Customer Reviews

Crazy Taxi

5 star:		(113)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Ever wanted to drive 90 miles an hour through traffic? Now you can. Crazy taxi is a hilarious, fast-paced, extremely fun driving game. The scenario is perfect and guaranteed to create suspense and to cause big laughs. For example, there are a series of challenge games that pit you against a course or a set of obstacles. My children laugh uproariously when I miss a jump and fall down into the depths of the ocean. The main game is full of little details and surprises. The game goes so quickly that you hardly have time to look around the amazingly realistic city you are working in as a taxi driver. One way to limit the inevitable boredom that comes with mastering a game is to start concentrating on exploring the virtual world. Also, there are options for making the game more difficult. Unlike a race game where you are stuck to the course, this game lets you drive on roofs, through train tunnels and even under the water. There's a sort of guilty joy that comes with driving through the mall in the wake of screaming pedestrians.

This last bit of fun is part of the reason that I don't recommend the game for children and why it is rated Teen. This game does not model thoughtful, defensive driving! Parents should know that some of the characters use mild curse words and say "unsupportive things." Also, the "F" word can be heard on the soundtrack in at least one of the songs. And, I'm sure you're child would hear the song enough times to start to be able to pick out the words. You can turn off the music and the game is just as fun. I think the hard driving music does add an appropriate element of "crazy" to crazy taxi. I recommend Crazy Taxi very highly!

A lot of people seem to have trouble 'getting' Crazy Taxi, or rather, understanding why it's something that's supposed to stay fun after the first few tries. It seems to have an immediate appeal to EVERYbody: it's hectic, looks great (full of little touches that nobody's likely to notice, like the dead-on shadows), and you get to drive like a maniac in a bustling, hilly city without suffering the consequences. But after awhile, a lot of people find Crazy Taxi repetitive and dull.

I think Crazy Taxi is more for the pinball/Robotron/Stargate crowd than most games that come out nowadays. The main challenge and reward in it is improving your skills, being able to take the shortest path at ridiculous speed without running into ANYthing (that is, anything that's going to slow you down) -- other than the mostly-instructional "Crazy Box" challenges there's nothing to beat, no extra levels or cars or bosses to get, and the congratulatory credits roll every time you get a reasonably good score. There's a lot of space to improve your skills, though, and a lot of cleverly arranged structures in the game's two cities for taking risks and getting rewarded. If working toward mastery of a fixed, complex environment sounds like fun to you (like pinball, and as opposed to "getting to the next level"), and you're dying for a game that you can actually pick up for five minutes and then put down, then Crazy Taxi just might be for you.

The biggest problem with CT (in my opinion) is that technique isn't rewarded as much as speed is. While a particularly brilliant chain of maneuvers will garner a decent tip (bonus points to you and me), shaving a second or two off your travel time will get you more money than driving boldly, and also mean more time on the ever-decreasing clock. Ah well.

Crazy Taxi is just one heck of a ride! The thing that makes this game great for people who have short attention spans (such as myself) is that anybody can hop in and start playing right away. Some people don't want to spend an hour or more on a game, and this game delivers a lot of fun right away. Fast-paced, furious and fun--isn't that what racing games are all about?

I don't think you can get bored easily with this game if you truly have a racer's mentality. I loved this game because instead of the course dictating your path in driving, in Crazy Taxi, you can choose WHERE you want to drive and HOW you want to drive, and the city is quite large. You can drive as recklessly as you want, which is great (and your car never suffers any damage or topples over--you still can control it even after numerous collisions). Out of control, weaving in and out of traffic, crashing into things and trying to run over pedestrians; it feels like a wild bumper car experience but much more frenetic. It's wild and crazy driving at its best!

I had my doubts before this game, but it has thoroughly impressed me. The Dreamcast is known for excellent arcade game translations and this is another great example. You have to love the incredible effort that Sega put into this one, especially if you're a big fan of racing games. The only thing I wished it had was more soundtrack options; it does get a little tiring listening to the same old tune, but that's the only complaint.

To summarize, Crazy Taxi is definitely one of the best Dreamcast games out there and an instant classic!

I must say that I, in the begining thought that this was just another racing game on the market. Then my friends were all talking about it. Of course they told me it was the best! I didn't believe them that is was the best game ever, because thats what they alwas say about the latest games. But they kept nagging me. So I checked it out. I started playing and I couldn't stop! The game is set as you as a Taxi driver, you go around picking people up. You take them around a very nicly set city. It has highways, roads, bridges, buildings, etc. It also has some familier places like Pizza Hut, Tower Records, and a few others. It's also fun to see the different places. I just kept making money once I started playing. But one thing kept me from a 5 star rating; NO MULTIPLAYER! I am a single player (I play alone), but I still couldn't believe that such a great game doesn't have multiplayer! But I won't say that this isn't a great game, it has beautiful graphics, wonderful design, and it's so simple to play. This game can be played by all. I recomend this game for all ages and the lone players!

Never having the chance to plar Crazy Taxi in arcades, I awaited the home version with baited breath. I'm glad I can report that this game features some of the most addictive, pick up and play gameplay, as well as stunning graphics. The sheer size of the city, coupled with traffic and pedestrians dodging out of your way shown in beautiful high resolution graphics is jaw dropping. This is one of those rare occasions when a home game(of an arcade translation) features that "sheen" of smooth flowing eye candy. I've had this game for one day, and already my room is becoming very popular in my dormitory! Fast, fun, easy to learn(but tough to master) makes Crazy Taxi the most fun I've had with my Dreamcast since... well, ever. Buy this game!

