http://www.konami.com/gs/enthusia/
As our more dialed-in readers probably know, Konami has been not-so-quietly working on its "Gran Turismo-killer" for some three years now, and we finally got plenty of time with the jaw-dropping Enthusia Professional Racing. It wasn't quite all the time we needed, as Enthusia is one demanding, no-nonsense mistress.
Senior producer Manabu Akita speaks quite forwardly, even in Japanese: His intention is to introduce the most realistic racing game available, period, and to bring something truly new to the genre in the process. Blowing some minds (and eyes) with visuals can't hurt either, of course. He started by demonstrating a couple of side-by-side gameplay/live video comparison clips of various cars in action, which were extremely hard to tell apart.
Enthusia might sound slightly goofy, but there's nothing goofy about the game's control, presentation, or demanding realism. It's all business here, down to the second-by-second grab of each individual tire. All you need do is take one lap with the carefree, mash-the-X-button abandon of your average arcade racer and you will become intimate with the wall, trust us. While some video game racers attempt a segregation of the tenants of circuit and "drift" racing, Enthusia promises -- and requires -- a sort of Grand Unification.
In a game where usually unseen physical forces can be your best friend or your worst enemy, Enthusia Professional Racing offers a "Visual Gravity System" to help gamers break years (decades, in some cases) of bad habits. A small iconic chassis-and-tire display is superimposed over the player's view of the track ahead -- the individual tires flare up with various alarming degrees of luminosity to convey when (and to what degree) the tires are "catching" at any given instant. Meanwhile, gravity "G-Ball" floats bumper-to-bumper and door-to-door to indicate the G-forces of the moment.
Further, VGS indicators also show in which direction -- and how badly -- your car is getting ready to roll on you. Obviously, a good, flowing mental synthesis of the VGS data can make the difference between really chewing up a hairpin turn and, you know, really chewing on a hairpin turn.
Angle and grab lamps for each tire allow players to clinically (as well as instinctually) "time" their drifts, while torque and power lamps let players know when their machines are reaching their limits. The superimposed VGS scheme sounds distracting as hell, but here's the truth: It is distracting as hell, but A) it's a feature you can toggle at will and B) it's still a lot less distracting than slamming into a trackside barrier at 106 mph because you were "sure you could make the turn."
For the player's "benefit," the Konami designers have graciously included a post-race track diagram that lovingly details each last individual spin-out, black flag, overtake-by-opponent, grill-plant and otherwise unintentionally velocitous contact with anything incurred during the race. This includes evaluations of your top speeds even when they didn't help you.
Apparently, it's against Konami corporate policy to go more than a few months without putting something really bizarre into an otherwise straight-faced game. To this end, Enthusia offers gamers the recently announced "Driving Revolution" mode. As you tackle the game's tracks, you're presented with visible -- but physically insubstantial -- "target gates" that you must not only pass through, but at the proper rate of speed. There are visual cues for acceleration and braking where appropriate to maintain the rhythm.
The list of Enthusia additions doesn't stop there, either. One feature more stubborn types will particularly enjoy is the "odds system" that offers at least a hazy picture of which challengers present the greatest upcoming threats. Also, the clunkily named "Enthu point" system which, as long as you keep it in the positive, allows the accumulation of skill points that serve as the game's only "currency." Enthusia allows players to stick with a vehicle they're particularly partial to, even as they work their way up to facing more and more exotic, high-powered opponents.
If we have a gripe at this point, it's the limited camera options currently available -- one first-person viewpoint, and one behind-the-car that doesn't allow for much virtual peripheral vision. This is understandable in one respect -- they want us to see the meticulous job they've done on the car models, of course! -- but perhaps they'll take pity on the more visually paranoid and offer more remote viewing angles.
Finally, the game will include an "Enthusia Life Mode" that -- once you rank high enough for qualification -- takes on the career aspect. Players can compete in many different race types in more-or-less chronological order. Tracks include the Parisian Route de la Seine, Japan's Tsukuba Circuit, and the Euro Nurburgring course, as well as at least one new (and torturous) drift-intensive mountain track. Among the 200+ cars is the newly confirmed (and nicely strange) "Garaiya," a Japanese-in-Euro-clothes performance hybrid from Japanese manufacturer Autobacs.
You may never have put Konami and "high-performance racing sim" in the same mental sentence before... but welcome to the new circuit, because Enthusia Professional Racing is serious, high-torque business. Join us trackside later this year, as the final build closes on the development finish line.
