I got a press release about some new Snowrunner content, something about playing desert rally races and Tim Heidekker’s joke band, Dekkar. I guess they licensed “Empty Bottle” for the soundtrack or something, so let’s check it out.
Oh, wait, this has nothing to do with Dekkar or even Snowrunner! I’ve been tricked by deceptive cross-promotion for a game called Dakar Desert Rally, published by the same folks who publish Snowrunners. Pretty sneaky, but I’ve come this far, so I might as well try it. I’m always willing to sample another rally racing game.
And right away, as soon as I finish their goofy “Welcome to our GAEM, gamer, and check out that we have cars and dirt bikes and even truckzorz for you to race!” intro race, I’m confronted with the difficulty level choice of Sport, Professional, or Simulation. I’ve made my peace with single-player racing games on this front. I’m here for the driving model more than the AI, so I tend to crank up driving realism as far as it will flippin’ go and leave the driving AI around the middle.
But what’s this? They’re not called “difficulty levels”, but Game Modes. Hmm.
I can choose Sport, which is for little babies, grandmas, and people from Europe who’ve never driven a car. As if. I can choose Professional for a reward boost, a financial penalty for damage, harder AI, and fewer glowing HUD assists (this game seems to lend itself nicely to driving from inside the cockpit for maximum immersionnessivity!!!1!, which is my second main emphasis after driving model). But what’s that last difficulty? Isn’t that the one I want? And I have to unlock it???
Okay, fair enough, you’ve got me, Dakar Desert Rally. But don’t be too proud of yourself! I’m easy. But given what I’ve seen so far, I’ll stick with you for 25 levels just to see what you’re hiding behind that last panel. It better be awesome!