Why is Enthusia so unknown?

[Dave A]

I've taken my defense of Enthusia online and into a video. Check this out:

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEOroZdSUfc (Length: 8:01; includes Annotations)



Enjoy, people!

Neat review John, I think you got it spot on.

 

[rotary drifter]

On top of bad marketing, and the fact that ppl are inherently biased against any sim on the console without the GT name. I actually find it hard recommending enthusia for most ppl which includes sim fans.

for real physics it's inferior to anything on the PC, which also usually has a free demo for download.
GT4 was a better overall game, eventhough you can argue about physics not being good at certain areas. some one I know with real racing but not much game racing knowledge told me he wanted a game with real tracks
if you want p2p WRC rally, you should probably invest in one of Colin McCrea's games or Richard Burns Rally
if you want a p2p touge sim, with an initial D like experience, i'd recommend Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2

The only one I would recommend this to is someone that wants a spare sim racer.

 

[Biggles]

I think drifter is right. The physics of Enthusia were pretty good - certainly more detailed than GT4's - but a lot of the other things about the game were not that well done, & people looking for a more realistic physics model could always choose PC sims.

If Enthusia had had an online racing component it would have had a stronger following...

 

[homeforsummer]

for real physics it's inferior to anything on the PC

Inferior to anything? I disagree. It's a pretty good simulation of real car behaviour. I've said as much in my long post in the GT5P vs. Enthusia post in this subforum, and there are plenty of vids on youtube that display the accuracy of the physics, with this one being probably the best:

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LFS is definitely better (on physics alone), and I haven't played iRacing or Rfactor, but RACE and GTR aren't up to Enthusia's level, at least for the driving feel. There's just a few that aren't as good. There are probably a bunch more too.

GT4 was a better overall game, eventhough you can argue about physics not being good at certain areas.

GT4's physics aren't as good as EPR's, but I agree that it's a better game on balance than EPR. However, I'm glad for the change. I'm playing EPR at the moment - when I get bored of it, I can play GT4 again.

if you want p2p WRC rally, you should probably invest in one of Colin McCrea's games or Richard Burns Rally

Spelled McRae The McRae games are fun, but not the last word in realism, so a fan of realism would be best off sticking with GT or Enthusia. RBR is supposed to be brilliant, but I haven't played it so can't comment myself.

The only one I would recommend this to is someone that wants a spare sim racer.

I'd be happy to recommend it to anyone who likes Gran Turismo, as it's similar enough to appeal to most. And of course, it offers different content from GT in the form of it's original courses and choice of cars, so it offers some things that GT can't, which again is enough reason to recommend it.

Especially as PS2 games are available so cheaply now. I bought Enthusia for about £3 including postage. What's that, about five bucks at the moment?

 

[Leonidae]

real car behaviour? in Enthusia? you're kidding.. if Enthusia has realistic handling, kei cars are more difficult to drive than any other super/sportscar ever produced..

 

[Hun200kmh]

difficulty is a subjective concept. Anyway, I'd really like to understand, so give me one example of a kei car you found difficult to drive in Enthusia. I'll try to drive it and find how difficult it is.

 

[homeforsummer]

real car behaviour? in Enthusia? you're kidding.. if Enthusia has realistic handling, kei cars are more difficult to drive than any other super/sportscar ever produced..

No, I'm not kidding actually. Just have a think about it. Which do you think would be easier to drive on a circuit, a tall, narrow car with tiny wheels and skinny tyres, or your average sports car which is lower, wider, has wider tyres and much better suspension tuning?

Just because the Kei car is slower you shouldn't expect it to be easier to drive at circuit speeds.

 

[Leonidae]

what I do not expect from Kei-car is ridiculous oversteer at slow speeds. Especially cars like Capucchino etc. Fiat 500 Abarth is also impossible to drive, not to mention Caterham.

 

[Wolfe]

A tiny, lightweight, powerful RR with a short wheelbase and a spartan, lightweight sportscar with one of the best power-to-weight ratios in the game are hard to drive? NO WAI!!

I agree with homeforsummer in that Enthusia has something to offer to the PC sim fan. It's not perfect, but it has much the same feel as Live for Speed, the Nürburgring, and a collection of over 200 licensed roadcars. The only way the PC would have something to replace it is if LFS was expanded to include a significant list of roadcars and real world tracks. Otherwise, you're just stuck with LFS as it is now, or racecar-only sims with inferior physics engines.

