Save your money...

[Max_DC]

Pah... TXR isn't better than NFSU at all... I played both (and finished both)... TXR has a very floaty feeling to the cars... The physics is just too slippery... NFSU isn't good either but I think its better than TXR...

And there doesn't seem to be a review for Kaido Battle (Just checked right now are those IGN grades?)... So I don't know where you got those points from...
I also can't find a review for RBR for anyone who mentioned it...

And don't bag on BurnOut 3 because its a solid game... I didn't play Enthusia yet so I have no comment but BurnOut is a pretty solid arcade racer...

And if you want a solid PS2 sim... GT 4 is the way to go... You can't customise your car as much on Enthusia from what I've heard...

1. I talked about Shoutokou Battle 01, which is the latest Tokyo Xtreme Racer In Japan ( although it is 2 years old, almost I think.....) and I also finished both games, I wanted to say that it is my personal opinion, and that reviews do not always reflect everybody's opinion
2. Arcade and sim can't be compared, I also play Arcade games but I enjoy sims more... again a personal opinion, but I've really played a lot of racing games, I own
maybe 100 + racing games (original, no backups or so) for 10 + consoles, from the early nineties to Xbox,Cube and PS2, 50 % imports from Japan including a lot of racinggames that were never released outside of Asia, and in my opinion, Enthusia
has the most realistic gameplay of all console games and it is a perfect experience to play this game for simulation freaks, > a "must have" for this kind of people, although the game surely has a lot of weak points in the general game structure and longterm motivation.....

 

[Hks_Fanatic]

i also have ShutokouBattle01, and i laught about nfsu1, in comparing with Shb01
Nfsu2 is to new but i still like Shutokou over the Nfs series.. still playing it, anyway i also have ordered Enthusia, really looking forward to this one.. i dont see it as a rival of gt or forza or something its just Enthusia 👍 couse i can spend time about hows this and that but id rather play it and do it, and if i like the other well, then ill have to work for it and get it.
im still searching in europe for the KaidoBattle series wich are nowhere to get, i always wanted Kaido Driftbattle2 chain reaction.. hehe got alot of vids of it but thats it, europe sucks imo it looks to me that we only get the commerce games and hype games, i want Kaido!!
grtz

 

[animateria]

1. I talked about Shoutokou Battle 01, which is the latest Tokyo Xtreme Racer In Japan ( although it is 2 years old, almost I think.....) and I also finished both games, I wanted to say that it is my personal opinion, and that reviews do not always reflect everybody's opinion
2. Arcade and sim can't be compared, I also play Arcade games but I enjoy sims more... again a personal opinion, but I've really played a lot of racing games, I own
maybe 100 + racing games (original, no backups or so) for 10 + consoles, from the early nineties to Xbox,Cube and PS2, 50 % imports from Japan including a lot of racinggames that were never released outside of Asia, and in my opinion, Enthusia
has the most realistic gameplay of all console games and it is a perfect experience to play this game for simulation freaks, > a "must have" for this kind of people, although the game surely has a lot of weak points in the general game structure and longterm motivation.....

Thats cool... Reviewers obviously cannot show everybodys opinion on a game because they are only showing their opinions also... (Though readers average review numbers on GameSpot is less reliable than the review numbers)... However I think they are trying to be unbiased as humanly possible to the games they review... (i.e. they are less prone to be victims of hypes.. If you read GT4 reviews they are spot on on the problems that the game has... Gamespot gave GT4 a 8.*... However, reader opinions usually are persuaded by their 'loyalty' level of the franchise... giving a lesser game more points and what not...)

They do not review a game on only one perspective... But several... Even if Enthusia has great physics as you say (I have no comment since I never played it)... You also mentioned some problems with the game... (and I've read them on those sites)... Probably a factor in how they graded the game...

BTW they can be biased... A reason I go to a couple gaming review sites... I trust them to a certain level... I buy games that have 7.* or 7X points if its my kind of stuff... If you think about it... that score is a 'Good' not a 'Horrible' (Speaking of that 1~5 = stay away, 6=okay, 7=good, 8=great, 9=impressive 10=impossible!)

 

[Tortus]

Yeah that's right, they'll give it less that 7 if it has horrible controls or something that's really infuriating. A 7 range just means it's nothing new. If you look at the NFSU2 review, Jeff Gerstman says basically yeah the game is solid and everything but it really isn't anything new. I don't remember anyone going "omg teg gamespot gave it a 7 lol it flopped".

 

[kamkor]

I also can't find a review for RBR for anyone who mentioned it...

I didn't say that rbr review was on ign, but it was on many other sites, and most of them said that its crap.

 

[LaBounti]

Wolf, I've played LFS and it as very fun online. But I would take Toca 2 over LFS and GT4 if we are talking less content.

What I ment about distorting the screen was chaning the pov or camera lense, 100mm 35mm 45mm etc like Burnout 3 . It makes things look longer at the edges of the screen.

I was just disagreeing with your disagrement about the review The review was bad imo. nitpicking

 

[Wolfe]

LaBounti: I understand what you were saying. I was merely disagreeing with some parts of your disagreement with my disagreement about the review.

And yes, TOCA 2 is another great racing game.

 

[Swift]

Well, I never ever go by IGN's reviews good or bad. I read them to check out features of a game and what not. But I really don't care what they think. It sounds like must of us(myself included) haven't played the game yet. If it does what it was designed to do, reproduce realistic driving physics. Then the game is a success. Whether it sells a boatload of copies or not. So, let's see if it does what it said it was going to do, then start banging gavels.

 

[Wolfe]

Yes, if it succeeds in being truly realistic, will be a success with "hardcore" driving sim fans, but I for one am a fan of pretty much all of Konami's games (especially ZOE and Gradius) and would like to see Enthusia sell well, so that Konami doesn't waste money on this gamble and also is inspired to make an Enthusia 2. That's why I made my case at the IGN forums, in the hope that someone who became disinterested by the review would reconsider buying Enthusia. (oh, and I never intended on swaying those who were disinterested from the beginning - they'll never change their minds.)

 

[Wolfe]

Gamespot just released their review, and it's more honest than IGN's, although the score seems somewhat low (Sound got a 6/10 when the only negative thing was a lack of a good wall/car collision noise). Still, I can't really find much fault with Gamespot's review, other than the glaring fact that they have no idea how to drive a car (ever seen any of the GS gameplay videos for Enthusia or GT4?). The author complains about the difficulty of Enthusia's driving physics, and considering that realistic racing games aren't for everyone, that makes the Gamespot review even more honest, in a way, but I still think they didn't give it quite enough credit.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/driving/enthusiaproracing/review.html

 

[LaBounti]

All if not most gamers(and reviewers) are just spoiled. If its a big time website(ign,gmaespot) they should have a more open view for the game. As in what will other people think, thats why they get paid, to help the consumer.Its $39.99 and has realistic physics and graphics how can it go wrong?

 

[smellysocks12]

Spoiled?



Nobody is spoiled. Revolutionary games are released and raise the bar higher. It's logical that people are disappointed if the next game isn't as fun as the one they played before. I don't even own an X-Box but I wouldn't be surprised if Forza raises the bar higher than Gran Turismo has been doing the past 6 or 7 years.

 

[slo-car]

Gamespot:
"While the game touts an incredibly realistic physics engine, it's hard to believe rear-wheel-drive cars are this twitchy in real life. As one colleague put it to us, "If rear-wheel-drive cars handled in real life the way they do in Enthusia, no one would ever buy one.""

Obviously none of those reviewers ever drove a real-wheel drive car hard... my Bmw, which is terribly underpowered and weighs 3600 lbs will oversteer a whole lot if you push it... and their 'twichy' part is probably there because they are counter-steering way to fast....

 

[Tortus]

Hi, I post as Poison_Jam at the GS forums, where there's a topic about the review. We also felt that Brian Ekberg, the reviewer, was probably just too inexperienced behind the wheel. It's hard to get a good impression of the game when no one seems satisfied to get an experienced sim racer to test it with a DFP and comment on the driving model.

Here's a quote from the topic starter, if you're interested.

Hey all i dont own a Playstation 2 nor do i feel like getting any console for their silly 'arcade' racers like Gran Turismo 4.
However, after watching the movies of this game, I feel frustrated that its getting slammed by gamespot for ACCURATELY REPRODUCING THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
In the review, the reviewer makes the comment "if they handled as bad in real life as they do in enthusia, none would buy them" WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT?

