One year and a few days ago...
- Thread starter Wolfe
- 153 comments
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- 2,080
i don't have it for so long, only have it one month, but i think for a realistic ride i'll play it every now and then.....but a sequel would also be nice!
viper
viper
- 860
I play it more than any other game in my library. Pretty large library too. NR2k3Season, GT4, GT3, Toca 2, Toca 3, SRS, NFS HP2, NFS U, NFS U2, NFS MW, TXR0, TXR3, Kaido Battle (TXR Drift), Nascar Thunder 2k4, Nascar 2k6: TTC, F1 2k2, Le Mans 24 Hours, Total Immersion Racing, ATV Off Road Fury 2, GTA3, GTA VC, GTA SA.
Enthusia OWNS them all.
Enthusia OWNS them all.
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,033
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
uM_JammerCould you point me to the source for that quote?
Here you go
Its from the Japanese website.
http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/enthusia/eng/top/index.html
Have a look around the Interviews section.
👍
Regards
Scaff
- 28
I still play it more than other game I had (includes PC, and Xbox). There's just something about enthusia that just keeps me glued. Hmmm... must be the realistic value of it compared to the others.
The only thing that rivals my time with Enthusia (besides the fiancee) would have to be turning her cavalier into a turbo beast 👍
The only thing that rivals my time with Enthusia (besides the fiancee) would have to be turning her cavalier into a turbo beast 👍
Mostly Enthusia for me.
RBR occasionally. It's good, but FWD on mostly narrow gravel tracks gets a bit boring after a while. Maybe I should spend some more time with it.
GT4's physics ignores most of what I do, so I mostly ignore GT4 these days. And apart from the physics, the whinny engine sounds are so disappointing after Enthusia. I like to wear headphones and blow my mind.
RBR occasionally. It's good, but FWD on mostly narrow gravel tracks gets a bit boring after a while. Maybe I should spend some more time with it.
GT4's physics ignores most of what I do, so I mostly ignore GT4 these days. And apart from the physics, the whinny engine sounds are so disappointing after Enthusia. I like to wear headphones and blow my mind.
- 2,080
Jimjams
that's very true! nice comment..... 👍
viper
- 7,113
- Lisboa
- FLAT_TWELVE
I still play Enthusia. In fact, it's just about the only racing game I play nowadays.
Thinking of this, if I would record time spent with racing games since I bought the PS2 would really reveal some odd choices. It would be something like this:
1st. - GT3 -first game I bought and only game I had for almost one year. Played it very often up to the release of GT4, three years later.
2nd - Enthusia - One year already as king of racing games. If nothing changes in the next two years it will surely become #1 on this list.
3rd - Le Mans 24 H - This is one of my all time fav games. I did several 24 hour races around Le Mans, several 10 hour races around Road Atlanta, alone or with a "team of friends" (in this case, without saves or rest). Poor physics, but a true - still the best - simulation of what endurance racing means.
4th - V- Rally 3 - This "underdog" PS2-rally game got me. When it was released, everybody played CMR3 or WRCIII, and I tried both, but always returned to V Rally 3 if I wanted some rally action. I guess it was the career mode that made it interesting.
5th - RBR - The best (physicswise) and most difficult rally game I have, it suffered from a late buy, some months before GT4 was released.
6th - GT4
rologue - I had a lot of fun with this mini game from PD and, strange as it may seem, I still like it even more than I like GT4. Played a lot with it, while waiting for the release of GT4.
7th - GT4 - About four months of playing this one, and took it (A-spec only) to some 85%. Then, it became boring (it's strange, but this is something I never felt about GT3). Enthusia was a breath of fresh air, and every time I tried to play GT4 again, I quickly put it back.
8th - TRD2 - floaty cars, but a fun game. Did the career, got the kiss from the blonde, and that was it.
9th - F1 05 - Did three full championships. Best F1 PS2 game so far. But the time I spent with it doesn't compare with the many, many hours I spent with Gran Prix 2 (for the PC). I guess F1 just doesn't interest me now has it used to in the nineties.
