Vanishing Point

Gameplay: Gameplay is a very strong suite of this game. You will begin to play then look at the clock to find 2 hours have slipped away! Because your racing against the clock, instead of the other racers, you will find yourself just missing a 1st place time and immediately restarting another race -- it is addictive. And when you want a "different" experience from the ol' racing, you can have some casual fun in the stunt racing mode where you perform barrel rolls, jumps, popping balloons (you'll understand if you buy or rent this game), and all kinds of unrealistic but fun events.

Graphics: Graphics is where VP falls a little short. Of course, it is stronger than most PSOne racing title however, I expected more. In particular, with the rendering of the autos themselves. They seem a little flat. When you compare this title to, say TD Le Mans or F355, you will be disapointed. Scenery is attractive but unrealistic.

Sound: The sound is quite good ... engine noises, skidding, crashes, etc. And surprisingly, the background music is very enjoyable.


One of the best racers I've ever played on any system!   August 31, 2001
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Vanishing Point is possibly the funnest, most addictive racing game I've ever played.

PROS: Fast, fluid graphics. Awesome gameplay

CONS: Cars take no damage, "kamikaze" rival cars, car flipping

First, I'd like to say that this game is definitely not for beginners! If you are a novice at racing games you might find this game very frustrating. If you are the kind of person who doesn't know how to let off the gas or tap the breaks when hitting a sharp turn, you won't get very far. I'd say that Vanishing Point is a relatively difficult game. You start with a choice of only two vehicles (Mustang and Ford Explorer) and one track. In order to progress onto new tracks you must place 1st in a race (at which point the game saves your accomplishment to the VMU so that you have permanent access to the new track). In order to gain access to new cars, you must beat a particular heat (set of races). However, though this sometimes gets frustrating it never gets too tedious that I want to give up, and I will say that this game is so addictive that I often can't stop myself from giving it "one more try."

GRAPHICS: Graphics are crisp and clear and hi-res, with no pop-up or glitches to be found. They're aren't breathtaking but they certainly are good.

SOUND: Another great aspect of Vanishing Point is the music; it's some sort of hip synth groove or something of the sort (can't quite describe it!) and never disracts me from a race or grates on my nerves. Most racing game soundtracks annoy me and so I turn the music volume off, but not with VP. And in terms of the sound effects, they're very good, from tires screeching to cars colliding, etc.

GRIPES: Despite my praise of Vanishing Point, I have several gripes with it. The first gripe I have with the game is the fact that the cars never take any damage. No matter how many walls you hit, how many cars you collide with, your car will always stay in showroom condition. This utter lack or realism sometimes bothers me, though not enough to detract from the game.

Secondly, to my frustration, it seems pretty obvious that rival cars sometimes try to ram you in an attempt to sabotage your driving. I didn't notice this at first but after a dozen races or so it became apparent that other cars often go out of their way to bash into the player's car. Which brings me to my last annoyance: sometimes I'll get rammed from behind and my car will go flipping through the air out of control, and at that point I know the race is pretty much lost (because of the time spent recovering) and so I have to restart.

Despite these few negative points, however, Vanishing Point still shines. It is currenlty one of my favorite Dreamcast games. If you like racers and are half-way good at them, get this! And the more you practice, the better you'll get, and the more you'll love this game.