Crazy Taxi  

by Acclaim  Reviewed by: Ben Piazza  

Overview

Once again you hop into your cab cruising the streets looking for a chance to earn your next fare. You spot another desperate customer eager to get to his next destination. As he climb in you hit the gas and speed down the crowded streets avoiding oncoming traffic and pedestrians as you race against time. Stuck in a world where time is money you prove that you are the craziest of all cabbies to earn another day's fare.

Gameplay, Controls, Interface

Before you start the mayhem you have a number of choices to determine how challenging you wish your joyride to be. Once the screen is displayed you may choose one of two heavily detailed courses in which to race around like a maniac, picking up as many passengers as possible. If you feel like you are up for the challenge, you also have the option to choose how long you have to collect all the cab fare you can before time is up. As an added bonus, you may pick a number of mini-games to tone your skills at the wheel for when you want to get that top score.

As soon as you choose the course and time limit you’re thrown into another screen where you must choose one of four intriguing characters. At last you are ready to get down to business and show the world what you've got. Everything is set up for maximum thrills behind the wheel. As you are driving around looking for your next victim, er, passenger, you will run across a floating dollar sign above a circle where a frantic customer will be waving at you to stop. Now keep in mind the dollar signs appear in a variety of different colors that indicate how difficult it will be to acquire the fare. To pick up a customer you must rush over and come to a complete stop somewhere inside the circle. After the customer hops in an arrow will appear over your cab pointing in the direction of your destination. As you weave through traffic you will gain tips for your skill at maneuvering through the other vehicles. Eventually you will arrive at your destination, which will be highlighted by a green circle and you will have to drive your taxi into it to receive your fare.

After you have run out of time and have picked up as many passengers as possible you then are rated on your performance. The screen changes showing the mug of your driver and of course the amount of cash you have earned during the course.  How well you have done determines the grade you will receive. This has no real effect on the gameplay but it is nice to see how you are improving the more you play the game. Once you have received your grade it is saved to view later in the game records.

Graphics

The PlayStation 2 graphics truly bring flavor to this already amazing game. The cabby’s cars are each designed to express the personalities of their drivers. Also the customers that you pick up through the game are of all shapes and sizes and differ in movement and reaction to things that you may do while driving. I found that it was particularly humorous how the other vehicles would be thrown around in the game when I would collide into them, instead of actually appearing to be damaged. Throughout the entire game everything flows well with the movement of the taxi, as well as the numerous things with which you can collide.

Audio

I’ve always felt that good theme music can really help you get into the mood of whatever you may be doing. I truly enjoyed the fact that, while playing a psycho in a taxi, I could sit back and enjoy the musical sounds of the talented band The Offspring. It was amusing that the customers would insult me if they had to dodge to avoid my car when I picked them up or if I took too long to drop them off. Of course, in the end it was satisfying to hear the driver tell the customer to sit down and shut up whenever they would get out of their seats to yell at me. After playing Crazy Taxi I had so much fun listening to the music that I felt I should’ve gone out and bought the soundtrack.

Bottom Line

Overall, Crazy Taxi was one of the more enjoyable games I have had the pleasure of playing for some time. It’s jam-packed full of amazing graphics that aren’t just comical but also bring a unique flavor to the game's interactive performance. Also, without that spectacular theme music present during the game, there might be a loss to the feel of the gameplay. With all these elements, including the intensity of having to avoid the troubles of oncoming traffic and vulgar passengers, Crazy Taxi rockets above other PlayStation 2 titles. If you enjoy the thrill of high speed out of control mayhem, then Crazy Taxi is the game for you.

Review Posted On 26 June 2001.