10th - TRD3 - still floaty cars, and no blonde this time. It's a fun game, but after playing Enthusia, it is difficult to get interested in a game with such poor physics (yes, I tried pro-simulation). A friend of mine borrowed it from me one month after I bought it, and I haven't asked the game back. I just don't miss it.
PS - MotoGP 1, 2 and 3 would fit in this top ten list, scoring somewhere in the middle of it.
Thinking of this, if I would record time spent with racing games since I bought the PS2 would really reveal some odd choices. It would be something like this:
1st. - GT3 -first game I bought and only game I had for almost one year. Played it very often up to the release of GT4, three years later.
2nd - Enthusia - One year already as king of racing games. If nothing changes in the next two years it will surely become #1 on this list.
3rd - Le Mans 24 H - This is one of my all time fav games. I did several 24 hour races around Le Mans, several 10 hour races around Road Atlanta, alone or with a "team of friends" (in this case, without saves or rest). Poor physics, but a true - still the best - simulation of what endurance racing means.
4th - V- Rally 3 - This "underdog" PS2-rally game got me. When it was released, everybody played CMR3 or WRCIII, and I tried both, but always returned to V Rally 3 if I wanted some rally action. I guess it was the career mode that made it interesting.
5th - RBR - The best (physicswise) and most difficult rally game I have, it suffered from a late buy, some months before GT4 was released.
6th - GT4
rologue - I had a lot of fun with this mini game from PD and, strange as it may seem, I still like it even more than I like GT4. Played a lot with it, while waiting for the release of GT4.7th - GT4 - About four months of playing this one, and took it (A-spec only) to some 85%. Then, it became boring (it's strange, but this is something I never felt about GT3). Enthusia was a breath of fresh air, and every time I tried to play GT4 again, I quickly put it back.
8th - TRD2 - floaty cars, but a fun game. Did the career, got the kiss from the blonde, and that was it.
9th - F1 05 - Did three full championships. Best F1 PS2 game so far. But the time I spent with it doesn't compare with the many, many hours I spent with Gran Prix 2 (for the PC). I guess F1 just doesn't interest me now has it used to in the nineties.
10th - TRD3 - still floaty cars, and no blonde this time. It's a fun game, but after playing Enthusia, it is difficult to get interested in a game with such poor physics (yes, I tried pro-simulation). A friend of mine borrowed it from me one month after I bought it, and I haven't asked the game back. I just don't miss it.
PS - MotoGP 1, 2 and 3 would fit in this top ten list, scoring somewhere in the middle of it.
I agree with pretty much your entire list, Hun200kmh (although I don't own RBR or the TRD games, and have never played GT4, V-Rally, or F1 05)...especially this one:
Several members on GTP have told me that TRD3 is the ultimate in PS2 driving sims. I rented it, and wasn't even half impressed -- it was still just a floaty Codemasters game, but Pro-Sim mode added a bit more wheelspin and the ability to lock your brakes. Ooh, fancy!
I played it on the night that I rented it, and then never touched it again until I returned it about 5 days later.
I'm sure the variety is great, but I just couldn't get "into" it, especially because I've played a lot of TRD2 on my friend's XBOX.
, V-Rally, or F1 05)...especially this one:Hun200kmh
Several members on GTP have told me that TRD3 is the ultimate in PS2 driving sims. I rented it, and wasn't even half impressed -- it was still just a floaty Codemasters game, but Pro-Sim mode added a bit more wheelspin and the ability to lock your brakes. Ooh, fancy!
I played it on the night that I rented it, and then never touched it again until I returned it about 5 days later.
I'm sure the variety is great, but I just couldn't get "into" it, especially because I've played a lot of TRD2 on my friend's XBOX.
- 2,080
GarouGTI think of Enthusia as a mental workout. Getting exhausted after playing the game satisfies me.
after some races that's damn true, they're really exhausting....
viper
- 26,262
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
I played Enthusia for the very first time with this rental. I've provided some notes from my experience with Enthusia.
First off, the intro is weird as hell. You got this God person early. Then a Japanese lady (who is a photographer) and her cute daughter. Then eventually... RACING!