 

[rotary drifter]

Enthusia was just close to LFS at low speeds and closest to real cars without modifications.
TXRD2 was closer to LFS at high speed (over 80-100mph depending on how you set your cars), and some other quirks. and also offered a lot more content, fun and variety, with the exception of traditional circuits. I tried to do somewhat of a realism comparason in the most realistic ps2 racer thread.

it also tends to have much higher fan reviews, but lower pro reviews for good reason. basically if you liked dragon range in enthusia, and like having a drift mode, the game would probably be for you

 

[Omnis]

Jesus, you talk longer than your average post. Great job though!

You haven't read his college sports write-ups.

 

[uM_Jammer]

what I do not expect from Kei-car is ridiculous oversteer at slow speeds. Especially cars like Capucchino etc. Fiat 500 Abarth is also impossible to drive, not to mention Caterham.

OMFG, this is such a ridiculous statement I had to comment.

You seem to be having trouble with RWD cars. Perhaps Enthusia is your first experience with oversteer. The Cappuccino is FR, the Fiat 500 is RR. You know what short wheel base little RWD cars are known for right?

As for the Caterham... hold on to your ass because this is where you're really gonna get owned...

From wiki: At the beginning of December 2008, the R500 was featured on the popular television show Top Gear, putting in a timed lap of the Top Gear circuit of 1 minute 17.9 seconds[15][16]. This is, to date, the fifth fastest official lap timed by the show, faster than, amongst others, the Bugatti Veyron.

Maybe you should ask The Stig about it...

FFS, kids, THINK!

 

[Chapman2424]

Sorry to chime in - just picked this game up off of Ebay for 4.99 CDN - man it rocks - its awesome with the DFP. Plus its the only racing game that has an X-Type in it. Wickedness.

Cheers,

S. Chapman

 

[Hyst]

I think it's because the title sounds suspiciously like euthanasia.

 

[Hun200kmh]

 

[Leonidae]

OMFG, this is such a ridiculous statement I had to comment.
You seem to be having trouble with RWD cars. Perhaps Enthusia is your first experience with oversteer. The Cappuccino is FR, the Fiat 500 is RR. You know what short wheel base little RWD cars are known for right?
As for the Caterham... hold on to your ass because this is where you're really gonna get owned...

Maybe you should ask The Stig about it...

FFS, kids, THINK!

[rant]instead of namecalling, I resort to facts.. I've driven REAL RWD cars on snow, ice, gravel and tarmac and none of them have been even near as twitchy as the cars in Enthusia are. and I did drive them before I even had chance to try out Enthusia, and I could do power over, scandinavian flicks and all in lightweight, SWB car such as KP-chassis Starlet, C-Kadett and beetle, and none of them were standard. and before you call someone with names and claim them to be kids, check their age.[/rant]

FYI, I'll be 26 soon, a car mechanic, long time car enthusiast and you're internet tough guy shooting his mouth off after watching some episodes of Best Motoring. Keep up the good job.

 

[homeforsummer]

To be honest, the guy you quoted was a little out of order, but at the same time, I don't find any of the cars in Enthusia particularly twitchy. In fact, I find Enthusia's responses quite slow-witted - you seem to need a fair amount of steering application to turn them. I've only ran into trouble with things like the Honda Beat, but then you'd expect a light weight, short-wheelbase car with an engine slung out the back to be a bit twitchy when you're doing high speeds.

 

[Leonidae]

yeah, but Capucchino shouldn't be a problem, especially since it and the few others were stock.

 

[homeforsummer]

I haven't driven that car so can't comment

 

[red7]

Never got hyped enough to distinguish itself from the gran turismo franchise I suppose. In terms of the driving physics: way too floaty, like everything is an early 70's caddy or something.

 

[RacingGameFan22]

here are MY Thoughts on Enthusia. ready? here goes....

The braking system in EPR are so unrealistic for a racing/driving sim it's astonishing. In GT4, you know when you braked enough for the corner you are about to enter (you feel the rumble in your Dualshock 2). In EPR, the Car handling physics are so floaty and so.....well.....out there, that you don't know when to slow down or what speed or gear you should be at.