As our more dialed-in readers probably know, Konami has been not-so-quietly working on its "Gran Turismo-killer" for some three years now, and we finally got plenty of time with the jaw-dropping Enthusia Professional Racing. It wasn't quite all the time we needed, as Enthusia is one demanding, no-nonsense mistress.
Senior producer Manabu Akita speaks quite forwardly, even in Japanese: His intention is to introduce the most realistic racing game available, period, and to bring something truly new to the genre in the process. Blowing some minds (and eyes) with visuals can't hurt either, of course. He started by demonstrating a couple of side-by-side gameplay/live video comparison clips of various cars in action, which were extremely hard to tell apart.
Enthusia might sound slightly goofy, but there's nothing goofy about the game's control, presentation, or demanding realism. It's all business here, down to the second-by-second grab of each individual tire. All you need do is take one lap with the carefree, mash-the-X-button abandon of your average arcade racer and you will become intimate with the wall, trust us. While some video game racers attempt a segregation of the tenants of circuit and "drift" racing, Enthusia promises -- and requires -- a sort of Grand Unification.
In a game where usually unseen physical forces can be your best friend or your worst enemy, Enthusia Professional Racing offers a "Visual Gravity System" to help gamers break years (decades, in some cases) of bad habits. A small iconic chassis-and-tire display is superimposed over the player's view of the track ahead -- the individual tires flare up with various alarming degrees of luminosity to convey when (and to what degree) the tires are "catching" at any given instant. Meanwhile, gravity "G-Ball" floats bumper-to-bumper and door-to-door to indicate the G-forces of the moment.
Further, VGS indicators also show in which direction -- and how badly -- your car is getting ready to roll on you. Obviously, a good, flowing mental synthesis of the VGS data can make the difference between really chewing up a hairpin turn and, you know, really chewing on a hairpin turn.
Angle and grab lamps for each tire allow players to clinically (as well as instinctually) "time" their drifts, while torque and power lamps let players know when their machines are reaching their limits. The superimposed VGS scheme sounds distracting as hell, but here's the truth: It is distracting as hell, but A) it's a feature you can toggle at will and B) it's still a lot less distracting than slamming into a trackside barrier at 106 mph because you were "sure you could make the turn."
For the player's "benefit," the Konami designers have graciously included a post-race track diagram that lovingly details each last individual spin-out, black flag, overtake-by-opponent, grill-plant and otherwise unintentionally velocitous contact with anything incurred during the race. This includes evaluations of your top speeds even when they didn't help you.
Apparently, it's against Konami corporate policy to go more than a few months without putting something really bizarre into an otherwise straight-faced game. To this end, Enthusia offers gamers the recently announced "Driving Revolution" mode. As you tackle the game's tracks, you're presented with visible -- but physically insubstantial -- "target gates" that you must not only pass through, but at the proper rate of speed. There are visual cues for acceleration and braking where appropriate to maintain the rhythm.
The list of Enthusia additions doesn't stop there, either. One feature more stubborn types will particularly enjoy is the "odds system" that offers at least a hazy picture of which challengers present the greatest upcoming threats. Also, the clunkily named "Enthu point" system which, as long as you keep it in the positive, allows the accumulation of skill points that serve as the game's only "currency." Enthusia allows players to stick with a vehicle they're particularly partial to, even as they work their way up to facing more and more exotic, high-powered opponents.
If we have a gripe at this point, it's the limited camera options currently available -- one first-person viewpoint, and one behind-the-car that doesn't allow for much virtual peripheral vision. This is understandable in one respect -- they want us to see the meticulous job they've done on the car models, of course! -- but perhaps they'll take pity on the more visually paranoid and offer more remote viewing angles.
Finally, the game will include an "Enthusia Life Mode" that -- once you rank high enough for qualification -- takes on the career aspect. Players can compete in many different race types in more-or-less chronological order. Tracks include the Parisian Route de la Seine, Japan's Tsukuba Circuit, and the Euro Nurburgring course, as well as at least one new (and torturous) drift-intensive mountain track. Among the 200+ cars is the newly confirmed (and nicely strange) "Garaiya," a Japanese-in-Euro-clothes performance hybrid from Japanese manufacturer Autobacs.
You may never have put Konami and "high-performance racing sim" in the same mental sentence before... but welcome to the new circuit, because Enthusia Professional Racing is serious, high-torque business. Join us trackside later this year, as the final build closes on the development finish line.