Now a drivetrain test. I heard about the RWD cars in this game, so I decided to start with FWD.
--- Front/FWD TEST: Mini Cooper 1275S Mk 1 ---
One of the cars I was up against in Free Race mode was the Mitsubishi Pajero Dakar rally racer. I'd get my ass beat if this was GT4 and I had an old Mini Cooper (of course, the vintage models aren't in GT4). In the second lap of the Rev City event I started with, I spun around this FWD Cooper like it was a RWD car. It almost seemed like this FWD had a drift setup or was given RWD characteristics. Braking was pretty tough at times. Gran Turismo types would be frustrated.
--- Front/RWD TEST: Nissan Silvia Spec-R ---
Ahh, my true love. Damn shame we can't have you in America, Nissan S15 Silvia. On top of this, this is where the rather controversial RWD is like. I did Marco Strada, a beautiful European setting that's under wet conditions. I lost the race by 17 seconds after fiddling around with the shaky and deplorable handling. Yet the demo driver races it perfect. Oh my God, they killed the handling of one of my favorite Japanese cars! You bastard! I got OWNED!
--- Mid/RWD TEST: Nissan R390 GT1 ---
Just like its rival Toyota GT-One, the R390 GT1 never won Le Mans. It was a pure effort by the company formerly known as Datsun. I'm more of a Toyota fan than Nissan, yet this remains a solid race car. It's also my first Race Car drive in Enthusia as I challenged Tsukuba. Tsukuba is that Japanese proving ground you may remember from GT4 and Forza. I must say... this was the best-handling machine I've raced so far. No iffy handling, no unecessary spins, just PERFECT! I laid down a fastest time of 58.103 in my Free Race. Was it perfect because this was a race car? Because it was mid-engined? Because it was a Nissan? ^_^ This was a GREAT drive.
--- Front/4WD TEST: Subaru Impreza Rally Car ---
Speediapolis Ring... may as well call it Indianapolis with a change of scenery. Life was too short for a street car around an oval, so I got this racer. I won easily. Around the oval, I'm surprised the car held all four wheels to the track so that I didn't end up like my Mini experience at Rev City. Here's another winner.
--- ENTHUSIA RALLYING ---
You can't go wrong with either Subaru or Mitsubishi. My Speediapolis winner is going to do double duty. Maybe triple. This car did very well off road at Mystic Cave. Maybe I should have used this thing around Marco Strada than just give the race away to the other guy. My opponent at Mystic Cave was a Lotus Europa, by the way. Won fairly well.
I decided to use the Mitsbushishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makkien Edition for Mirage Crossing. Mouthful, you say? It's nothing really. At least you know it's a Lancer, and you know what you're getting when you use a Lancer. I was on pace most of the time at Mirage Crossing. But it wasn't until my Lancer got stuck in the desert sands. Probably should have kept the Impreza rally car. Either that, or stay on the road. And so I tried again. Trappped again. I got to get the Impreza back. Despite being overtaken at one point, I still managed to clear the race at 2:27.193. The big challenge was to make sure I knew where to go and avoid the sand trap. I was up against a proper rally machine- the Toyota Celica GT-Four. I even whacked the wall extremely hard around that palace or whatever it was.
MY FAVORITE DRIVETRAIN: Mid/RWD
--- ENTHUSIA LIFE ---
This is pretty different and kind of like an illegal street racing game ("Juiced," maybe?). I think if you win, you can win one of your rival's cars. My car was the Honda Beat and ended up winning a Toyota Corolla 1.8 Luxel. I'm not a big Camry and Corolla fan, but this machine looks very nice and very stylish. I won my first race, end up losing my second to a Skyline 350GT-8 as I thought my Beat would still be supreme. Hey! I beat a freaking Dakar racer with a Mini Cooper! Okay, maybe theres some "fanboy" in me, so I paid for it. So did my Enthu points. More whacking and defending than racing.
--- DRIVING REVOLUTION ---
Think of this as your license tests, only that you're unlocking cars and stuff rather than entering higher-profile races. This can get madly strange.
