Customer Reviews

Paris Dakar Rally

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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 4x4'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 4x4 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 4x4'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.

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

Far out rally game. I have to say that this is a must-have for any long distance rallying fan. Correction, for every rallying enthusiast. If you like watching the real Paris-Dakar Rally on SPEED Channel or if you've ever wanted to what this kind of rally racing is all about, then either rent or buy this game. Either way, you won't be disapointed at all.

By far the worst racing game ever terrible graphics terrible damage effects and even with the cheats it seems lame and I will not recommend this to anyone BEWARE!!!!!!!!! don't buy this game

I love racing games and thought this would be a great concept for a video game, so I was excited to get this for Christmas. My friend and I sat around playing this for about an hour and we realized all of its downsides (we have yet to notice upsides):
1) No 2-player mode. Huh? This is a staple of every kind of racing game!
2) No attention to sound design. The same &*$! song plays between every stage throughout their abundantly long loading screens. Which brings me to point 3:
3) Abundantly long loading times. (I will never get that song out of my head...)
Most serious of all:
4) The game crashed about 4 stages in (the first time we played). We could tell, because the song, which by this time had become hard-wired into our brains, stuck on one note (while we were stuck on yet another "loading screen"). We re-booted the PS2 and then it crashed again--and sooner!

Briefly, I believe Acclaim must have spent $5 developing this game, and it shows. Don't even waste your money on a used copy (and if someone offers it to you for free, run away).

I bought this game mainly because I ride a dualsport motorcycle featured in the game and because I am a big fan of the race.I really enjoyed this game,it has cool grafics and great control,but the music sucks,if you can over look that,its pretty nice.

I bought this game because it was an off- road racing game, and ...its a waste of money. I would recommend test drive off road instead of this game, I have both. After playing this game once I probably won't ever play it again. The graphics and game playing are very poor, definately not playstation 2 standards. I gave it 2 stars only because I've played worse games.

If you enjoyed Sega Rally you'll enjoy this game even more. The graphics are as good or even better than Sega Rally and the sound is astonishing. And the replay value is another good thing about this game. This is a game for the whole family to enjoy.

This game is full of glitches, and load times are roughly equivalent to waiting for paint to dry.

The concept is good, but as others have said, once the extremely short campaign mode is completed (who's heard of a ten-stage Dakar?) there's not much else to do.

On the glitches; it's impossible to lose in Campaign Mode, because once you get past stage 8, you're automatically put into first place with a 60 minute lead over the next closest racer.

Don't buy this. Go buy a copy of V-Rally 2 for the PS1 and you'll have a much better time.