Obviously this 'collegue' has never ever driven a rear wheel race car. Does this guy really think its easy to drift at 250kmh +? Such blatant stupidity insults me. The mainstay of my racing games are true PC simulations such as Grand Prix Legends, GTR and a select few other hardcore realistic portrayals of the sport. The Gran Turismo series, while moderately realistic for a console, is so ridiculously easy to drive its not even funny. This games weight transfer physics and grip dynamics kill GT4 - but what happens? Uninformed idiots slam it for actually being realistic rather than lying with marketting about it.

I dont care either way all that much. I am not buying consoles. A true racing simulator would MANDATE a wheel to drive - GT4 and these kiddy sims can be driven with the buttons on the controller for crying out loud! It annoys me that gamespot reviewers impart such rubbish without so much as an inkling of an idea of what they are talking about.

No apologies are offerred for the rudeness and brutality of this post. If you care enough, you will see my point. IF not, well i dont particularly care; i wont be coming back here thats for sure. I wanted it known how annoyed i was with a console game trying for actual realism getting slammed for it, even though it is obviously far advanced to any other console racing game. I really like this crap about 'the sensation of speed' - its about right you know, yet because it doesnt look like Need for speed, it has to be too slow. Geez go watch a racing replay - even formula 1's dont go like that.

Again no apologies for rudeness - life is rude. Please if you wish to discuss anything good i brought up, go ahead - its not a waste of time at all. If you want to start insulting or arguing with me I want to inform you not to bother - i wont be back ;P

Anyway, basically the only place I can come to for impressions is here, so I hope I can see more from users with DFPs in the days after Enthusia's release.

enjoy

s.gamespot.com/gamespot/show_messages.php?board=920586&topic=20777053&page=0

 

[Tortus]

Hi, I post as Poison_Jam at the GS forums, where there's a topic about the review. We also felt that Brian Ekberg, the reviewer, was probably just too inexperienced behind the wheel. It's hard to get a good impression of the game when no one seems satisfied to get an experienced sim racer to test it with a DFP and comment on the driving model.

Here's a quote from the topic starter, if you're interested.

Hey all i dont own a Playstation 2 nor do i feel like getting any console for their silly 'arcade' racers like Gran Turismo 4.
However, after watching the movies of this game, I feel frustrated that its getting slammed by gamespot for ACCURATELY REPRODUCING THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
In the review, the reviewer makes the comment "if they handled as bad in real life as they do in enthusia, none would buy them" WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT?

Obviously this 'collegue' has never ever driven a rear wheel race car. Does this guy really think its easy to drift at 250kmh +? Such blatant stupidity insults me. The mainstay of my racing games are true PC simulations such as Grand Prix Legends, GTR and a select few other hardcore realistic portrayals of the sport. The Gran Turismo series, while moderately realistic for a console, is so ridiculously easy to drive its not even funny. This games weight transfer physics and grip dynamics kill GT4 - but what happens? Uninformed idiots slam it for actually being realistic rather than lying with marketting about it.

I dont care either way all that much. I am not buying consoles. A true racing simulator would MANDATE a wheel to drive - GT4 and these kiddy sims can be driven with the buttons on the controller for crying out loud! It annoys me that gamespot reviewers impart such rubbish without so much as an inkling of an idea of what they are talking about.

No apologies are offerred for the rudeness and brutality of this post. If you care enough, you will see my point. IF not, well i dont particularly care; i wont be coming back here thats for sure. I wanted it known how annoyed i was with a console game trying for actual realism getting slammed for it, even though it is obviously far advanced to any other console racing game. I really like this crap about 'the sensation of speed' - its about right you know, yet because it doesnt look like Need for speed, it has to be too slow. Geez go watch a racing replay - even formula 1's dont go like that.

Again no apologies for rudeness - life is rude. Please if you wish to discuss anything good i brought up, go ahead - its not a waste of time at all. If you want to start insulting or arguing with me I want to inform you not to bother - i wont be back ;P

enjoy

http://forums.gamespot.com/gamespot/show_messages.php?board=920586&topic=20777053&page=0
Anyway, basically the only place I can come to for impressions is here, so I hope I can see more from users with DFPs in the days after Enthusia's release.

