Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller Showcase: Small Apple
Sega gives the east coast a make over in the third installment of the series.
In our third look at the latest installment of the Crazy Taxi series, we'll be focusing on the Small Apple, the East Coast-inspired city seen in Crazy Taxi 2, and more of the minigames offered in the Crazy X mode. Much like the West Coast city level and minigames we covered in last week's look at the game, this level and its games have undergone some graphical tweaking to take advantage of the Xbox hardware. In addition, the Small Apple has undergone some gameplay tightening, which appears to have made the level's feel better than that of its previous incarnation on the Dreamcast. From what we've seen so far, the graphical and gameplay tweaks look to make Crazy Taxi 3 the best entry in the series to date.
If you played Crazy Taxi 2, you'll notice the graphical tweaks on the character-selection screen, just like those found in the West Coast's. On an aesthetic note, characters now stand to the right of the cabs, as opposed to the left, as in the Dreamcast version of Crazy Taxi2, which gives the game a uniform presentation. The character models for Slash, Iceman, Cinnamon, and Hot-D have all been freshened up and now sport a higher poly count and improved shading. As with the original set of cabbies, the upgrade doesn't make a dramatic difference but helps freshen the game's look a bit for the Xbox version. The city itself, on the other hand, is in fact quite different from the one in the Dreamcast incarnation of the game. In addition to some geographical tweaks, which lessen the chances of being stuck in a dead end or trapped next to an overpass and offer some new places to visit in the city, the Small Apple offers some significant upgrades to its DC counterpart's graphics. You'll find the same batch of improvements seen in the West Coast level, like subtle reflective effects, seen on the chrome bumper, cab body, and windshield of the car. However, the Small Apple features a wider array of graphical improvements. The level is now set at night and has quite a bit in common with the lighting found in Glitter Oasis. Lights can be seen coming from the inside of most buildings, and all the cars in the city have their headlights on. You'll also notice a blurring effect on the various light sources as you go about your business. While the level isn't as flashy as the one in the Las Vegas-inspired Glitter Oasis, it certainly looks much better than the DC version's.
In terms of gameplay, the Small Apple feels a bit tighter. Crazy Taxi 2 introduced some new elements to the classic Crazy Taxi gameplay, such as the ability to jump with your taxi and the multipart fares. While the new additions added quite a bit to the game, their implementation felt a bit unbalanced. Crazy Taxi 3 smooths over the rough edges, like the multipart fares, and ends up feeling more pulled together in general. As in the other levels, you'll find that the crazy dash and use of shortcuts are pretty essential to achieving the mighty S ranking when you play.
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Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller Movie 14
Check out some crazy driving on the streets of Glitter Oasis.
- Jul 23, 2002
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- Release: Jul 24, 2002 »
- ESRB: Everyone
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