Take Lotus Elise 100S and be amazed with how fast and easy it is to control and then take S15 that feels more loose and less responsive. Another thing would be Nurbugring, the way in which cars jump there in gt4 is hillarous(you guys know which jumps i mean, and mostly the first one), just watch some real life vids and you will get what i mean, theres no unrealistic flying in enthusia there If you catch a bit of air it looks just like on real life vids - and i mean the little jump in the middle/middlend of the track.

Very realistic steering - Not like in gt4 in which with dfp you turn usually less than 45 degrees..

Realistic car sounds - Don't even compare gt4 sounds to enthusia sounds.. All is better, engine sound, tire squeelz, and wind - im not sure.

Nice selection of cars and don't expect 20 skylines


Cons:

No Online...

Selection of tracks, even when enthusia has some nice tracks.. There is just not enough of them, I want some more real ones, like Le Mans, Suzuka(Look at gt4)

Game modes - Just too simple I think

AI - Maybe its better than gt4 AI, but its still way too slow imo


Overally I give this title 8 for the game and 10 if you love cars and want to have quite realistic ride on ps2

went to town on my lunch break and got hold of a shiny new copy of enthusia for 20 quid. i'll let you know how i get on with it

poolio

went to town on my lunch break and got hold of a shiny new copy of enthusia for 20 quid. i'll let you know how i get on with it

Click to expand...

it was worth 20 quid! i paid £38 when i got it!

kamkor

AGREED. Also, I started to play enthusia again, god dammit, this is so good Street cars feel even better than in lfs s2 I also did '5 drift lessons on tsukuba in s15' that were presented in not so old Video Option Vol. It was Tsuchiya driving with Orido on the passenger seat acting as an amateur, screaming and getting excited, hillarous But what was amazing.. I did the same moves with the car on the same places, and the way in which car acted.. It looked just like on the video Here are those 5 lessons(Im not sure if order is correct):

1. Go wide from the outside to tsukuba first corner and on 50-60 km/h speed in the middle of the turn press clutch->turn hard right and press handbarke. In the end you should be looking at the entrance of the corner

2. Accel Over - Park the car on straightway, steer the wheel max to the right, press clutch, tap the gas a few times , then harder on gas and let of the clutch(wheel still max to the left or right) and in the right moment let of the gas and press brake so the car will stop perfectly in the opposite way.

3. Handbrake drift - no need to explain..

4. Clutch kick - no need to explain either i guess

5. The whole tsukuba drift lap.

So, poolio:

Pros of enthusia:

Very realistic physics - Every car feels really different, not only power and weight, the overal feel of the steering and of the car. Example: Take Lotus Elise 100S and be amazed with how fast and easy it is to control and then take S15 that feels more loose and less responsive. Another thing would be Nurbugring, the way in which cars jump there in gt4 is hillarous(you guys know which jumps i mean, and mostly the first one), just watch some real life vids and you will get what i mean, theres no unrealistic flying in enthusia there If you catch a bit of air it looks just like on real life vids - and i mean the little jump in the middle/middlend of the track.

Very realistic steering - Not like in gt4 in which with dfp you turn usually less than 45 degrees..

Realistic car sounds - Don't even compare gt4 sounds to enthusia sounds.. All is better, engine sound, tire squeelz, and wind - im not sure.

Nice selection of cars and don't expect 20 skylines


Cons:

No Online...

Selection of tracks, even when enthusia has some nice tracks.. There is just not enough of them, I want some more real ones, like Le Mans, Suzuka(Look at gt4)

Game modes - Just too simple I think

AI - Maybe its better than gt4 AI, but its still way too slow imo


Overally I give this title 8 for the game and 10 if you love cars and want to have quite realistic ride on ps2

Click to expand...

I have to says that's a perfect comparison review of Enthusia vs GT4.

barryl85

it was worth 20 quid! i paid £38 when i got it!

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i was debating whether to get it or not as i walked into the shop - then i saw the price and that pretty much made my mind up for me

kamkor

AI - Maybe its better than gt4 AI, but its still way too slow imo


Overally I give this title 8 for the game and 10 if you love cars and want to have quite realistic ride on ps2

Click to expand...

That was a good review. I'm not sure how to compare GT4 and Enthusia anymore because since I bought this one I never even touched GT4 again. I'll go back to it soon to practise the Nurb a litle more (I have the Nurb 24 hours - A-Spec - scheduled with two friends in mid August) and I'll see how will it be to go from EPR to GT4 again.

About the AI being still somewhat slow, I agree, but try this (it's what has kept me playing EPR again and again these last few weeks): One-Make races with your car at tuning level 1 and the difficulty level set to expert. I'm sure that you'll have fun, at least in the Burgenschlut track (normal and reverse).

