User Reviews (1 - 11 of 17)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Just like the real event!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: July 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is simply awesome! It's fully realistic in every aspect of the actual rally and well worth the buy.

I've seen better on a PS1

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: October 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The game has so much promise and delivers nothing. The loading time between races is forever and the graphics do nothing to challenge the system. When it finally loaded and the racing began, all I could think of was Out Run. The handling is poor and difficult to manage. I dare not even try Campaign mode, this is just a poorly designed game. The upside and why I rated it so high is the FMV scenes are nice to watch. Overall save your money.

For patient rally fans, worth a long look.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

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.

Good for only about a week

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: November 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

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.

WARNING DO NOT BUY

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: November 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I have a friend named Beebo he is sad me and him bought this game it is terrible whatever you do don't buy it AVOID AT ALL COSTS get MeTaL GeAr SoLiD 2 sOnS oF LiBeRtY.

The Worst

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: December 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This has to be one of the worst games ever for PS2. The controls are so sloppy it's almost impossible to control the car. After a race go have dinner the game may have reloaded by then. The clowns at Acclaim should be ashamed. What a waste...

bad for children

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: March 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is so horrible for kids.recently my son fell in a pit of fire and said "women where's the reset button". I had to actually slap him silly for playing the game.

Spend your money elsewhere

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

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.

Greatest rally game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

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.

Save your money

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: April 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

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.

Review Page: 1 2 Next 

Actions