Crazy Taxi 2

""Yeeeeah! We gonna HAVE some fun!""

Is there anyone on Earth who DIDN'T love Crazy Taxi? I'm sure there were, but if someone like me, an old-school 2D gamer who can't stand racing games, ended up adoring every minute of it, then I would imaging the figure is pretty low. Basically, Crazy Taxi had everything a good game needs. Awesome atmosphere, bright, smooth, and colorful graphics, just enough attitude to be great without going overkill, an amazing soundtrack, and (most importantly) near perfect gameplay. It had that instant pick up and play appeal, but there really was an untold amount of depth to the game, so that months after purchasing it, I'm STILL not tired of it, and play it on a daily basis.

The question now is: Can Hitmaker actually IMPROVE on the Crazy Taxi formula? This is a very difficult task indeed. Let's see if they succeed...

Graphics: 10

The graphics in Crazy Taxi were basically perfect. Everything ran silky smooth (except for the occasional brief slowdown) and everything was so warm and inviting. The graphics in Crazy Taxi 2 improve on them slightly, with a much farther viewing distance, a slightly smoother look to the buildings, and some downright awesome cityscapes. On the flipside, It must be mentioned that this comes at the price of slightly simplified driver and passenger graphics, but that's nothing too important. Also, I slightly prefer the sunnier look of LA to CT2's grand, majestic New York, but that's just a personal preference. The only thing I would complain about here is that the new drivers lack the personality of the original four. I wasn't too impressed with any of them, but again, this is nothing horrible. Overall, absolutely wonderful.

Sound: 9

I was somewhat let down by the sound in CT2. Most notably the driver commentary, or lack thereof. It didn't seem like any of the drivers had anything much to say, and when they did, it was something like ''Sit Down!'' or ''That was too slow''. Nothing anywhere near as cool as B.D. Joe's ''Shut up and MOVE YOUR BUTT!''. I do have to say that the people on the streets scream a lot more than in CT1, which definitely is a good thing. It actually made me aim for the crowds of people to hear them scatter and panic. Another mild disappointment was the soundtrack. All I can say is that it's a good thing Offspring are my favorite band, since they are basically all you hear. Bad Religion aren't back for this sequel, and they've been replaced by Methods of Mayhem (who totally don't fit with the Crazy Taxi atmosphere). Thank the lord that you don't have to listen to THEM while playing the game, but they do pop in for the ending, replacing what in the original was one of the best songs on the soundtrack. Oh well. Don't worry, I'm totally nitpicking here. What can really beat tearing up the town while cruising to the Offspring? The sound is still some of the best ever, just slightly inferior to the original.

Gameplay: 10

How can you possibly make a sequel that improves on a flawless game? Answer? You can't. So there isn't too much of a difference between this and the original in terms of gameplay. Believe me, that's a very good thing indeed. The biggest addition is the ability to pick up groups of 2, 3, or 4 people. All of the people will want to go to different destinations, and should you make any tips while driving they are multiplied by the number of passengers in your car. But if you fail to get ALL of the passengers to their destinations, you make absolutely nothing. It's risky, but with a group of 4 passengers, it's quite possible to make $2000+ on a single fare! With this newfound potential for easy money comes two more difficult maps than the original ones. Around Apple is a more spread out map featuring long highways and bridges to connect 3 clusters of destinations, while Small Apple is all clustered together, with more shortcuts and sharp turns. I prefer Around Apple, but it's always good to have 2 maps. Let it be said that neither map can compare to the Original Mode map in CT1, but again, this is an impossible standard to hold the game to. By the way, your cab now has the ability to jump! This may seem very strange, but again, it doesn't hurt the gameplay at all, and even adds some fun stuff to do, like leap onto the roof a hotel to pick a group of cheerleaders (?).My games seemed to make more money, but on the average not last quite as long. Of course, I haven't had nearly enough time to master these maps yet, and I did totally master the heck out of the original. Basically, it's just more of the same, with the difficulty cranked up just a tad.
The Crazy Box mode has been replaced with a much more fun (and less impossible) Crazy Pyramid mode. You play an assortment of mini-games to unlock the bike from CT1, a Baby Carriage (completely useless, but very silly), maps of the levels, and perhaps more. I still haven't beaten the last two games, and I'm sure they will take me quite a while. I have a sneaking suspicion that the original CT1 drivers are unlockable somewhere, since in the credits, their voice actors are listed. I pray that this is so. Anyhoo, you know what to expect. Anyone who ever doubted that this game would rule will be knocked flat on their butts once they sit down and play it.

Overall: 10

No, it's not quite as good as the original. Yes, it is very sad that they multiplayer mode didn't make it into the game, and the drivers could have been more exciting. But can we really fault a game for not improving on perfection itself? Crazy Taxi 2 is more crazy driving fun, and I'm sure that nobody with a Dreamcast will want to miss out on it. Buy it NOW!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/01, Updated 05/31/01