Hun200kmh: I tried on export, but still.. Ai was slowing down it some places where I would never think of slowing down, just weird, I just feel like horning and screaming: Don't slow down here you morons!!!! For me, the only way to get some challenge is to set up the grid by yourself, while giving better cars to ai.

I agree Enthusia has better car´s sounds than GT4. Try a one-make race with Mustang GTs, the sound of the cars going off on the start is awesome!

The AI is a bit better than GT4´s in my opinion, but still not good enough. I mean, why the hell do all the cars go off the track at the first corner of Nurburgring, ALWAYS!!! And they push you off with them.

But yeah, it´s a great game and should be in every racing games lover´s collection! 👍

FatAssBR

The AI is a bit better than GT4´s in my opinion, but still not good enough. I mean, why the hell do all the cars go off the track at the first corner of Nurburgring, ALWAYS!!! And they push you off with them.

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Talking of which, ai also crashes on first corner of dragon range uphill course.

About your comments on the sounds of the game, were you saying gt4 is much better or enthusia is better? I have to say that the wind sound in gt4 along with other things, gives the game a tremendous sense of speed which isnt there in enthusia. I get an adrenaline rush from the intense sound of wind in gt4, its allmost non existent in enthusia.
Havnt compared the engine noises much but off the top of my head id agree that enthusia does them better.

Enthusia is a great game!! The car selection is really nice (especially without all the repeats), and I just LOVE!! the drift physics!! They are TONS better than GT4. Definitely a buy!

While I have been very busy playing mostly GT4 and a bit of Forza last months I had waited with buying Enthusia and now I have bought it I am very impressed. The game structure is a bit weak and there are not so many tracks available (more real racetracks would be welcome) but thanks to its physics it's awesome to drive the cars. Definately more challenging. I've unlocked only up to class C cars in DR so far and every car feels differrent. I understand that some cars get an improvement of handling in Enth. life but some cars are so difficult to master when you first drive them. It's a challenge to get them around the Nurburgring without kissing the wall. The Abarth 1000 is a nice example. Out of maybe 50 tries I've managed only 4 clean fast laps around the ring so far. What a little nervous car this is! But GREAT, GREAT fun and very addictive. And a beautiful replay as a reward when you get a clean fast lap in looking very realistic. This game is a must-have for petrolheats.

I realize I'm late to the party, but still.

"Do I need this game?".

I recently asked myself the same question a few days ago. Bought it yesterday, after reading peoples impressions here. What I found especially convincing were some positive reviews from the same people here who have the sense to appreciate RBR . Anyway, thought I drop my impressions here. I alrealy have GT4, Forza and just about every other relevant racing game this generation and will be making some inevitable comparisons.

First off I'd say Enthusia has more in common with Forza than GT4. Mainly because off the way the cars feel mid-turn. In GT4 there's a strong sense of pull; you feel the gravity pull your car to the outside of the track, more or less regardless of your car's horsepower or whether it's a FF or FR/MR or whatever. The only way to really counter this effect in GT4 is to use a car with lots of downforce (try a DTM at Nürburgring for an example of this). In Enthusia, as well as in Forza, you have a much greater chance to counter the pull by pushing your car inwards, in other words powersliding is much more effective than in GT4. This I knew before I got Enthusia.

I was hoping for a bit more challenge in the way the cars handle though. I don't really care for the whole "how realistic is it?" debate as to me the realism in itself doesn't have much to do with what I'm gonna think of the game. Two of my favorite console racers are Ferrari F355 Challenge and Richard Burns Rally. Are they realistic? I don't care. They both feature cars that are challenging to control and that makes them fun for me. The thing is that turning off all assists in GT4 makes a ton of the cars in the game very difficult to master (a few favorites around the 'Ring include the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, a tuned Dodge Viper and the Porsche Yellowbird) and lots of fun to use. The physics engine in Enthusia in itself is more advanced and gives the gameplay more depth, but I still think they could have made it a bit more challenging. I do realize there probably are a few cars I haven't tried yet in Enthusia that are, but overall this is still my opinion.

Anyway, as many have said before me, this is very much a game that grows on you. Yesterday night, after finishing my first session with the game I wasn't even sure if I was going to keep it. The tracks didn't seem all that interesting and the gameplay, while having a few good points, hadn't convinced me. After a few hours with the game today though, it's a keeper. I never had a problem winning races right from the start of Enthusia Life, or whatever it's called, but to be able to get the most out of your car, powersliding and really taking it to the limit, you really do need to know the tracks well. As long as you're playing this game as you would GT4, being a slave to the correct racing line and avoiding losing traction, it's got nothing on said competitor. So track knowledge was one key to enjoying the game for me.

