A decade since its intial release, Crazy Taxi is as fun as it was despite its noticeably aged visuals and muffled sound.
Crazy Taxi is an Xbox Live Arcade Classic, which originally debuted on the Sega Dreamcast over a decade ago. The game is simple, drive your taxi while finding customers who need a ride, and drive them there in the quickest, fastest, and craziest way imaginable. This leads you to getting more and more dollars from your passenger, and thus a higher score. This game introduced a new kind of arcade fun years ago.
Gameplay:
You have four different drivers to choose from, and they each don't have any advantages or disadvantages. They all have their quarky one-liners and you will enjoy each of them all the same. The only difference between the four are the designs of their cabs, and that isn't too much to brag on, but it is still worth noting. You have three different modes to play, Original, Arcade, and Crazy Box. Original is your standard game, allowing you to play three, five, or ten minute games to rack up as much cash as possible. Arcade is the same overall concept, except for each customer you take, you gain time for your session. This is my personal favorite, because it is a challenge so-to-speak, and you will find yourself competing against yourself to see how high of a score you can get. Crazy Box is your standard challenge mode, though it doesn't really work so well in my opinion, and hasn't even since this game's glory days. You have three sets of three challenges apiece. After you complete each of the three challenges in each set, you gain a "special" challenge for each set. Basically, in all there are twelve challenges, and if there is one thing that is beneficial to this mode, it is the fact that you can learn a lot of different moves to use in Arcade or Original.
Sound:
This game doesn't sound particularly well with its age. The game has a decent soundtrack for its time, but the audio sounds muffled, and not as clear as any other quality game on the marketplace. Each driver has their own voice for their one-liners, but that is not enough to save this game's sound.
Story:
There is no story in the game. (N/A)
Graphics:
Here is my largest disappointment. A lot of games these days are receiving the "HD Treatment", as developers are utilizing the modern times to make classics feel new again. Unfortunately, no HD is present, and this makes the game seem that old, and can really have you thinking the game is off-balanced due to this. I highly doubt this game will ever have such treatment, but who knows.
Shortcomings and Glitches/Bugs:
Graphics and sound plague this classic, though the fun is still there of course. My gripes about the graphics and sound are minor, and I expect most players to agree with me on that statement, because this is an arcade game now, not retail.
Conclusion:
Crazy Taxi is, well, crazy to say the very least. The game does a great job even today of providing the most mindless fun you will ever have. It is a shame we haven't seen any sequels in year other than "High Roller" on the original Xbox. The series is fun for those who played them all, so it is a shame. Sega could possibly release the other two games at a later date, but that is pure speculation on my part. If you have never played Crazy Taxi before in the past, now is a good time, as the game is a cool 800MSP. It may seem pricey to some, but past Dreamcast owners will love replaying a game that gave the former console so much praise.
High/Low Points:
+ Still Great Fun Even After 10 Years
- No Graphical Update
- May Seem Pricey To Some
Gameplay Score: 8.0/10
Sound Score: 6.0/10
Story Score: N/A
Graphics Score: 6.0/10
Presentation Score: 7.0/10
Overall Score: 7.0/10
Replay Value: Moderately High