Crazy Taxi 2

"Hmm, I think I'll play as the old guy in the Hawaiian shirt."

Crazy Taxi 2 was released in May of 2001 for the Sega Dreamcast. Crazy Taxi 2 allows you to choose from four distinctive cabbies: Slash, Iceman, Cinnamon, and Hot-D. Each cabbie has a very distictive, and original look. Slash, for example is a silver-haired nutcase. Iceman is perhaps the most deceptive character, you see, he looks quite calm and casual, but when the taxi starts, he gets serious, very serious. Cinnamon is a mocha-skinned, blonde-haired, airhead. Hot-D is the most bizarre character in the game, and that's saying something; he's an elderly old man who is young at heart and likes wearing Hawaian shirts.. Each cabbie drives their own unique car, each car handles differently. Each of the cabbies' cars have their own advantages and disadvantages, you will probably need to know how to exploit the advantages and each car, and how to compensate for the disadvantages, know how to do these things is crucial, that is, if you want to get the most out of this fine game. All of the characters are bursting at the seams with personality. CT 2 takes places in skyscraper-filled New York. There are numerous New York-esque touches to the game; among them, a certain giant ape with a propensity for kidnapping starlets and swatting down planes while climbing huge buildings. Now then, without further ado, let's get onto the review.

The in-game environments look stunning. Both cities feature lush, highly detailed environments. The buildings feature a super-smooth look, as do the game's vehicles. The human characters in the game could stand be a bit less blocky, but that's no big deal. The game usually moves at a blisteringly high fast rate, unfortunately, as is the case with most racing-esque games, the frame rate has a tendency to drop when a lot of stuff is happening on screen at once, this does cause some disruption, this is very noticeable in the Original city, but, it's no big deal, it doesn't really affect gameplay. The game is also plagued with some pop-up; thankfully, it doesn't detract one bit from the gameplay.

The pulse pounding punk music of the Offspring and Method of Mayhem sets the tempo for the game's brand of white knuckle excitement. Much like the first game, each band featured only has about three songs in the game. The soundtrack does have a tendency to get repetitious, but it doesn't bother me in the least because I like their type of music. It might bug others though. The cabbies' voices are clear, and fit the characters to a tee. They all have many humorous comments to make, as do the fares you pick up (the
cheerleaders have a ton of valley girl quips.) The sound really enhances the feel of the game, the game just wouldn't be the same without the stirring punk soundtrack and humorous voices.

The object of the game is to collect as many fares as you can within a certain time limit. In theory, this may sound like a cakewalk, but in practice it most certainly isn't. Many factors are prevelant that can determine success or falure. One of these factors is the price ranges for the fares in the game. Here's how the price structure breaks down: different price ranges, and subsequently the length of the ride for your customer are represented by colored circles around your potential customer, red fares will pay the least, but they have the shortest ride. Orange fares pay a little more than red, they want to go a little farther. Yellow fares offer the second highest payoff, they also want to go farther than orange fares. Green fares will pay the highest of the single-fares, but they require the most travel of any of the single-fares. New to the game is the group fare. Group fares have a distinctive blue marker that varies in its shade based on how many fares there are. Group fares can have as few as two people, or as many of four. These blue fares have an ultra-high payoff, the trade off is that you have to get all of the people to their destinations within one time limit. It's all or nothing as you race against the clock. The game does, however, give you set time limits (three, five, and ten minutes) for you to complete your goal, they also allow you to get more familiar with the cities in the game.. There are two cities in this game: Small Apple, and Around Apple. Small Apple, as the name implies, is a relatively small city, but it's packed to the gills with traffic and other obstacles. Around Apple is larger, but it features less traffic and fewer obstacles. Each city allows you to take your fare to a variety of real-life locales such as: Burger King, The Gap, and the Hard Rock Cafe. There is a lot of incentive for you to collect a ton of money, the game grades you after every run, there are many licenses to get, from the C license to the CRAZY license (only the best of the best will get this, the ultimate prize in the game.) It requires you to get $20,000 in one run. This may seem simple, but trust me, it's not, the game does give you a time limit for each fare, if you don't make it to the destination within the time limit, you lose the fare. It's very exciting. Sega has added the Crazy Hop to help you achieve this rather elusive goal. The Crazy Hop is an all new gameplay mechanic that sends you airborn and enables you to lunge over traffic in a single bound. It really adds a whole new dimension to the gameplay..You'll be hooked on this game before you know it. Last, but not least, Sega has brought back the Crazy Box, although they've renamed it the Crazy Pyramid, the purpose of each mode is identical; they act as training sessions for you.
The Crazy Pyramid will teach you the basics of the game's mechanics. CT 2 offers up some very unique training sessions, one of the most unique is Crazy Golf, in which your goal is to Crazy Hop into a golf ball until it flies a certain distace. The Crazy Pyramid mode adds a ton of fun to the game, if you take advantage of it. It is one of the best practice modes I've ever seen because it makes you use the game's advanced techniques to progress through the various parts of the mode. Unfortunately, if you just play the game at face value, you run the risk of getting bored of the game fast.

The control is rock solid. CT 2 features some of the best control ever for a DC game. It is never unresponsive or jerky. The R1 button acts as the accelerator, while L1 acts as the brake. Hitting the Y button will unleash the brand new Crazy Hop feature. The game's unrealistic, borderline wacky physics, really help add some emphasis to the Crazy Hop. Thankfully, the insane physics only help the game, they fit the style and feel of the game perfectly.

The challenge of the game depends solely on how much you know the level layout, the game does give you arrows to help guide you, but you need to know the layout so you can take advantage of the game's many shortcuts.

The replay value of this game is through the roof. This is, without a doubt, one of the most addictive games in history. Believe me, you will not stop playing this game until you have gotten a CRAZY license. There is a surprising amount of stuff to do in this game, not to mention all of the stuff that the Crazy Pyramid unlciks.

This game is one of the best reasons to own a DC, it combines excellent graphics, imaginative character design, wonderful sound, and flawless control to make a game that you will want to play for months on end. This game may seem shallow at first, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that it has many things to offer.

-----------------
Score Rundown
-----------------

Graphics- 8/10- The game's levels are huge and full of life, and the character design is great, unfortunately, slowdown tends to mar the experience.
Sound- 10/10- The punk rock soundtrack fits the game perfectly. The cabbies and
passengers always have humerous things to say that really add to the feel of the game.
Gameplay- 10/10- Some of the most innovative, and addictive gameplay ever. While the game may seem shallow at first, there are many little tricks that show just how great this game is.
Control- 10/10- The control scheme is great. The controls themselves are very responsive and never miss a beat.
Challenge- 7/10- The challenge of the game is based on how skilled you are in the game, this may sound pretty obvious, but this really holds true in this game. You'll have a pretty hard time in the game if you don't try and get better at it, the more you play, the more they pay, it's as simple as that.
Replay Value- 10/10- The gameplay is in a realm beyon addictive. There is always something to do in the game.
Overall- 10/10- All in all, it's the best DC game out there. It has some of the most addictive gameplay ever, and the control can't be beat.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/01, Updated 06/13/01