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Crazy Taxi Review
Stephen Leyton
00/12/0000
Crazy Taxi on the Playstation2.
Crazy Taxi is one of the first Sega titles to appear on the PlayStation 2, OK it might seam strange, and for hardcore Sega fans itās slightly upsetting, but hey as long as Sega are alive and kicking we can still play their greatest games no matter what machine. Right?
Those of you PlayStation 2 owners who haven't yet experienced the thrills of Crazy Taxi let my explain briefly what the game is like. Youāre a taxi driver who races around 2 cities, picking up various punters on the way and taking them to various locations. However you might as well chuck your Highway Code book out the window, as you won't be stopping at red lights or letting that little old lady cross the road. Ok so thatās it. Fantastic isn't it.
You will find the passengers scattered all around the place, each one will have a different coloured circle round them indicating how far their journey is, the longer you need to travel the more money you can charge. For those of you unlucky souls that are used to backseat drivers, you're going to love this. Each customer will shout comments at you during your travels, depending on the person will reflect their opinion of your driving. For example an old lady will not like you steaming around a 90 degree angle at 90 miles per hour, only to hit the handbrake on and do a full 360 turn in the road.
There are a number of gameplay modes in Crazy Taxi, the first it a quick three minute burst (you can set the timer higher) where you must pick up as many people in your allocated time as possible, as you take them to their destination you will be rewarded with cash, and more time on the clock, simple, not really it will take lots of time to get it right and you will find yourself playing time after time to get even further.
Apart from the arcade game, there is a great little challenge game where you have to perform a number of crazy moves, like flying off a ramp at a high speed to see how far you can go before landing, or maybe you'll have to clear a whole area of air filled balloons by driving over them. There is a vast collection of challenges for you to try, some simple, some stupidly difficult.
There really are very few problems with Crazy Taxi, and the PlayStation 2 version is almost identical to the Dreamcast counterpart. Like all arcade conversions there is always a point where you will have enough of the game and off it goes to the top of the shelves for a couple of months before you pull it out and play it again.
Here are some crazy tips to help you reach some crazy fares!
If you're heading at top speed before you reach your destination, do a crazy drift as you get close and slam into the building itself. It's quicker than the brakes and a good way to add to the tip at the very end of a ride.
It may be tempting to go for the green fares, but if you're playing by the arcade rules, it's more helpful to take the orange and yellow ones, the extra seconds you get from making the shorter trips will help keep you in the game. In longer games, especially the ten-minute one, it's easier to grab the green fares without running out of time.
The original city can be very confusing the first few times through. Take a ten-minute game to explore the city without picking up customers. Learning the ins and outs of the road systems will make delivering fares much easier.
There are fares hiding in the unlikeliest of places, even on the rooftops. This is especially true for the original city, where subway entrances can be used as jumps to get on top of various buildings. These customers take a little more time and effort to pickup, but the payoff is well worth it.
Don't try to run down your customers. Waiting for a rider that had to jump out of the way of your car wastes valuable time. Master pulling up right next to a customer and you'll find your scores quickly increasing.
Some customers just aren't worth your time. Learning which ones to avoid is just as important as learning which ones you want to pick up. It'll save you from making a long, complicated trip when you're running low on time.
When your time's running low, don't punch out early. Grabbing orange fares will keep you alive for longer than you think, especially if you can get them where they want to go quickly.
Casual players might not notice the differences between the four drivers, but after playing with them for a while their individual skills will become more clear. Axel is an all around driver, BD Joe is the fastest, Gena can accelerate better than anyone, and Gus grips the road with ease.
