CRAZY TAXI
REVIEW

I've been looking forward to this one for what seems like ages. I deliberately stayed away from the arcade game, so that it would be completely fresh for me when I got my Dreamcast version. Was it worth the wait? Hell, yes!

Upon starting a game, of which there are various (more on that later), you first must select a taxi cab. There are 4 to choose from, each with different drivers and attributes. After selecting, it's straight into the game. No loading, no waiting, nothing! The first thing that hits you, are how crisp and clear the hi-res graphics are. They could arguably be the best on the Dreamcast yet (excluding the awesome Shenmue). A short wait later, and you're off! Now, begins the game. You have a set amount of time to pick up a passenger. These are dotted about the city, and are indicated by having a coloured dollar sign above their head, and a circle on the floor around them. You must stop your car inside this circle, to pick up this potential customer. Once collected, they will ask to be taken to one of many areas around the city. You will then be given an appropriate amount of additional time, in which to complete this drop-off. Once at the destination, you will see a green marked space, which you must stop in to allow your customer out. If completed in the time, you will then be paid, with quicker times earning extra money and bonus time. You then set off to collect your next passenger.  Sounds simple or basic? No way! This city is alive with computer controlled people and cars. They all behave the laws of the road, but you don't have to! They do, however, have to be avoided, as they can slow you down drastically. Your customer you have just picked up, wants his or her journey to be fun, so you have to make sure you don't let them down. Weaving in and out of traffic is a nice and easy start, as it begins your combo meter. As long as you don't have a head-on collision, this combo will continue to increase, earning you larger amounts of tips with each trick. Now, weaving in and out of traffic is fine, but very easy, so why not drive towards the cars on the opposite side of the road? This is a little harder, but earns you far more cash. Add to this, turbo boosts, powerslides, ramps, shortcuts and destructible scenery, and you can soon see that this has more depth than the average driving game!

Sega could have left Crazy Taxi as a pure arcade conversion, with little else. But, they have added a huge amount to the home version which is all brand new. In addition to the arcade city (which is loosely based on San Francisco), there is a completely new one! It basically re-uses the textures and buildings but in different locations, but you never have a feeling of deja vu. Also, there are new areas, such as subways and train tracks. This alone, doubles the size of the arcade game, but it doesn't stop there! There is also a play mode called Crazy Box. In here, there are 16 mini games (initially only 9 are selectable). These vary from seeing how far you can get your taxi to fly off the end of a ski jump or playing ten pin bowling in a cab, to dropping collecting and dropping off 7 passengers in one go or racing across the whole city in 400 seconds! Complete these games, and more open up, with all 16 finished giving you a bonus car; a rickshaw! These mini games are all short, but brilliantly executed, and perfect for comparing scores with friends. They also have an extra reason for being in the game. They help to teach the player the 'special moves'. These vary from turbo boosts to powerslides, but all must be mastered if you want to go for high scores. Before long, you will be Crazy Drifting and Crazy Boosting like crazy, just to get that extra fare!

Also of note, is the perfectly suited music. It is all America rock, but fits the action exactly. There's plenty of speech, too, with your driver, passengers and pedestrians all commenting on your good or bad driving.

Crazy Taxi is exactly what it says. The sheer scale and speed that everything moves just takes your breath away! It really is incredible. As you drive, you can even see your character steering, with your passenger swaying about in the back, bouncing about as you land from a jump! It is one of those games, that you have to play if you see it running, as it such a laugh! Gaming is about fun, which 99% of UK games magazines seem to forget, and Crazy Taxi provides that by the bucket load. There is a little pop-up and slowdown (especially on the new city), but these do not detract from the game, and are insignificant against the quality of the whole package. If you own a Dreamcast, then you have to own this game. If you don't have one, then get one with Crazy Taxi NOW!

Screenshots (click to enlarge)

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