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The closest thing to the perfect console driving game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: January 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game's sole weakness, if it truly is one, is that about 98% of its functionality is locked until you begin winning races. The game includes dozens of vehicles, everything from station wagons to exotic sportscars, but there are only two that are initially playable, and these are intentionally mis-tuned. So casual gamers are likely to whine about control issues until they manage to unlock the better cars and/or the tune-up features. When you get to the Alfa Romeo or the Audi TT, you'll begin to realize that VP has, hands-down, the best driving engine ever built into a videogame, and that the game itself is a masterpiece. Great visuals, precise control and an amazing sense of speed. Perhaps the game is a bit more challenging in the early stages than it had to be, but those who persist will find the trip a rewarding one.

Tough to Master...But Such Incredible Speed!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

At first glance this looks like your typical racing game and during your first few minutes of playing it, it feels like your typical racing game. The reason for this is that you only start off with two cars: a Ford Mustang and a Ford Explorer, both of which are a pain to drive. You'll find yourself slipping all over the roads with these two vehicles and just when you thought you had enough...you're actually hooked on the game. I've spent hours upon hours playing this game and I still can't get enough of it. Even though you start off with two miserable vehicles the more races you win, the more vehicles you can acquire. Plus, driving the real shabby cars gives you excellent practice for the future races, which can get incredibly difficult. Even after having to race some tracks over and over again (I think I've raced one particular track at least 60 times) the thing that drives me on is the hope of unlocking the Dodge Viper. Ohh..what a sweet car... Besides unlocking the standard cars in the game, you can also unlock secret cars, movie files, and even a tune shop which allows you to modify the specs on your car to give you the best driving experience. The realism in the game is also remarkable. After all, three physicists worked on this game to make it as true to life as possible, and I'm telling ya when you hit the 145 mph mark your heart starts to pound because you can actually feel the speed you're flying at! Overall, this game is quite challenging and it will suck up hours of your time if you are dedicated to it. But I highly recommend it to any racing fan because I truly feel that this is one of the best racing games that has been released. You really know a game is intense when you have to pause the game in the middle of a race to dry the sweat off your palms. =)

Best Arcade Racer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Without question, this is the best arcade racing game on the dreamcast. Beautiful graphics and excellent car choices make this one the one to buy. The control is excellent if you are willing to invest some time. For me, it took only 1/2 hour to become comfortable with the controls. If yo enjoy driving games, buy this! Between this and F355, Acclaim is turning it around.

One of the best racers I've ever played on any system!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: August 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

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.

A Great Driving Experience

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'd been waiting on this title since October. I'd seen the magazine ad in my ODCM and it looked great. Well, it finally shipped and I've had two days of real playing time with the game. Let me just say that I am SERIOUSLY impressed with this title. The graphics are FANTASTIC. The gameplay is challenging and the physics are based on what type of vehicle you're driving at the time. The pickup truck drives like, well, a pickup truck. Same with the Ford Explorer SUV. The fun factor is way up there too, with awesome looking tracks and landscapes and a really cool stunt mode. If you're looking for arcade style fun combined with a little bit of realism, Vanishing Point for the Dreamcast is for you. It's all about beating the clock, and this one will make you spend much time trying to do just that. Have fun.

Very fun game but not perfect

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: January 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

General/Summary: I really enjoy this game (because of its gameplay) but I feel it comes up a little short because of weak graphics (I expected more depth to the cars) and weak selection of cars themselves. I am not a huge fan of mustangs and their kind, but prefer Porsches, BMWs, Audis, Ferraris ... basically the vehicles found on the Need for Speed games (yes I know Mustangs & Firebirds are on those games but I never race them and in VP you must start with either a Mustang or a Ford Explorer). Overall, I give this game a weak 4 (3.8 would be more accurate but this scale does not permit) and would spent my [money] on MSR or F355 if I had to do it all over again. But it would be a great 5-day rental!

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.

Perfection for the Patient

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: March 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I wonder how many times it's happened - someone brings home Vanishing Point, puts it in the ol DC, is astounded by the opening cinema, and, with an expectant and thumping heart, starts a race.

Only two cars open at the beginning? -- well, OK. Only one track as well? - Hmm, that's a little strange. And then the race begins. The Explorer (or Mustang) slides all over the road, fishtailing like mad, and then flips over, seemingly on its own. "What the heck is this??!??" The once-hopeful gamer removes the disc, and returns it to the store right away.

