Dakar 2012 / Rally Raid (2012) - Every PC Rally Game
7Dakar 2012 / Rally Raid by Balazs Tuska, 2012.
This third (and best), totally unofficial Dakar game (originally to be called Dakar 2012 but then renamed Rally Raid), WAS available on https://dakar2012.sourceforge.net/ but even if you download all the files that are still available, you'll end up falling through the missing scenery height maps. Instead, look in https://sourceforge.net/p/dakar2012/discussion/1344712/thread/f32f2e78/ for a new download link, which is where I got it from!
This version attempted to do two things, with varying success: firstly to introduce a roadbook (series of symbols that guide you through the stage). This works pretty well, as long as you can understand it, though it gets nerve wracking when you have to leave the trail and go through open desert, looking for tyres/rocks as a way point!
The second feature was to be the ability for people to add third-party fan-made stages. I think, due to the lack of coverage, this part is more lacking, with only a handful of people attempting to do so.
The game comes with, once again, insanely large stages (some over 240km or 2 hours of driving!), and a wide variety of simple looking vehicles to race. The Dakar 2012 stages set in south America are present here, which are a bit less visually varied than previous games in the series.
The handling is a slightly different to the previous games, and it definitely gets across the rigours of long distance rally raid events! It's a shame these games weren't better known; being available via a backwater Sourceforge page meant even I didn't notice them for a long time! But, ultimately, this game offered a lot of what the modern official Dakar racers offer, but back in 2012, with less good graphics and simpler, arcade-like handling.
This is part of the Every PC Rally Game playlist, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYDobL0b26ugFuXASCIC9qmFb9_k4_fqU