Thursday, December 01, 2005

Throwback Thursday: Crazy Taxi

While this game is only about 6 years old, its gameplay is very much rooted in classic arcade racers. But the best thing is, its not a traditional racer! Instead of making laps around a set course, you're dropped on a city street in a taxi and charged with picking up passengers and getting them to their destination as quickly as possible. The more crazy shit you do while driving, the bigger your tip becomes! Driver on the wrong side of the road, the sidewalk, take ramps, drift turns... just don't crash or your passenger will yell at you and you'll lose that tip! Graphics were some of the best of its time, with very little pop-in and LOTS of on street activity. Few games today have as many people and cars on the screen at once. Soundtrack was handled by The Offspring and Bad Religion, and though they aren't exactly my favorite bands "All I Want" and "10 in 2010" definitely helped set the tone of the game as a fast paced thrill ride. Crazy Taxi started as an arcade game from Sega arrived on the Dreamcast in spring 2000. While the console version lacked the fun of the wheel and pedalsi n the arcade, it was only $40, which is a lot less than what I'd spent playing the game the previous summer at the arcade. Sega added an entirely new city, and options to extend the time limit to really explore. There was also a challenge mode, giving you specific pick-ups and time limits and grading your performance. Doing well meant unlocking a BIKE, which handled the same as your car, but was still fun and goofy to drive around in. Shortly after the DC was abandoned for Sega to go multi-platform, they licensed Acclaim to publish the game in PS2 and Gamecube. With Acclaim belly-up, and Sega's less than stellar sequels, its hard to say where the franchise might head in the future if it even has one. It did inspire a massive rip-off in Simpsons Road Rage. Burnout 3 is a very different game, but certainly rewards some of the same type of driving as Crazy Taxi. Considering the cult following the Dreamcast has and the availability of this game in bargain bins all over for PS2 and Gamecube, theres no reason not to play this game. It doesn't glorify violence, doesn't offer a story, and theres no multiplayer mode, but its about as much fun in a video game car a single person can have. Crazy Taxi Techniques maintains a massive strategy and tips guide for the arcade version, and Crazy Taxi Trailer Crazy Taxi PC demo Sega Japan Crazy Taxi site

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