Dreamcast-Talk.com

You may have noticed an option for Internet on the menu screen. Now most people wouldn't give this a second thought nowadays as the Vanishing Point server has been dead and buried for over a decade. However older reviews alluded to special challenges that could only be accessed online. Basically the game was programmed to accept special code direct from an Acclaim server allowing players to compete in a particular challenge with a set course and car. Although most of these challenges were simply a straight race or time attack affair, you could take part in something normally reserved for two players: namely Balloon Buster. Here you race through a course popping red balloons for extra points and avoiding the blue balloons that deduct your points (or vica versa). Once the challenge was over, points were converted in seconds that were deducted from your overall course time. Now I've mentioned racing in Vanishing Point is fun enough but spoilt somewhat by the restrained and sim-like handling. If Clockwork Games had incorporated the essence of Stunt Mode within the main Tournament mode, this would have alleviated that issue somewhat. Heats could consist of straight races and a stunt races where you perform specific tasks throughtout. For example, getting points for the hill jump in South Riviera, passing heavy traffic without touching anything, popping balloons, tagging certain areas of the road, drifting in certain spots...the possibilities are endless. If Vanishing Point is to be revived for a sequel or make a return via LIVE/PSN, this is something they should consider.