Now you can test your racing skills against a game modeled from the fabled Paris-Dakar Rally, a grueling stage race beginning in Paris and ending in Dakar, Senegal. To win, you’ll race through miles of hostile terrain, battle equally hostile weather, and fend off a pack of the fiercest vehicles in the world.
Play includes Campaign mode with its 12-stage race; Arcade mode and its all-out sprint to the finish using any means necessary; and Time Attack, which lets you test new strategies and routes. Choose from 24 licensed trucks, cars, ATV quads, or even motocross bikes, each with unique capabilities and characteristics.
You can customize your route, choosing to race over, around, or through various obstacles. Customizable vehicle settings let you adjust suspension height, tire type, and more. It’s even possible to choose the types of vehicles you’d like to race against. Throughout, you must keep a watchful eye on details such as supplies; otherwise you won’t finish the rally to claim the ultimate off-road title.
- PS2
List Price: $ 19.99
Price: $ 18.25
Good for only about a week,
Paris-Dakar Rally is certainly an interesting concept for a game. It is rather fun to work through Campaign mode, but once Campaign has been completed once, the replay value plummets dramatically.
The graphics are definitely not groundbreaking, and the sounds are rather substandard even by PSX standards. The variety of vehicles is okay, but certainly not vast (unlike Gran Turismo 3 or Le Mans 24 Hours). The cut-scene movie clips are extremely sparse and repeated incessantly, and players must make literally NO errors in judgement to even have a chance at winning (although it is possible to beat the record time for certain stages). Of the racing “worlds,” the volcano climb is certainly interesting and has some nice scenery (if you have the chance to let your eyes stray off the difficult, twisting, obstacle-filled road), but all other “worlds” rapidly become monotonous.
Still, this is far from the worst game in the world. It is certainly worthy of one or two rentals, but RENT FIRST, then decide whether to buy.
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|For patient rally fans, worth a long look.,
This is a fun game that deserves at least a rental from anyone who likes rally games, as long as you have the patience to learn the sensitive controls. There are 10 stages, each broken into 4 races. Race through several countries and terrains. Pick from 4×4′s, motocross bikes, dune buggies and atv’s.
Gameplay: The controls are very touchy and will turn most people off right away. The key for me was using the handbrake and planning ahead on the turns, hitting it just before the turn – and also expecting the rough terrain to jostle your vehicle pretty continuously: thus the slippery feel that must constantly be negotiated. I almost gave up on the game at first, but found myself wanting to try out the different vehicles and get “just a little farther” to see what came next. After awhile I found myself putting up with the jittery controls (read, nudge the joystick no more than a couple millimeters at a time on straightaways or you will careen off track) and savoring the varied racing experience. The vehicles behave differently and have their unique advantages. There are 8 or 10 cameras to choose from – nice. The incentives to keep playing are here: try to get better vehicles or clothes (“livery”). See the next track. Beat your best score. In the buggy and 4×4 modes you get a navigator beside you, as in Colin Macrae Rally, who calls out advice and warnings. No numericals, however, to rate the turns. For the bikes and atv’s you only get occasional icons warning you of some of the upcoming turns. Damage modeling is pretty fun. Your car will perform poorly after awhile, then you have to decide whether to use one of a limited number of repair power-ups – which also takes valuable time to execute. The game’s physics is quite fun, especially with the 4×4′s. After every two stages you get to race a bonus track in which you can go for more repair power-ups or a time bonus to push you up in the rankings. After all, you will race against hundreds of (usually unseen) opponents over the course of approximately 1000 miles. Modes include arcade, where you can change vehicles after every race; campaign, where you race the entire length with only one vehicle; and time trial. No 2 player.
Graphics: Not too good. If you need good graphics to enjoy a game, you will definitely be disappointed. If you just want a different racing experience with high fun factor replay value – you won’t be bothered by the subpar visuals. The tracks, at least, show a good deal of variety. Textures are pretty weak. Not much on the sidelines. However, I do think the programmers put a lot of thought into the track design. That, or they just modelled them after the actual Paris-Dakar Rally.
Sound: Nothing special. Music is annoying during menus because there seems to be only one or two songs. Luckily, this doesn’t affect gameplay. I’m not one to notice or appreciate engine sounds. Not sure about them. All I can say is, the game is fun enough that I’m concentrating on the driving and not the sound.
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|wtf???,
hey, if you are an avid rally fan, do not buy this game!! this is one of the WORST rally games I have ever played in my life.
every aspect of this game is sub-par. if I were you i would save my coin for an at least half way decent game (i.e. wrc)
I hope this helps you rally fans save a chunk of change.
thank you for your time
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