Ah, my friend, what joys you have missed.

Vanishing Point is yet another addition to the crowded line of Dreamcast racers, but has enough innovation and depth to place it in the upper echelon along with Metropolis Street Racer, Test Drive Le Mans, and Sega GT. VP is, at its core, a strange mix of street and rally racing - you choose everyday cars (examples are the aforementioned Ford Explorer and Mustang, the Lotus Elisse, BMW 325i, and quirky offerings like the VW Microbus and Mercury Sable Wagon: there are over thirty cars in all, and all perform very differently) and race on several tracks, ranging from a nighttime trip through downtown to a semi-offroad course through a mountain town. The courses are populated by regular drivers, as well as drivers you're competing against - but you're not trying to beat them all to the finish line. Rather, each race has a pre-determined time limit that you must beat, similar to rally racing. As you careen through the course, your "place" is updated at invisible checkpoints, and you're shown just how far off (or ahead) of the 1st-place pace you are, as well as where your current pace places you. It takes a little getting used to, but is easy to grasp.

This time-based system makes each race an intense experience. You can't really relax for fear of losing precious seconds. The tracks are full of obstacles that aim to slow you down, and the traffic gets in the way as well. The other competing drivers are the worst - they'll intentionally block you or ram you from behind, which is always surprising until you learn to anticipate it.

VP has many, many secrets to unlock, which is a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you always have sufficient motivation to replay the game to unlock that next car or track or game mode. On the other hand, too little is available at the beginning, which is off-putting to gamers expecting immediate satisfaction. It's almost as if the developers wanted to reward players who stuck with the admittedly crazy handling of the early cars. Once you put in a few hours, win some tournaments, and start unlocking vehicles, the sky-high quality of the racing engine becomes apparent, and VP becomes a real honest gem.

Another aspect of VP is the high number of play modes. Single Race is pretty self-explanatory. Tournament Mode is a series of three challenges per car, and contains the meat of the game overall. Each car has a Bronze (2 courses, 2 laps), Silver (3 courses, 2 laps) and Gold (3 courses, 3 laps) stage to the tournament. You are awarded points based on your finishing position, and must finish first in each stage to advance to the next. Completion of a stage usually results in unlocking something, which keeps you motivated. There are also several multiplayer modes, a few of which are unlocked as you go - I don't want to spoil them here, but rest assured that they're well worth it, not to mention refreshingly unusual!

VP also has a Stunt Mode, which could have been a game unto itself. You are presented with increasingly difficult challenges in a pre-determined car, which range from "Pop all the Balloons!" to "Perform a Barrel Roll!". If you complete the challenge, you're given a score from 1-100 depending on how long you took, etc. Additional challenges are opened based on your cumulative score, and you'll often find yourself going back to completed challenges to try and raise your score by a point or two in order to unlock the next event. Stunt Mode is incredibly addictive, not to mention incredibly challenging.

As you can see, Vanishing Point is stuffed to the gills with content. It also looks gorgeous, never budging from its high-frame rate and resolution. There's no car damage, but who wants to drive around with broken headlights and dented doors? The tracks are filled with eye-candy, from waterfalls, passing trains and monorails to huge airliners flying right over the track or floating hot-air balloons. You can race the tracks in reverse, mirrored, or mirrored reverse, and they're designed so well that each seems like an entirely new track. The soundtrack is much more tolerable than typical racing-game techno, and the ambient sound effects are superb. Technically, VP is a masterpiece.

Vanishing Point is a true underrated Dreamcast classic. It suffers only from initially daunting challenge, but once you unlearn what other racing games may have taught you and start unlocking all the hidden features, you'll find an almost bottomless game that's immensely challenging yet enjoyable, alone or with friends. Racing enthusiasts should not let VP pass them by.

Challenging but fun

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is fun, the cars are o.k., but this game is NOT for beginers. It is really hard and you only get two cars in the begining a Ford Explorer and a Ford Mustang. To get the rest of the cars you have to work really hard to beat tracks. If you have a Gameshark then the game is a must buy if you don't all I have to say is "Good luck"!

Good Looking

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: July 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game looks awesome!!! But when I got it, it didnt work!!! So thats why I gave it 1 star.

Almost Perfect

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First of all, not enough cars, and thats most of it. I gave it 4 stars couse of its handaling in cars and not enough cars. Its a good game overall.

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