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The
Nuttiest Taxi Ride on the Planet
Overview
Crazy Taxi was originally released exclusively on Dreamcast. Now,
with with Sega pulling out of the console market Crazy Taxi is now
making it to other platforms. In this case I played the game on
a PS2. The game is part of a second wave of games that have been
hitting the PS2 market.
The premise is simple, pick one of four cabbies and drive around
a city-that closely resembles San Francisco-and taxi people from
point A to point B.
Of course, being a video game and not a simulation of the real
world, extreme exaggeration comes into play. You can drive on the
wrong side of the street, knock over busses, terrorize the pedestrians,
drive underwater and fly off bridges with no consequences. It is
all fair play and no one is there to stop you...except maybe the
customer. They seem to think that since they are paying for your
services they have the right to be back-seat drivers.
The idea of the game is that you pick up a fare and then transport
the person to another part of the city. You've only got a certain
amount of time to do this and if you don't make it to the destination,
the customer will leap out of the car. Even so, while driving insanely
down the streets, they scream at you if you drive dangerously (a
demented few cheer recklessness on) but they will pay more for faster,
specially talented driving. This whole situation is a parody of
big-city cab drivers and plays itself out all the way through the
game. It makes for some hilarious moments.
The game was originally an arcade game and, when taken to Dreamcast
and PS2, little has been added to it. Thus, the game lacks any real
depth and, to some, can get boring after a while. There is a ‘crazy
box' mode In which a bike with a square back can be earned as an
alternate vehicle, but that is about it.
There's some mild language In the game but there is no violence
at all. It's more like a slapstick comedy approach to gaming and
it's lots of silly fun. Sega is already planning for Crazy Taxi
2, which should have much more depth. So, if you don't like the
idea of spending 50 dollars for a relatively shallow game, wait
for Crazy Taxi 2.
Joshua
Final
Score
Highlights: Lots
of crazy fun.
Lowlights:
Same lots of fun over and over so gets boring for some after a relatively
short time.
Hints:
Speed Limits are only suggestions. Have a MAJOR Need for Speed
and you'll be fine. Sometimes the shortest route is not the obvious.
Recommendation:
Any age, this game is the perfect mix of all elements and has no
material that is offensive to younger generations. The only question
is the amount of gameplay you will get for your 50 bucks.
Age Appropriateness:
Almost
any age that can handle a simple driving game.
Christian
Sense (CS):
3.1 Doesn't insult God and is actually very Christian friendly .
Game Engine
(GE): 5
VERY Unique, totally different from any other car driving engine
I have ever seen.
Game Play
(GP): 3.5
Very fun at first but can slowly go downhill.
Overall:
3.7
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