Enthusia Professional Racing peels out

The same day that Forza Motorsport, Microsoft's much-ballyhooed Xbox-exclusive racer, shipped, a PlayStation 2-only driving game also hit the road to retail. Today, Konami announced it has shipped Enthusia Professional Racing, its own ultrarealistic racing simulation. Rated E for Everyone, the game retails for $39.99, $10 less than the critically acclaimed Forza.

Enthusia Professional Racing tries to appeal to nongearheads with a bigger emphasis on driving. It sports a proprietary Visual Gravity System (VGS), which incorporates tire grip meters and a "G-ball" that moves around an image representing your chassis, indicating the direction of the G-forces you'd be experiencing if you were in a real car. Players who keep their G-forces under control will be able to corner more effectively, giving them an edge.

In its "Enthusia life" career mode, players are awarded upgrade "Enthu points" based on their driving skill and the difficulty of the race--defeat a more powerful car from the game's 200-auto garage, and you get more points. The game also sports a "driving revolution" mode, which is a slalom-esque mode that will require players to negotiate gates in one of more than 50 real-world tracks at precise speeds. Finally, the game will support head-to-head two-player action via a split screen and will also feature variable weather effects.

GameSpot's previous coverage of Enthusia Professional Racing has more information on the game. Check back later today for a full review.