Crazy Taxi has everything that the arcade has, Offspring and Bad Religion tracks, brand name destinations. People actually ask to go to KFC, Tower Records, Levi's, and Fila. You can find hairpin shortcuts through the KFC drive-through and even go underwater. The rate that the dreamcast gives the graphics is up to the max on this game. If you own Sonic, you know what I mean. Besides the fact of some minor slowdown which can really really screw you up, its no problem. This game also gets old fast, With only two worlds to drive in, this game needed some more work. Maybe adding 2 new worlds and multiplayer mode would have made this a blockbuster hit. There is also the Crazy Box section for training which is nothing big. There is nothing to open up. The tracks get played about 3 times each round. But when you pop this into the DC the first time, you will be playing it for days. This is a game for young kids and oldschool gamers, but give it a rent before you decide to buy.

Finally... a great game for the Dreamcast. Don't get me wrong, "Soul Caliber" is great but it isn't half as good as the "Tekken" series. "Crazy Taxi" on the other hand is a classic and will sell bucket-loads of Dreamcast's, and rightfully so. If you are sick of traditional driving games then this is your savior, but if you've never played any racing games before then you're gonna think this game is unbelievably difficult. It isn't but don't think you're gonna master the whole game right away. One thing that I should mention is the music. If you don't like punk music(the Offspring and Bad Religion) you're really gonna hate this, I like these songs a lot, even though I don't know to much about either band I'm gonna check up on their CD's, but there needs to be more bands and more songs. Bottom line is this game is a must.

I think this game is great. However, there were things that I wish the game had. For example, another city. Now it is possible that because I haven't finished the game, or entered a code, another city hasn't been unlocked. Although, I don't believe this is the case. The fact there is only one city, does make the replay value slighty low.

The "crazy box" is a nice, challenging feature to the game. The 1-S level, is extremely difficult in the beginning, especially if you haven't mastered the crazy drift. The arcade and orginal modes are also a positive add on.

Overall, I think any Dreamcast owner should get the game, even if you think you won't like it. Trust me, the game is very addicting.

This is a pretty cool game. I actually never played it in the arcades, but I had read so many reviews about it I just thought I would give it a whirl. Glad I did! Just driving around picking up and dropping people off sounds boring at first, but as you play the game you find yourself unable to stop playing! (I know I did!) Overall a good game by Sega. Good music (Offspring & Bad Religion, if you like them that is), good graphics, probably the best control in a driving game I have ever played. The only drawback (yes just one) is that the framerate dips (slows down) when there is alot of traffic on the screen. It doesn't really affect the game quality, but it is slightly annoying. Other than that this game is great. If Sega can continue to make games like Crazy Taxi, PS2 will have a hard time competing.

To call myself a fan of Crazy Taxi would be like saying the Pope thinks organized religion is kind of nice. This is a great game.

Living in Japan, I took refuge from the hurly burly of Tokyo in the absolute craziness of Sega's virtual San Francisco. Having been back in the U.S.A. for sometime and unable to find Crazy Taxi in the arcades anymore, I finally broke down and -- like a long-parted lover -- returned to the comfortable busom of this superlative game.

Even a watered down version of CT appealed to me, and I was tremendously surprised to find that there is very little dilution (if any) from the arcade version. In fact, it is a virtual carbon copy of the arcade version as far as I can tell. This fact was was a little disappointing, to be honest, since I had already learned to navigate the highways and byways of San Fran better than even my old neighborhood of Koganei-shi. (A shout out to all my mama-sans...)

But then I stumbled upon the "Original" version, a city designed solely for the Dreamcast release. (You can see I did my research before plunging into this purchase! I had no idea!) I felt like I had stumbled upon a secret world. I mean, darnit, I can't even find the police station. (OK, it's fairly easy ... just follow the arrow.) The graphics and music, special effects, and hidden treasures are amazing. Truly this is the game for those of us who enjoyed "Adventure" on Atari for the moment when we got eaten by the dragon and then picked up by the bat who flew us through all the screens so we could finally see what else was out there. To play Crazy Taxi and have the mobility that you do ... the freedom of driving around at will, down subway tunnels and through shopping malls ... it's the perfect outlet for the joyously rageful driver. There are truly no limits, no borders. I laugh at friends who play and actually stick to the roads. How lame!

Well, I am about as objective as a hockey dad ... I love this game. And I am not a gamer. Like I said, my frame of reference for home video systems stopped at "Pitfall." But this game is truly phenomenal and the system itself really complements and showcases all of the fun of the original arcade version.

OK, if I could complain about a couple things: The "Crazy Box" section, which allows you to play short skill games, could be improved. Some of the games (like "Capture the Flag") are far too easy, while others are almost impossible. I wish this were moderated more and that, frankly, the easy ones were more challenging. (I have no problem with the difficult ones, only the disparity between them and the easy ones.) And even though the music truly complements the pace of the game, a couple different songs would have been nice on the home version. I like the occassional Offspring song, but ....

But these are small quibbles. Buy it and enjoy. As BD Joe says (and I truly may need counseling), "We gonna have some fun!"