Crazy Taxi

"Watch out, you nearly killed me. Can you take me to the Heliport?"

This game is regarded by many as one of the best arcade games of all time. IMO, not that many arcade games are masterpieces. The game is by Sega and Hitmaker, and has been ported to the Dreamcast, and to the PS2 by Acclaim.

Game Play-
8/10

The game play in this game is quite unique. You are a cabbie who works for some insane Taxi company. It is your duty to get your customers to their destinations as fast as possible. You have to go through traffic, buildings, and insane shortcuts to get a high score. The score is measured in money. When you pick up a passenger, you start out with a set fare that you get if you get them to their destination within the time limit. You can get more money by getting your passenger to their destination really fast, passing by close to cars but not hitting them, performing a Crazy Dash, which I never really understood, or going off a big jump. You start out the game with a set time limit, which is increased when you pick up a passenger. When time runs out, your dollar is gone. There are different types of passengers, each one with their own persona and time limit. I found that the Heliport is the most common place the passengers wanted to go to in this game.

Control-
7/10

The control is pretty bad. But, then again, I’m not good with racing wheels. They’re too sensitive. But, if you’re good with steering wheels, you’re good with this game. The steering wheel is pretty sensitive, but I always use arcade sticks and D-pads. Some of the moves are hard to perform, but learning about them from people in arcades is half the fun of an arcade.

Audio-
7/10

The game has two good songs and two okay songs. The two good songs were Offspring’s “All I Want” and “Way Down the Line”. I don’t know the names of the two other songs in this game, but I know that they were done by the band Bad religion. The two Bad Religion songs sounded exactly the same. The voice acting in this game was good, but not the best voice acting in a game I’ve seen. The sound effects in this game are really good.

Graphics-
9/10

The graphics in this game are really good. They are seamless, smooth, frame rate is smooth, and they are overall great. The levels could have used just a bit more detail, though. The game uses real-life stores as the passenger’s destination. The game uses stores such as Tower Records, KFC, and Popcorn Mania. They look the same as they do in real life.

Enjoyability-
8/10

The game is good, but if you don’t like it, you’ll feel like you wasted a buck. You’ll probably like this, unless you hate arcade steering wheels. The game has an addictive pattern, and I don’t think that the game ever comes to an end.

Score-39/50

Overall-
8/10

The game was four points away from a Bronze Award, but it still is a very enjoyable game. You should give it a couple of tries, unless you would rather play games that cost less.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/02/01, Updated 05/20/02