Back To Reviews
By Contributing Writer Jimmy Payne Rating: Good Of all the games I've reviewed at Master Gamer, Crazy Taxi was probably the hardest game to rate. It's one of the most fun and original games I've played in a long time, but it's just too short for me to give it an Awesome rating and recommend that you purchase it. The concept behind Crazy Taxi is unique and simple: You have to pick up passengers and take them to their requested destination. How quickly and efficiently you get them to their destination determines how much money you get, so you have to use any means necessary to get where you need to go as quickly as possible. Exceeding the speed limit is going to be the least of your traffic crimes. When you first start playing Crazy Taxi, you will probably be overwhelmed by the amount of things going on at the same time. The amount of detail that has been put into this game is incredible. Almost everything can be run into and smashed. Some people run out of your way screaming, while others yell at you to pick them up. The traffic isn't on a path that's set in stone; other cars actually try to swerve out of the way if they can. Also, the cities themselves are huge. Sometimes you can play for hours and think that you've covered everything, only to discover something that you've never found before. Slowdown does occur from time to time in Crazy Taxi, but it's fairly rare and not at all irritating. If anything, it seems almost like a dramatic slowdown effect that actually adds to the experience of the game. I can imagine that some people might be bothered by the slowdown, but I'm not. Crazy Taxi's sound is a mixed bag. Each passenger you pick up has different things to say, and your driver responds right back. The music is also perfect for this sort of game. Instead of featuring slow rock tunes like Gran Turismo 2, this game has really up-beat and fast songs from bands like Offspring. The problem is that there aren't a whole lot of music tracks, so it can get a little annoying after you've been playing the game for a while. Thankfully, there is an option that lets you turn off the music. The number one reason that Crazy Taxi didn't quite get an Awesome rating is because it just doesn't offer enough to make you want to keep playing for more than two weekends or so. After about two weekends, you'll probably have sucked as much fun from the game as it can stand. Many customers seem to want to go to the exact same places every single time you pick them up. When I showed the game to some of my friends and they got over the initial enjoyment of it, one of them asked, "So what else is there?" The sad answer is, "Nothing." I initially thought that Crazy Taxi was a must-have game, but it gets old too quickly for my liking. Still, it's a very fun game, and it won't disappoint if all you're looking for is a fun weekend rental. Send your thoughts on this review to jimmy@mastergamer.com
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com