The way the career mode, or Enthusia Life, is presented is just a mess, as has been written here many times so no need to go there. The meny music is some of the worst yet, and the jaggies are bad. There's no shortage of little things to bug you here. But then I expected that, and gameplay is king, so... All in all, I'd say it's a better racing game than GT4, again like Forza. But for that pure feeling of just driving a vehicle there's still nothing to match the pure sexiness of GT4 imo. It's the way the Dodge Viper FEELS when you very, very carefully nurse it around a turn and then floors the gas pedal and DAMN that sensation of power is so amazing. There are many examples like this in GT4 that makes it one of the reigning champions in my collection. Enthusia proved to be a very enjoyable distraction and will continue to be so, but I'd still take a few of my other racing games over this if I had to. And that's actually not bad

/Rant over. Off to play some more. Cheers.

Why are you guys saying the AI is too slow? Do you not notice the difficulty guage (ie. odds) at the bottom of the event select screen? If it's above 10 then you can't tell me that that's not a hard race. The thing is the odds go down when you car goes up in tuning level. So try to race with stock car as much as possible to keep the odds above 10/1. I usually have to fight for 2nd or 3rd when they are above 15/1. I've run races with 20/1 odds (didn't do so well) If you run a fast car like a Skyline you will be lucky to see the odds above 2/1. In quick race you can change the grid to make a harder race for yourself. So the game is as hard as you want it to be. So you can take that off the "cons" list and add the AI difficulty to the "pros" list.

rsmithdrift

Why are you guys saying the AI is too slow? Do you not notice the difficulty guage (ie. odds) at the bottom of the event select screen? If it's above 10 then you can't tell me that that's not a hard race. The thing is the odds go down when you car goes up in tuning level. So try to race with stock car as much as possible to keep the odds above 10/1. I usually have to fight for 2nd or 3rd when they are above 15/1. I've run races with 20/1 odds (didn't do so well) If you run a fast car like a Skyline you will be lucky to see the odds above 2/1. In quick race you can change the grid to make a harder race for yourself. So the game is as hard as you want it to be. So you can take that off the "cons" list and add the AI difficulty to the "pros" list.

Click to expand...

But just because you can make the races harder doesn´t mean the AI is fast. It´s the same for GT4.

I've tried going back to GT4 many times but i can't do more than one lap with it. Enthusia ruined GT4 for me.

AI is freaking slow... I used a Nismo S15 R-tune, which can only do 3'31"XXX in my hands, to beat a 3'23"1XX Evo VIII by about 150 yards!

Adam West

I've tried going back to GT4 many times but i can't do more than one lap with it. Enthusia ruined GT4 for me.

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I haven't even tried.

I could make my rant here about GT4, but it would be very long. Maybe I was expecting too much from it, after 4 years of playing GT3, GTConcept and GT4P.

I'll just say that if you don't like/don't use B-Spec, that game is soon over. And when you think of replayability, it won't be the "A-Spec maximizing thingy" that will get me into GT4 again.

Enthusia has definitely the "outsider" advantage. I never even knew this game existed until a few weeks of its release. So, it was a pleasant surprise.

And I have no doubt that if we had been "anticipating" the features of Enthusia, and cerating a hype about it like it happened with GT4, the game would seem pure crap. Like this:

a) no pits;
b) no tyre wearing;
c) no fuel spending;
d) no endurance races (I know that in free race we can have 200 laps races, but that means nothing if you don't have to care about pit strategy);
d) no day/night cycles;
e) no random weather (it would be pointless considering you can't change tyres);
g) no championships;
h) no tuning (well, there's some, but far too limited)
i) few (just two) real tracks;
j) lots of very small tracks, and some of them with arcade-like sections (rally tracks that go through caves (!) are a good example, but I also don't like the jumps in the Pacific Gateway track - just like Seattle's GT3 and GT4 jumps - or the wooden bits of Marco Strada and Burgenschlut);
k) just 200 cars (but I must say that they're a nice selection);
l) No Ferraris, no Porsches, no Lamborghinis;
m) no online;
n) no LAN or i.link;
o) no widescreen (16:9) TV support;
p) almost impossible to drive - at least to drive well - with the DS2;
q) 6 car grids;

So ... anyone that has not tried Enthusia yet comes to this point in my post and thinks: "What a crappy game, I don't know how these guys play it or even why is there a GTP forum dedicated to it".

But I say it again: I have never even tried to play GT4 again since I bought Enthusia. And that became even more clear when I got this game to 100%.

Because the physics engine is far superior - and more fun - than the GT4 one. Because the 211 cars available are - each and every one of them - unique to drive. Because the AI is better than the GT4 one (not perfect, but better). Because you can set your own grids. Beacause some tracks are very well designed (my hat goes off to the guys that designed Burgenschlut - inspite the wooden bit - and Loeweseenring). Because of Dragon Range. Because the odds system (in EL) is more rewarding and less buggy than the stupid A-Spec points. And, although I'm not a "pro drifter" myself, because drifting becomes naturally a habit - with the inherent fun you get from it - while playing this game.

In short, and I already said this in another thread: when I get home and I just want to do a few races, there's no question in my mind about what game to pick from the shelf. It's Enthusia.

Are you adverstising for opa-ages.com, Adam ????

Regarding to the "too hard to drive with DS2", well, it's a sim, and that means no comprimises to recreat the real physics.

I'm actually having no problems whatsoever to do well with the DS2 (accelerate/brake on right stick). Haven't encountered a car that gave me any trouble yet (rank 41, I'm racing in the RS section of EL right now). That said, this game, more so than GT4, makes me wanna splash out for a DFP. Looks like I'll be doing that very soon.

I fully agree with Hun200kmh's last post, there are loads of things to improve in case there's a sequel coming. And while Enthusia has grown on me even more since my last post, I still feel the sensation of driving the vehicles in the game is far superior in GT4. But it's what the physics and handling does to the overall racing experience that is Enthusias strong point. Given some good competition on the track the races are tight and exciting in a way that GT4 never really is. Thanks for all the impressions posted, I'm glad I got this.

Really cool game, with a steering wheel it is even more fun. I love taking a car to the Airport square and just go crazy
One thing that is getting me down is the rival unlock........it happens often that I don't unlock any car as it stops "off" the list!

Bul

Really cool game, with a steering wheel it is even more fun. I love taking a car to the Airport square and just go crazy
One thing that is getting me down is the rival unlock........it happens often that I don't unlock any car as it stops "off" the list!

Click to expand...

I pick my races carefully and if I don't get a car I hit reset on the PS2.

Hun200kmh

I haven't even tried.

I could make my rant here about GT4, but it would be very long. Maybe I was expecting too much from it, after 4 years of playing GT3, GTConcept and GT4P.

I'll just say that if you don't like/don't use B-Spec, that game is soon over. And when you think of replayability, it won't be the "A-Spec maximizing thingy" that will get me into GT4 again.

Enthusia has definitely the "outsider" advantage. I never even knew this game existed until a few weeks of its release. So, it was a pleasant surprise.

And I have no doubt that if we had been "anticipating" the features of Enthusia, and cerating a hype about it like it happened with GT4, the game would seem pure crap. Like this:

a) no pits;
b) no tyre wearing;
c) no fuel spending;
d) no endurance races (I know that in free race we can have 200 laps races, but that means nothing if you don't have to care about pit strategy);
d) no day/night cycles;
e) no random weather (it would be pointless considering you can't change tyres);
g) no championships;
h) no tuning (well, there's some, but far too limited)
i) few (just two) real tracks;
j) lots of very small tracks, and some of them with arcade-like sections (rally tracks that go through caves (!) are a good example, but I also don't like the jumps in the Pacific Gateway track - just like Seattle's GT3 and GT4 jumps - or the wooden bits of Marco Strada and Burgenschlut);
k) just 200 cars (but I must say that they're a nice selection);
l) No Ferraris, no Porsches, no Lamborghinis;
m) no online;
n) no LAN or i.link;
o) no widescreen (16:9) TV support;
p) almost impossible to drive - at least to drive well - with the DS2;
q) 6 car grids;

So ... anyone that has not tried Enthusia yet comes to this point in my post and thinks: "What a crappy game, I don't know how these guys play it or even why is there a GTP forum dedicated to it".

But I say it again: I have never even tried to play GT4 again since I bought Enthusia. And that became even more clear when I got this game to 100%.

Because the physics engine is far superior - and more fun - than the GT4 one. Because the 211 cars available are - each and every one of them - unique to drive. Because the AI is better than the GT4 one (not perfect, but better). Because you can set your own grids. Beacause some tracks are very well designed (my hat goes off to the guys that designed Burgenschlut - inspite the wooden bit - and Loeweseenring). Because of Dragon Range. Because the odds system (in EL) is more rewarding and less buggy than the stupid A-Spec points. And, although I'm not a "pro drifter" myself, because drifting becomes naturally a habit - with the inherent fun you get from it - while playing this game.

In short, and I already said this in another thread: when I get home and I just want to do a few races, there's no question in my mind about what game to pick from the shelf. It's Enthusia.

Click to expand...

My friend, you didn't just nail it on the head, you took a robotically-controlled laser-guided hammering machine and slammed the nail into the wood in one hit. 👍

I need to cop me a copy of enthusia.