 

[Hun200kmh]

I don't think the gamespot review is a bad one, because it made me want this game even more than I already wanted.

In fact, after I read it, I phoned immediately to the store where I usually buy PS2 games, just to know if they already had the game ... and the answer was "No"

 

[animateria]

All if not most gamers(and reviewers) are just spoiled. If its a big time website(ign,gmaespot) they should have a more open view for the game. As in what will other people think, thats why they get paid, to help the consumer.Its $39.99 and has realistic physics and graphics how can it go wrong?

Well... with Forza out at almost the same time... I think reviewers and gamers have a reason to be spoiled.... It didn't go wrong it just didn't do anything particularly fresh, compelling or better (aside from the physics according to many people on gtp)... AND it hurt that GT4 and Forza came out before or during its release... It probably would have gotten a better score if it was before these games... (Reviewers do comparos a lot... and can you blame them?)

 

[LaBounti]

Spoiled?



Nobody is spoiled. Revolutionary games are released and raise the bar higher. It's logical that people are disappointed if the next game isn't as fun as the one they played before. I don't even own an X-Box but I wouldn't be surprised if Forza raises the bar higher than Gran Turismo has been doing the past 6 or 7 years.

You pretty much defined the word.

 

[LaBounti]

Gamespot:
"While the game touts an incredibly realistic physics engine, it's hard to believe rear-wheel-drive cars are this twitchy in real life. As one colleague put it to us, "If rear-wheel-drive cars handled in real life the way they do in Enthusia, no one would ever buy one.""

Obviously none of those reviewers ever drove a real-wheel drive car hard... my Bmw, which is terribly underpowered and weighs 3600 lbs will oversteer a whole lot if you push it... and their 'twichy' part is probably there because they are counter-steering way to fast....

Well they are basically saying the game kinda blows with the ds2. the DFP is were its at, to get full control. I'm not too happy with the DS2 and this game nd I've only been driving with the R32 GTR and Silva(oversteering madness)

 

[mustang_4_ever]

ok i skipped most of the posts, the reviewers for racing games r, well stupidly daft. complain about twitchy ness? over reacting when the car starts to breaklose imo

 

[slo-car]

Well they are basically saying the game kinda blows with the ds2. the DFP is were its at, to get full control. I'm not too happy with the DS2 and this game nd I've only been driving with the R32 GTR and Silva(oversteering madness)

its not impossible, thats for sure.

with that said, im going to go take a shower and then off to the store i go.

 

[fujiwaratofuuuu]

I bought the game on Wednesday, and I have to say, I was quite pleased . . . especially since the reviews put my hopes down, as even though I wasn't expecting a "GT4 killer," I was hoping for a solid game.

But the thing is, Enthusia IS pretty solid. I haven't played much of the game, so I can only give a first impression, but while playing in Enthusia life, I enjoyed the fact that the AI would, in instances where its acceleration could meet me side by side heading to the corner, would actually dive to the inside rather than just bump me from behind. It felt more satisfying to race the AI in Enthusia than in GT4.

There were some instances where the cars let me pass when I had the right of way into the corner, and sometimes they just stuck to their line, so the AI isn't perfect, but improved upon other racing games. (Kinda reminds me of GPC)

Since I use the DFP, there were no problems with oversteer as the reviews mentioned. The cars have a nice weighty feel, especially untuned, and it really shows when you play in the Airport Parking Lot to goof around and test the cars limits.

All in all, I do not regret the purchase at all, and I suggest like others have that you give it a chance if you are a car and racing fanatic.

 

[k2racer]

I bought it last Wednesday and the only time I switched back to GT4 was to compare a MX-5 time on Tsubuka. A 0.4 time difference for a lap of 1.16.4.

Was it more enjoyable with the GT4 MX-5 or the Enthusia MX-5?

Well, I felt i could control the Enthusia car more...

I like the circuits and the fact that you have to drive clean! This last fact will make me want to play Enthusia this weekend more than GT4.

But, to come back to the original post: Do not be glad that IGN rated it in such a way that you think you can save yourself money.