Then there is the dreaded Enthu points, which is so unbalanced it maddening. (you get points taken away even if someone bumps INTO YOU? NO THANKS!

granted, there's a lot going for it; a few cars you won't find in any of the GT Games (Pontiac Trans-Am Firebird SD-455, 1965 Ford Mustang, Bugat-oops I meant Dauer EB110, DeTomaso Pantera), the Maker Profiles section is kinda neat (even though it-at times-badly translated; but then again, so was the GT4 Maker Profiles), and it's kinda fun to play, but at the end of the day, it was perhaps too ambitious for its own good.

But then again, it's just my opinion. your opinion of this game might differ from mine, so.....

 

[homeforsummer]

The braking system in EPR are so unrealistic for a racing/driving sim it's astonishing. In GT4, you know when you braked enough for the corner you are about to enter (you feel the rumble in your Dualshock 2). In EPR, the Car handling physics are so floaty and so.....well.....out there, that you don't know when to slow down or what speed or gear you should be at.

I semi agree with this, and I admit it took me a while to get used to the brakes, which feel less progressive than those on the GT games and because of this it's tempting to just slam on the brakes for every turn as modulating doesn't feel like it will work.

However, when I stuck with it, you do realise that you can modulate the brakes to a reasonable degree which does make a difference when altering your line into a corner, for example.

Then there is the dreaded Enthu points, which is so unbalanced it maddening. (you get points taken away even if someone bumps INTO YOU? NO THANKS!

I'm afraid I have to disagree with this. I find the Enthu points are very effective at teaching you to drive with respect to other drivers. If you actively drive so you're keeping your distance from them (which, to be honest, you'd do most of the time in a real race - the only difference is that other drivers would do the same wheras the AI don't always have that benfit) then you get used to driving cleanly and still quickly.

If you're getting black flagged in free races, it's because the game has decided that you've bumped into the AI, not the other way around. In Enthusia life I agree, it's a little annoying losing Enthu points when they bump into you, but if you're losing so many that your total goes very low each time then I'd suggest that the AI probably aren't the biggest problem.

granted, there's a lot going for it; a few cars you won't find in any of the GT Games (Pontiac Trans-Am Firebird SD-455, 1965 Ford Mustang, Bugat-oops I meant Dauer EB110, DeTomaso Pantera), the Maker Profiles section is kinda neat (even though it-at times-badly translated; but then again, so was the GT4 Maker Profiles), and it's kinda fun to play, but at the end of the day, it was perhaps too ambitious for its own good.

I wouldn't say the game itself was that ambitious - maybe the developer embarking on such a project was though, as the low sales eventually proved.

But then again, it's just my opinion. your opinion of this game might differ from mine, so.....

Of course All opinions welcome here 👍

 

[Tornado]

Too twitchy? Or not twitchy enough? To this day, I can count on one hand the (simulation) games that allow you to be a total tool and PIT other racers. Enthusia isn't one of them, because it has the same unflappable AI cars that so many other games have.
Which is largely why I mostly only play Viper Racing, but I digress.

 

[Wolfe]

Yeah, I'm still not sure where "twitchy" comes in as far as Enthusia is concerned. Its handling is a sluggish mass of slush compared to Live for Speed -- like several of us agreed elsewhere in this forum, the game is a fine "approximation" of a truly realistic sim, fudging some of the finer details to improve playability. I wonder what kind of complaints we'd hear if the game's physics engine had copied LFS to a T? I know I've seen the old "driving on ice" rant with both games.

As for braking, I would agree that the sense of speed is not the best, making it a bit easier to overcook corners when you think you should not have. However, you must be careful that you're not slamming them, simultaneously upsetting the balance of the car and encountering some brake lock. The cars aren't totally without ABS (it seems), but the ABS definitely isn't as overbearing as in GT4.

 

[Chapman2424]

Got this game last month and I can't seem to put it down - my GT4 is collecting a lot of dust. Apart from the driving physics - what makes this game so appealing to me is the attention to real life cars in the first few rounds - cars like the Forester/MG/Jaguar X-Type/G-Wagon/Range Rover/V70 Wagon etc. seem to make it for me. I also seem to prefer the Enthusia Nurburg over the GT4 one - can't seem to figure that one out!

Cheers,


S. Chapman

 

[Hun200kmh]

Lowenseering and Burgenschlut, although fictional, are also great tracks to drive (maybe the best fictional tracks I know from any game) with almost any car ! 👍

Have fun!

 

[Rykon Zero]

Yeah, I always like racing on Lowenseering, just because of those jets that fly above at the beginning of the race. When that happens, I say "Nice touch."