In the summer of 2000, Acclaim, with the help of developer Broadsword Interactive, released what is arguably the worst Dreamcast racing game ever created, Spirit of Speed 1937. That game was so unplayable that it later went on to win GameSpot's award for worst game of 2000. Now, barely more than a year later, Acclaim and Broadsword Interactive are back with Paris-Dakar Rally for the PlayStation 2--an ignoble and halfhearted attempt at off-road rally racing.
On paper, Paris-Dakar Rally suggests quality. Similar to real life, the game's arcade and campaign modes split the route up into 12 significant portions, which are then broken into four smaller pieces for easy consumption. To tackle the route, there are 26 different vehicles in four different classes originating from 10 different manufacturers. Thus, the game sports 4x4s, motorbikes, buggies, and quads from such leading manufacturers as Mitsubishi, Toyota, BMW, and KTM. For fine-tuning, you can even adjust a number of vehicular characteristics, including suspension stiffness, shock absorption, ride height, gearbox, and tire pressure. Besides the insulting lack of a multiplayer mode, or even a two-player mode, Paris-Dakar's schematic is solid.
However, once you get into a race, theory falls by the wayside and the game shows its true colors. No matter which vehicle you choose, be it a bike, ATV, buggy, or truck, they all drive the same. Bouncy, floating, and high-flying physics are the order of the day. In fact, although a 4x4 is best suited to the terrain of the race, motorbikes are much faster. This lack of realism extends to the track as well, as your distance from the course's midline has more bearing on speed loss than actual terrain makeup or obstacles. Speaking of obstacles, the littlest rock or dirt pile can send your vehicle flying--even if it's barely a few inches thick! Fret not, however, as you get a limited number of repairs that you can trigger at any time, more of which can accumulate during the liaison stages spread intermittently throughout the campaign.
If only the game had a diverse multiplayer mode or a competition-filled arcade option, these flaws might be excusable--but it has no such modes. As such, the fact that Paris-Dakar Rally is a rally title at heart also means that it's chock-full of extraordinarily repetitive and dull stretches of terrain. There are barely more than three other vehicles on the course at any given time, among a field of more than 300. Ultimately, this combines with the unexpectedness of crashes and spinouts to make for a remarkably overdrawn and frustrating experience.