Base your opinions on your own experiences, at least a few reviews (and perhaps on the reviews by "old time GT-ers") and then come to the conclusion that you want to spend money or not.

I am glad I did, I think it is a good extension in my line-up of racing games

 

[Tortus]

Thank you. I'm glad some people realise it doesn't have to be better than GT4 in order to be worth a look. Unfortunately I'm seeing a lot of negativity towards the game (read: fanboyism) from people with allegiances or whatever to other racing games/consoles.

 

[Biased turkey]

Richard Burns Rally had bad and very bad reviews too.. Reviewers saying that its unrealistic, that cmr is better etc. Those people who give those big scores to arcade, big commercial games... And how is rbr for racing enthusiasts? An amazing driving experience.. Basically, enthusia is a game for sims enthusiast, so don't expect it to get a high scores.

p.s.: Live For Speed S2 pwns anyway

I agree, most PS2 reviewers ( specially in North America ) don't know what a good racing sim should look like.
At least I trust British and French reviewers a little more.
Just waiting to see a review on the racesimcentral website, these guys know their business.

 

[LaBounti]

Since I use the DFP, there were no problems with oversteer as the reviews mentioned. The cars have a nice weighty feel, especially untuned, and it really shows when you play in the Airport Parking Lot to goof around and test the cars limits.

All in all, I do not regret the purchase at all, and I suggest like others have that you give it a chance if you are a car and racing fanatic.

thats what i noticed, rwd handles much better with the wheel also clutch kicking(drifters term) works. Dragon range is so much fun with rwd

 

[cisobe]

I also picked this game up on Wednesday... however, my experience was a little more negative... The cars feel floaty (no real feedback through the DFP). I do, however like the fact that you have to race clean... I don't like the fact that the AI doesn't have to... They bump, and ram you from behind which takes points away from you... (They banged me from behind because I was in an underpowered car, not just because I was driving slow). I also don't like the fact that you can't really tweak the car... You get slider bars to adjust your LSD with no numerical values... The same with Toe in, Camber etc... So tuning your car can prove to be difficult...

I did like the G-Meter and Tire Stress gauge thing... It was quite helpful in alerting you that your car was about to lose grip (since you can't really feel it in the wheel).

I'm going to play around with it a little more this weekend. I was however a little disappointed when I first got it... But driving in Enthusia actually is helping my driving in GT4 a little, except to me, theres way more understeer in GT4...

 

[Adam West]

Why do people give 'reviewers' some magical powers when it comes to games? If you wanna know what a game is about, read impressions from people that play them for fun, not for a living.

I haven't played GT4 for more than a day since Enthusia came out in Japan. I've tried going back to it but i can't. GT4 is too easy and most cars underteer like a boat on ice, even RWD cars.

I wish Enthusia had GT4's tracks but what'cha gonna do?

 

[blackmagicgti]

At first the graphics seemed a little off but that's only because I hadn't played PS2 in a while. The cars are detailed well and the first person view is enjoyable. The rain effect is pretty cool. There are only 2 views however which is limiting because the 3rd person view is pretty tight but 1st person view is where it's at.

The handling is MUCH more realistic than GT4. I have taken out my car to the race track severeal times and the understeer that a car exhibits is simulated real well. The brake lock is also done very well.

I haven't raced against the AI much but they do seem to be a lot better and several times have backed off taking my line.

As noted above, the DFP feel is not as good as GT4 but if you increase the force feedback its a little better.

I am very happy with the purchase.

Overall, I am very happy. To make a perfect racing game in my opinion you need: Toca Race Driver 2 damage model and views (shows dash, hood views, 3rd person, and bumper cam I believe) + GT4 graphics, tuning ability, and car selection + Grand Prix Challenege AI + Enthusia Physics. At least for the PS2 this is true.

 

[newbielives]

Just bought Enthusia today and played for about 40 mins so I can't make any real good impression on it yet but so far I am dissapointed by the fun factor.

I know Enthusia may have better physics but GT4 just feels so much more exciting with the heavy force feedback from the DFP and unlocking cars does not give you that ownership feeling like when buying a car in GT4.

Going to play more and probably will love it. But dam instead of playing enthusia I think im going to do more practice runs on Nurburing in GT4 using the old trusty perfectly balance RUF