--- MINI REVIEW ---
PROS: BEAUTIFUL graphics. I love the graphics even if they aren't GT4 quality. There are beautifully-designed courses with some nice sun sparkles off of windows and cars; the tracks are nicely detailed as well; "something for everyone" is good in GT4, it's slightly better with Enthusia. Many more types of cars are featured including some models GT4 has the manufacturer licenses to, but not in GT4; nice jazzy music; I'll admit. The AI is very kind to me; very polished interface with nicely-designed menus. A real professional job; adjustable difficulty; nice physics; actually, better sun sparkle effects in this game than ToCA Race Driver 3.
CONS: perfection is required of you if you want all the Enthu Points you can handle; GT and Forza types will hate that you can't purchase cars and modify them up. Instead, they are leveled up in an RPG fashion; highly questionable driving model. Let's just say that GT and Forza types will be unnerved with this one; long saving time; can't look behind you on the fly; speed effects get a little nauseating
NEUTRAL: the VGS system.
FINAL VERDICT: This may be the worst of the GT4 vs. EPR vs. Forza challenge. However, it remains a highly respectible racing game complete with a great number of cars, car types, variety in racing, and more. It gets most of the fundamentals down pad. Its driving physics, however, may be your only reason not to get this game. So I'll be modest in my scoring. (Final Verdict: 8.00/10.00)
First off, the intro is weird as hell. You got this God person early. Then a Japanese lady (who is a photographer) and her cute daughter. Then eventually... RACING!
Now a drivetrain test. I heard about the RWD cars in this game, so I decided to start with FWD.
--- Front/FWD TEST: Mini Cooper 1275S Mk 1 ---
One of the cars I was up against in Free Race mode was the Mitsubishi Pajero Dakar rally racer. I'd get my ass beat if this was GT4 and I had an old Mini Cooper (of course, the vintage models aren't in GT4). In the second lap of the Rev City event I started with, I spun around this FWD Cooper like it was a RWD car. It almost seemed like this FWD had a drift setup or was given RWD characteristics. Braking was pretty tough at times. Gran Turismo types would be frustrated.
--- Front/RWD TEST: Nissan Silvia Spec-R ---
Ahh, my true love. Damn shame we can't have you in America, Nissan S15 Silvia. On top of this, this is where the rather controversial RWD is like. I did Marco Strada, a beautiful European setting that's under wet conditions. I lost the race by 17 seconds after fiddling around with the shaky and deplorable handling. Yet the demo driver races it perfect. Oh my God, they killed the handling of one of my favorite Japanese cars! You bastard! I got OWNED!
--- Mid/RWD TEST: Nissan R390 GT1 ---
Just like its rival Toyota GT-One, the R390 GT1 never won Le Mans. It was a pure effort by the company formerly known as Datsun. I'm more of a Toyota fan than Nissan, yet this remains a solid race car. It's also my first Race Car drive in Enthusia as I challenged Tsukuba. Tsukuba is that Japanese proving ground you may remember from GT4 and Forza. I must say... this was the best-handling machine I've raced so far. No iffy handling, no unecessary spins, just PERFECT! I laid down a fastest time of 58.103 in my Free Race. Was it perfect because this was a race car? Because it was mid-engined? Because it was a Nissan? ^_^ This was a GREAT drive.
--- Front/4WD TEST: Subaru Impreza Rally Car ---
Speediapolis Ring... may as well call it Indianapolis with a change of scenery. Life was too short for a street car around an oval, so I got this racer. I won easily. Around the oval, I'm surprised the car held all four wheels to the track so that I didn't end up like my Mini experience at Rev City. Here's another winner.
--- ENTHUSIA RALLYING ---
You can't go wrong with either Subaru or Mitsubishi. My Speediapolis winner is going to do double duty. Maybe triple. This car did very well off road at Mystic Cave. Maybe I should have used this thing around Marco Strada than just give the race away to the other guy. My opponent at Mystic Cave was a Lotus Europa, by the way. Won fairly well.
