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Gamecube Reviews: Crazy Taxi

 

Crazy Taxi Screenshots

 


 

The Final Say!
Gameplay
8.9
Graphics
8.9
Sound
8.9
Value
9.0

Crazy Taxi - reviewed by Tory Favro
Review Date: 19 May 2002
Review Score: 8.9/10 
Distributor: Acclaim

It's funny. Crazy Taxi must be the king of ported titles as far as I can remember. This game has been on more systems than.. well... it's been on a few lets just say that for now. Want to know something else funny? As far as I am concerned the GameCube incarnation is the best one thus far and well worth the doing.

That said, it is weird because we know that although Acclaim bought the license, Sega did not allow any changes to be made to the title. I think that the Cube is just capable of providing a better environment than any other console for this title.

For those not in the know, the premise behind this great arcade game is simple. You drive a cab and take fares. Got someone in the cab? Great! Get them there as quick as you can for dollars and rankings as there are no road rules to worry about.

The quicker you get someone to their destination the more time you get for the next fare and that's what the game is all about: getting to the next place as quick as possible to keep playing.

The sheer level of addiction to the title will keep it in your cube or at the worst taken out for very short bursts of time.

Passengers will be quite vocal when you pick them up and you can be choosy to a certain extent as the dollar sign colour above them indicates how far they have to travel. Red means a short trip, Yellow a bit further and Green means a cross country hike. Green fares are fun to pick up however you have to be on your toes the whole time.

Sounds are fantastic and fully suit the mood of the game. Music chores are handed by Offspring and Bad Religion so you should be driving like a maniac in no time with those tunes pumping out your speakers!

Three game modes will see you going nuts with this game for ages to come as there are so many options and things to do that it is not funny. There is Arcade, which is essentially exactly the same game you have played in the Arcade and wasted countless dollars on.

Then you have the Original mode which is what Sega added onto the game for the Dreamcast version. It's funny but this is my least favourite part. It still rocks but Crazy Taxi is a arcade racer at heart and this didn't seem to have the same depth. Also it was the first time that I noticed any nuisance pop up occurring during gameplay that actually affected my performance such as cars suddenly appearing.

Finally and to some enthusiasts you have Crazy Box mode. You can't knock these guys for packing it all in for your gaming pleasure. Crazy Box mode has everything you that wanted but weren't sure they could deliver on and boy could they deliver!

This is one of the beauties of modern gaming. Hidden areas and mini games within the main title. It's by playing all these through and seeing exactly how much is packed onto the disc that will convince you that you spent your money wisely, even if my review does not! Just check out what Crazy Box mode has in store for you.

Crazy Box mode is a series of mini games comprising of:

  • Crazy Jump: Leap to beat a certain distance.
  • Crazy Flag: Spin out and reach the flag as fast as possible.
  • Crazy Balloons: Burst all of the balloons on the field.
  • Crazy Drift: Earn more than 15 total combo points by performing the Crazy Drift.
  • Crazy Turn: Practice dropping off customers.
  • Crazy Bound: Deliver the customer without falling into the ocean.
  • Crazy Rush: Deliver five customers in the time limit.
  • Crazy Jam: Deliver all three customers to their destination through a traffic jam.
  • Crazy Pole: Deliver all the customers to their destination

There have been complaints over the age of the title, but seriously get over it. The game looks just as good if not better now and some things will never cease to be a load of fun which will ensure their place in things for years to come from now.

Crazy Taxi is just such a title and I for one always get a blast out of it. Try at your next party handing around the controller playing Arcade mode. The coolest thing about it is that for one, everyone will get a turn unless you have an unnamed prodigy in your midst, and secondly the game is so much fun that everyone will have a dumb grin on their face. If the first game is this good and has been around for so long now, bring on Crazy Taxi 2! It's been on Dreamcast long enough already! Time to share!

Get Crazy Taxi today as there is something on this disc that will appeal to all ages and all gamers.

- Tory Favro

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