Enthusia

[John Turner]

I saw this Konami game for sale in my local Woolworths at 29.99 and understand that it is pretty new. Has anyone tried it, and is it any good?

[Es Nes]

played, no, but, i heard the physics are more sim than gt4.

[429CJ]

It has some intresting cars which were not on GT4, like Austin Healey Sprite, BMW M3 E30, BMW M1 Procar, BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile, Lancia 037, Ford Thunderbird, Cadillac Seville STS, Fiat 1000 Abarth, Morris Mini, Pontiac Firebird 1973, Merecedes G-Series and Audi R8 - on Team Goh colours.

HERE is the review of the Gamespot pages, and HERE is some screenshots, including the spoken cars.

[John Turner]

Thanks 429CJ; there are some cars you mention which should have been on GT4 and I am sorely tempted to buy the game for them as much as anything else. However, the Gamespot review makes me wonder whether I will have the patience for it.

[Es Nes]

unless your hardcore or a big fan of pc sim games, id say probably not.

[John Turner]

Well, Es Nes, you're probably right! I just love the cars and the racing, pure and simple, which is why other aspects of GT4 don't inspire me and Enthusia sounds even worse, so maybe I'll wait for another 10-Tenther to post their own experience of the game before I decide whether to purchase it!

[chunder]

I went in to Game today and it was between Enthusia and TT Superbike.
All I will say is that TT was not worth the wait as it is impossibly hard and some of the goals you have to reach in their equivalent licence tests seem simpl unattainable!
I nearl took it back tere and then as I was so disappointed with it. The game has been due for release for nearl a year and promises a comlete map of the TT circuit! Seems the developers are more interested in that than trying to make the game playable, no practice mode, even a 125cc bike wheelies like a superbike and unlike RS and RS2 you cant have a manual lean fore and back mode to help with wheelies.
Nice tr guys but I will be excahnging for Enthusia.
Nice timing tough as I only have the ridiculous endrance races left in GT4 and there is no way I am going to take part in those. In my mind they have ruined GT4 with such rubbish races!

[JAG]

Is TT poor, or simply very hard like Richard Burns Rally.

BTW, I hardly ever race in GT4, I just try and set best lap times with various cars.

[chunder]

It probably is very hard, but put simply I have played it now for a couple of hours and not progressed one percet into the game!
It is simply way too hard! Now I like hard games but not being able to get anywere near the leaders in a race and being simply unable to pass a certain test without the machine phsically unable to do wat is required is just plain bad programming in my view.
Am going in tomorrow to exchange it. It is the very worst and most disappointing racing game I have ever played.
I was not even tepted to do a few laps of the TT course as the playability is so shocking, I mean I can do power 3rd gear wheelies on a 125 for goodness sake, totall ridiculous

[John Turner]

Ok, so I succumbed to purchasing Enthusia; probably a mistake! I'm not used to many racing games beyond the GT series and this one is a little weird. You start with a ranking of 1000 and work down but it is quite difficult to maintain the downward trend. There are also ranking points and Enthusia points to be won and lost; gets a bit confusing and a not a little frustrating. You lose points for going off course, hitting barriers and other competitors which I guess is Ok but you also lose points if the other competitors hit you!!! Never seen more than 6 cars on the grid so far and I think that is likely to be the maximum number. Also only have two views that I can ascertain; either from behind the wheel or just above and behind the car. You cannot look behind you although the in car view does have a rear mirror of sorts!

Quite a lot of interesting cars to be unlocked but its early days yet for me. Handling is a bit soggy/wallowy and not helped by the fact that you have to use the analogue stick and although there are options to change the console you don't seem to be able to switch to the left and right buttons for steering that I am used to with Gran turismo (no, I don't fancy all the hassle of rigging up a steering wheel!). The brakes aren't too brilliant either but the cars are upgraded as you make progress and the car does start to perform better.

Graphics are somewhere between GT2 and GT3, I'd say. Jury is still out on this but veering towards the thumbs down although this may change the further I get into it. I'll let you know

[chunder]

Have to say JT I am disappojted with the game. The cars dont really get any better just a bit faster and the more you get into it you just end up having a load of cars in your grage but only a few are any good because they are the ones you have tuned.
The driving tests part is simp-ly crazy, far too hard and just in ther to extend the games life. The developers shouls look at making the game longer in other ways.
All in all a nice effort but too many weak points for me. The Nordschliefe is billiard table smooth, and the race cars handle no better than the road cars!! Sound is better than GT4 though with individual engine notes and stuff.
One minor note is that there are 3 tune areas. each one with three stages. Upgrade your tune and you get advnaced a level. But it doesnt tell you wht weight you lost or what power you gained, so really hard to gauge your likely competitiveness against other cars, guess they just want you to race and find out. I race to win!

[John Turner]

Yep, Chunder, that pretty well sums up my view, too, although I will stick with it a bit longer especially as I have not yet unlocked the BMW Batmobile which I understand is on there!

[chunder]

Is kinf of hard to unlock things JT as you no doubt have found out, the computer decides what it unlocks as you have very litlte control of the game show type winning car bit.
To be honest they all drive pretty much the same anyway, apart from anything fast which drives like a bond bug! Very disappointing, especially considering i quite like the driving engine.

[Es Nes]

tbh, im not liking it. its not because the phyics are too hardcore for me, far from it. bad FF, floaty feeling with a driving force, and the lottery car winning. how can ive 5 cars available, yet, still not win a new car? and why is the newst car ive a lancer evo with everything else anicent japanesse cars with less than 2Ls?

oh, and, like it gt4, im taking penalities because of the ai's mistakes and getting one wheel over the very small curb and into the dirt?

[Hazza]

TT sounds fun, I found RSII way to easy and power wheelies = cool when in RSII the only way to wheelie is to get on the RCV211V...

[chunder]

Hazza buddy, you just try it it is totally impossible to get anywhere, the tests are utterly impossible, believe me I tried long and hard and decided to take the rubbish back before i destryoed the PS2, house and everything else.
It just makes me mad when developers make games too hard for no reason.
Isnt trying to learn a 37 mile track hard for goodness sake,
I have the same problem with Race Driver 2, am on 90% and its been relatively easy once you know the tracks and then all of a sudden the other cars disappear and you have to do Zen perfect laps to even avoid being last!
Developers listen! If you cant write enough chellenge into the game then dont leave it til you are right at the end before making it impossible, it just makes you look childish "you're not going to win because i am the daddy and will make it impossible"