Seen This One Before?

The first time I ever got to play Crazy Taxi for a significant amount of time was on the GameCube. I never owned a DreamCast, so I pretty much missed out the original. Now I can't see how I ever passed up on this game. It is definitely one of the better games in existence.

Those of you who own an earlier version may be asking, "Is there any reason to buy this one too?" I'll go ahead and answer that one right now. Not really. That of course depends, though. This one has much improved graphics over what we saw on the DC. They are somewhat better or equal to what was seen on other systems. So, basically, if you own the DC version and the DC version ONLY, then you might want to look at this one based on graphics alone. Sadly, SEGA has ended the DC's life and therefore some of you have already put away your DCs. For those with a little bit more $$$, you may be interested in getting a version for the systems you play NOW, so you won't have to setup your DC every time you want to play. Of course, all of this depends on your personal choice, but for most people, especially those who own the PS2 version (or XBox or whatever) probably won't find any reason to get this one too.

But of course there is still the matter of those who DON'T own any other versions. There's a pretty simple answer to that too: GET IT NOW!!! But in reality it's much more complicated than that. Let's get into that part of it right now....

Crazy Taxi is, frankly, a crazy idea. The goal is to get your customers/passengers to their destinations as fast as possible. That's it. But it's REALLY, REALLY fun! You can do WHATEVER YOU WANT (well, there are SOME limits)! That's what makes a large percentage of the best games so fun (Sims, GTA III, etc). But don't mistake this game with GTA (or the Sims for that matter). There is no real killing. You can try to run people over but they appear to just jump out of the way. You can send other cars flying, though. You can also jump over drawbridges (in the state where they are up and not ready for cars)! You can even drive underwater. Heck, there's even a passenger underwater waiting to be picked up! As the name implies, it's crazy.

This is one of the most fun games I've ever played. It rivals even Rogue Leader for the best GC game. But then again, it's just a port. Many people already have what is essentially the EXACT SAME GAME.

Moving on, the graphics are pretty good. They are not as good as Rogue Leader or Luigi's Mansion, but they are pretty good for a game ported from a system over two years old. You know, when you think about, the DreamCast wasn't around very long at all. Damn. Too bad. The graphics on the cars are very good. Nothing looks quite realistic but it's good enough for a game that's definitely not based on realism. The music fits the game perfectly, but it gets old after a little while. The sound effects are good. They are basically car sounds and the people shouting at you.

Controls are great, but a little bit hard to get used to compared to racing games. The shoulder buttons are accelarator and brake, and B is switch from Drive to Reverse and vice versa. Control Stick, is, as usual, steering.

Not much to say about gameplay that you don't already know. You use the car controls to drop off and pick up people. The goal is to take them to their destinations ASAP. An arrow points you in the right direction. The places are cool, too: KFC is there, as is The Original Levi's Store. There are two different maps but they're very similar. There are also little mini-games ("Crazy Box") to develop skills.

In conclusion, this is a well-done game. Correction: it is an extremely well done game. Good idea, mixed with good graphics, good sound, and innovative control. However, for those of you who have what is essentially the same game, I'd say there's no real reason to get it. Also, there are other games out for GC that you might prefer so I'd say those who only have the dough for one or two games should consider other games like Rogue Leader, Super Smash Brothers Melee, etc. before making a choice. Thanks for reading my review! :)