I decided to use the Mitsbushishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makkien Edition for Mirage Crossing. Mouthful, you say? It's nothing really. At least you know it's a Lancer, and you know what you're getting when you use a Lancer. I was on pace most of the time at Mirage Crossing. But it wasn't until my Lancer got stuck in the desert sands. Probably should have kept the Impreza rally car. Either that, or stay on the road. And so I tried again. Trappped again. I got to get the Impreza back. Despite being overtaken at one point, I still managed to clear the race at 2:27.193. The big challenge was to make sure I knew where to go and avoid the sand trap. I was up against a proper rally machine- the Toyota Celica GT-Four. I even whacked the wall extremely hard around that palace or whatever it was.
MY FAVORITE DRIVETRAIN: Mid/RWD
--- ENTHUSIA LIFE ---
This is pretty different and kind of like an illegal street racing game ("Juiced," maybe?). I think if you win, you can win one of your rival's cars. My car was the Honda Beat and ended up winning a Toyota Corolla 1.8 Luxel. I'm not a big Camry and Corolla fan, but this machine looks very nice and very stylish. I won my first race, end up losing my second to a Skyline 350GT-8 as I thought my Beat would still be supreme. Hey! I beat a freaking Dakar racer with a Mini Cooper! Okay, maybe theres some "fanboy" in me, so I paid for it. So did my Enthu points. More whacking and defending than racing.
--- DRIVING REVOLUTION ---
Think of this as your license tests, only that you're unlocking cars and stuff rather than entering higher-profile races. This can get madly strange.
--- MINI REVIEW ---
PROS: BEAUTIFUL graphics. I love the graphics even if they aren't GT4 quality. There are beautifully-designed courses with some nice sun sparkles off of windows and cars; the tracks are nicely detailed as well; "something for everyone" is good in GT4, it's slightly better with Enthusia. Many more types of cars are featured including some models GT4 has the manufacturer licenses to, but not in GT4; nice jazzy music; I'll admit. The AI is very kind to me; very polished interface with nicely-designed menus. A real professional job; adjustable difficulty; nice physics; actually, better sun sparkle effects in this game than ToCA Race Driver 3.
CONS: perfection is required of you if you want all the Enthu Points you can handle; GT and Forza types will hate that you can't purchase cars and modify them up. Instead, they are leveled up in an RPG fashion; highly questionable driving model. Let's just say that GT and Forza types will be unnerved with this one; long saving time; can't look behind you on the fly; speed effects get a little nauseating
NEUTRAL: the VGS system.
FINAL VERDICT: This may be the worst of the GT4 vs. EPR vs. Forza challenge. However, it remains a highly respectible racing game complete with a great number of cars, car types, variety in racing, and more. It gets most of the fundamentals down pad. Its driving physics, however, may be your only reason not to get this game. So I'll be modest in my scoring. (Final Verdict: 8.00/10.00)
- 28
^ Truly an unbiased review. I saw we sticky your commentary for further debates (not like there are any). You really hit the nail on the head as far as driving experience between GT4, EPR, and Forza.
- 29,916
- Cuddington, Cheshire
- JDA1982
Aboslutely, the intro is very strange.JohnBM01
Maybe, but it's realistic, you should get heavy lift off oversteer in FWD car's with short wheelbaes like the Mini, like my 306 in real lif, if I was to take a reasonably tight corner at 70mph and lift off the back and would come out.
I suggest trying it in the dry, not the wet, though I tend to not bother doing that many wet races so I can't comment truely on the realism of them or not.
I agree the R390 is a great car to drive.
Because it has a longer wheelbase, actual downforce and more grip than the Mini, it should tackle high speed situations better, much better, and it does.
I enjoy the rallying in EPR myself.
The first time i went on that track, after the logn straight, well bumpy straight I smacked straight into the wall on the corner after.
I agree with that.
Regarding the handling, I will say EPR's is no more questionalbe than GT4, you just don't have My Yamauchi telling you it's the real driving simulator, which neither are.
I like the VGS, I don't always use it, I do flick between displays mid race sometimes but it helped me when I first got the game.
