Dakar Desert Rally: A little taste of desert at home

Dakar Desert Rally perfectly symbolizes the current video game industry. Trailers and other marketing effects suggest that the game in question will be amazing when it hits stores. However, when the latest from the Portuguese studio Saber Porto (formerly Bigmoon Entertainment) was kindly sent to us on PlayStation 4 at the beginning of October, frustration took over. Cascading slowdown problems, and above all, several “crashes” in the middle of the game which completely redirected us to the console menu. This was not a very pleasant experience. But unfortunately it has become the norm in the video game world. The Internet is used to apply "patches", these updates which correct defects in the game after its release and which add additional content. The days when a game looked as good as a truck the day it was released in stores are a thing of the past! Rather than serving as a guinea pig, it is better to wait a few months for the game to stabilize before picking up the controller again. 

© Saper Porto

Beauty of the country

This method bears fruit on Dakar Desert Rally. L’expérience de gaming est devenue agréable, le contenu gargantuesque. Il est désormais possible de disputer l’intégralité des étapes des trois derniers Dakar, de 2020 à 2022 ! Rien que pour ça, on peut tirer son chapeau. Sur ces trois éditions, tous les véhicules de chaque catégorie ont été modélisés. Vous pouvez vous faire la main sur les SSV T4 de l’édition 2020, les moins performants du lot, puis tenter les quads et motos. Leur comportement, assez imprévisible à la sortie du jeu, a été récemment affiné. Moyennant des crédits que vous obtiendrez en remplissant des objectifs, vous pourrez débloquer les monstrueux camions Kamaz. Les enfants jetteront certainement leur dévolu sur les Toyota Hilux T1+ et BRX Hunter T1+ actuels de Nasser Al-Attiyah et Sébastien Loeb, the Audi RS Q e-tron being available via a paid download. As for parents, they will rediscover their childish soul by taking control of historic machines like the Peugeot 205 T16, the 405 T16, or even the legendary DAF Turbo Twin truck.

The graphics do justice to the splendor of the Saudi landscapes. This game almost makes you want to go there to do some sightseeing: desert, dunes as far as the eye can see, rocky ocher-colored mountains, you discover the geological variety of the country at the same time as you progress in the career.

© Saper Porto

A simulation for all types of players

The game achieves the feat of addressing hardcore players without forgetting neophytes. Do you only have a quarter of an hour to spare? Choose Sport mode to complete a short special against several artificial intelligences, like a Forza Horizon. The adrenaline shot is guaranteed, but not authentic. Purists will jump on the Simulation mode. The immersion is total. You must then find your way using the real road book used by the competitors, listen to what the navigator tells you, firstly the course to follow like a compass. Even the speed limited by the FIA ​​to 170 km/h has been introduced! Completing a stage of the Dakar in one piece, without missing a waypoint, provides a rewarding feeling, as the difficulty is high. Still bring a few treats so you don't get sluggish: Saudi Arabia is reproduced at 1/5 scale^e and a stage of the Dakar can take 45 minutes of driving.

Dakar Desert Rally: Released October 4 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC. From 39,99 euros.

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