Enthusia racing Demo

The April issue of the official US Playstation magazine has a playable demo
of Enthusia professional racing. I tried it because i was interested by the
physics video and was hoping for something that wouldn't have the flaws of
GT4. I have the Logitech Driving Force pro which is supported by Enthusia.

The first thing that struck me were the graphics. They are really average.
Unfortunately GT4 has much better looking scenery and cars. But graphics do
not make a game. I could live with average graphics if the rest of the game
made up for it. There are only two views: bumper cam and behind the car. I
wish they had a cockpit view like LFS or GTR.

Then, there's the force feedback. In GT4, the DFP is superbly implemented.
In Enthusia, there is too much resistance to inputs even in small wheel
movements.

The physics were touted as the most realistic ever on a console. I tried a
Mazda 787 on a track that was shaped like a rectangle. It had four straights
connected with four corners. After reaching 224 mph in a straight, i found
out that i could easily take the corner just by lifting off the throttle. No
brakes were needed. For my second race, i tried a Miata on a wet track. The
physics were much more convincing with the need to carefully dose the
accelerator to avoid spinning the car. Also i had a few water drops that
splattered on the camera. It was a cute effect. My last race was on a dry
track with an Alpha 147 GTA. The feeling was "off" for a reason that i have
problems explaining.

To give the driver more feedback, they came up with the VGS system where you
have four arrows at the bottom of your screen. Pull lateral Gs and you have
more arrows on the left or the right. Brake and you have two or three arrows
pointing up. I found that system distracting because i would need to look at
the arrows instead of the track. I would rather have a system where they
tilt the screen sideways to simulate body roll and up and down for
acceleration/braking.

The car sounds aren't memorable. They sould a lot like the ones in GT4. I
guess i was spoiled by GTR.

I seriously hope that it was an early demo with simplified physics because
what i saw didn't impress me. For a game touted as a Gran Turismo killer, it
didn't deliver. I'll give it another chance when it comes out. Fortunately
with console games, you can rent them at your local video club.