Very well made post John, you spent some time thinking about that 👍.
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,033
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
live4speed
Quite agree, but in the pursuit of fairness most driving games/sims are guilty of it.
The GT series is marketed (and that the important word here) as 'The Real Driving Simulator', the TRD series as 'The Real Racing Simulator', Forza claims '..unprecidented realism' and Enthusia claims 'Think you have played a realistic racing game already? Think again - get real and play Enthusia'.
While everyone focuses on the GT series tag line, in reality they are all at it.
live4speed
Definatly agree on that +rep given.
Regards
Scaff
- 2,080
i think everyone want's to have the real driving simulator, but nobody of them has gotten it. i think if they all would work together they could make the real driving simulator.....what do you guys think??
viper
viper
- 170
Scaff
I'd bet it then would get trashed in the reviews by <most> games reviewers for the uncompromisive levels of difficulty
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,033
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
Gil AbobeleiraI'd bet it then would get trashed in the reviews by <most> games reviewers for the uncompromisive levels of difficulty
Most likely, but then again strange things do happen. After all the Official PS2 magazine in the UK gave Richard Burns Rally 8/10 (IIRC) and thats nothing but a hard core sim.
I do however think that was just down to luck and the right reviewer (as in one who actually knew his stuff), and what you suggest is far more likely.
Regards
Scaff
That's a great, unbiased review, John, but I have to agree with l4s when he says the physics aren't as wonky as you think. 
I don't have a light, narrow-wheelbase FWD to toss around myself in real life, but I did just recently toss the UF1000 (Mini wannabe) around an autocross course in Live for Speed, and had no trouble getting it to kick the tail around and do exactly what I wanted.
Also, you should take some more time to drive the RWDs, especially on courses that aren't wet. As I've pointed out before on this forum, my 100hp 318i has little trouble spinning its wheels and oversteering around in mild rain -- did you expect a 250hp, turbocharged sportscar to be easy to drive in heavy rain?
You're absolutely right when you say that Enthusia's physics probably won't be to the liking of any dedicated GT/Forza fan...but I think you should give them some more time yourself.
@viperpilot: As Scaff said, that particular idea has been tossed around before. I personally think that Live for Speed's physics, graphics, and online-play, combined with GTR's sounds, and all of the tracks and cars of every driving game ever made would be "sufficient." 
I don't have a light, narrow-wheelbase FWD to toss around myself in real life, but I did just recently toss the UF1000 (Mini wannabe) around an autocross course in Live for Speed, and had no trouble getting it to kick the tail around and do exactly what I wanted.
Also, you should take some more time to drive the RWDs, especially on courses that aren't wet. As I've pointed out before on this forum, my 100hp 318i has little trouble spinning its wheels and oversteering around in mild rain -- did you expect a 250hp, turbocharged sportscar to be easy to drive in heavy rain?
You're absolutely right when you say that Enthusia's physics probably won't be to the liking of any dedicated GT/Forza fan...but I think you should give them some more time yourself.
@viperpilot: As Scaff said, that particular idea has been tossed around before.
I personally think that Live for Speed's physics, graphics, and online-play, combined with GTR's sounds, and all of the tracks and cars of every driving game ever made would be "sufficient."
- 2,080
that would be the "ultimate real driving simulator" *gg* sorry for taking on an old topic.......
viper
viper
- 170
Scaff
Likewise, I saw many reviews completely bashing RBR for its unforgiveness (hey, life is hard ans sucks as well), and then the same reviews hailling each new CMR....
Going a bit offtopic with this subject, in the recent years, everything that "touches" the simulating realm as been almost forgotten by most players, something that didn't happen in the 2nd part of the 90's, I guess (I'm not mentioning only car sims, but also flightsims).
Gil Abobeleira
I completly agree. But I think things look good for future. After all GT4 is claiming to be the Real Driving Simulator, and they have to prove it more and more as the series goes on. Others will follow. Just look at the improvment from GT3 to GT4 (havent played the ones before).
- 2,080
that's true, they have to defend their status, and so they're forced to get better and better, the longer the series goes on.
viper
viper
