Written By Shaun McCracken
If you're expecting a brand new Crazy Taxi experience on the most powerful
video game system in this generation, forget it. Rather than try to build the game from
the ground up, even where visuals are concerned, SEGA and Hitmaker decided to play it
safe and just port the Dreamcast versions of the first two Crazy Taxi games, and
throw in one more course. The gameplay hasn't changed (other than the jump you
can do in the West Coast course) at all, but for some, that might be good. The main idea
of the game, still, is to pick up passangers around a city and drop them off to their
destination. Honestly, this isn't a hard game to get into, especially if you've played games
that have borrowed/ripped off this design such as The Simpsons: Road Rage or Grand Theft
Auto 3.
While there has never really been a problem with the Crazy Taxi formula, there's
been no steps made to change it in it's third iteration. Really, the only thing new
is the Glitter Oasis course, four new drivers and some new challenges in the Crazy-X
mode. What is back are courses from Crazy Taxi 1 and 2 (and the course they picked from
the second was the one I didn't like), as well as all the drivers from those previous games.
The visuals have hardly changed since the Dreamcast era, which is disappointing,
since this is the Xbox, and we've seen a lot better. Sure, there are some graphical effects
such as some reflectiveness on the windows on buildings and a strange, blurry glow in the
night environments, but this really doesn't make up for the fact that there's still
slowdown, pop-up and so-so textures. The sound is even the same, with the Offspring and
Bad Religion STILL being the featured musical artists of the game. The sound effects are
still the same. The voices, however, seem to be a bit worse than they were on the Dreamcast,
especially with Gena, which now sounds rather Russian at times.
But does this really mean that Crazy Taxi 3 is a terrible game? No, because
even though the gameplay hasn't changed, it's still great and rather addictive.
Despite the dated look, SEGA still knows what works in terms of gameplay. For those
who have never played a Crazy Taxi game, this may be the best version to pick up.
But for those who have played the first two games in the series, you really shouldn't
expect anything new. You'll get a new course, you'll be able to use the techniques from
Crazy Taxi 2 in the first Crazy Taxi and you'll have a new set of challenges (some which
are really tough) in the Crazy-X mode.
Final Thought
This is probably one of the shorter reviews I've written so far, but really
that's because I'm reviewing a game that hasn't changed a whole lot, so there's really
nothing new to get into. That's the story of Crazy Taxi 3, which is a game that really
hasn't changed from it's predecesors, which was also a problem with Crazy Taxi 2. SEGA
has decided that the look and the design is just fine, and nothing really needs to
be changed for people to buy this game. Well, when you debut a game on the most powerful game
console, people were expecting a hell of a lot more.
So, does that mean you should get it? Yes, if it's on the cheap. Really, this game
feels more like a classic arcade compliaion rather than a brand new installment of
a video game. This game is really not worth more than $20 simply because it's everything
that fans have seen before. But since the gameplay is still great and still addictive,
it is worth adding to your library.
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Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller
