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Crazy Taxi 2 Review
Stephen Leyton
00/12/0000
Get ready for more crazy action as Crazy Taxi 2 hits the dreamcast
Get ready for more crazy action as Crazy Taxi 2 hits the dreamcast. It was inevitable that Crazy Taxi would get a sequel, the non-stop, madcap action from the first game ensured fantastic sales, and when Sega see a brand they know what to do with it.
Crazy Taxi 2 stays faithful to the original, some may say too faithful, I would say it strays too far from the beaten track. Like itās predecessor, players have to pick up fares and drop them at their destinations as soon as possible. Keeping you on your toes is a timer, which can be extended by delivering passengers quickly. Like many great games the premise is simple yet so excruciatingly addictive.
Crazy Taxi 2 takes the action from the first games fictional San Francisco stages and places it in a New York styled level. This change allows for bigger levels, a mark of the console-only origins of the game, however this marks my first gripe with the game as the bigger levels just arenāt as memorable as the originalās. Weāre playing Crazy Taxi here, not Sim-Taxi Driver, we know its heritage is from the arcade and thatās why we loved it. I would have preferred to see smaller, more memorable maps as in the first game, just have more of them. Itās a small gripe but they do begin to add up.
The larger levels mean that youāre going to need to learn the short-cuts to achieve that Grade A license, most of these are dependent on the games new addition; the Crazy Hop. A touch of the Y Button will result in your cab jumping 30Ft in the air, giving the player the chance to jump over traffic and onto higher roads hence the shortcuts. Unfortunately Iām not a fan of the Crazy Hop, firstly it changes the whole gameplay dynamics created in the first game, which in my opinion are some of the best ever. The move also feels cheap, unlike the Crazy Drift and Crazy Dash moves from the first game thereās no special commands just a simple button press. This is a personal complaint as I can see the need to keep this move as simple to activate as possible, for most players missing a crucial jump because you messed up the actions would be extremely frustrating, but for Crazy Taxi enthusiasts it just feels cheap.
Before I go on Iāll address my main problem with the game, itās not a major one and wonāt be an issue for 9/10 people. Because of the move to a console friendly game the whole balance has changed, resulting in a game that just isnāt as memorable as the original. People brought the original because they knew it was arcade fun, perfect for picking up for a quick five-minute blast. The sequel tries to add depth and challenge and for me hampers the overall game. Thatās not to say itās bad, Crazy Taxi 2 is still a AAA title, itās just not met this crazed Crazy Taxi fans expectations, now on to Crazy Taxi 2 good points, maybe Iām getting too cynical in my old age.
A new addition to the formula that works well are Group Fares, finding these will result in a group of passengers hopping on board and asking to be delivered to different destinations. You get one timer to deliver all the passengers and wonāt get a penny until you deliver all of them, itās a risk and not worth taking until you know your levels, however itās a great way to make some serious bucks once youāve become good enough, as the number of people in the cab multiplies any tips you earn during the ride. Itās a great addition and suitably changes the balance of the gameplay in a positive direction, as youāll need to be good to begin even thinking about taking the risk.
The Crazy Pyramid replaces the Crazy Box in the first game. The premise is the same, complete the mini game and move on to the next one. These mini games range from tee-offs (hit the Golf Ball as hard as possible) to delivering a passenger across girders suspended thousands of feet in the air. Upon completion youāll gain different rewards, such as maps and different vehicles.
Unfortunately the planned multi player modes never came to fruition; apparently it upset the gameplay balance. For me there would have been nothing better then 4P split-screen Crazy Taxi, but thatās life hopefully in Crazy Taxi Next.
Graphically Crazy Taxi 2 doesnāt show any signs of significant improvement, however the guys at Hitmaker were very keen on staying true to the originals style and Iām happy with that. Thereās more going on in the levels, such as traffic and pedestrians and as I said before the levels are bigger so from a technical point CT2 is pushing the dreamcast harder itās just not that easily apparent. Slowdown and pop-up still rear their ugly heads but thankfully nowhere near as much as in the original.
The Offspring provide the soundtrack again, so like in the original youāll either be playing with the volume at itās max or muted depending on your musical tastes.
