Bond
06-14-2002, 03:30 PM
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/362/362002p1.html
The first Xbox Crazy Taxi is almost here. Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller screeches onto Xbox in late July, bringing with it a brand new level and two redesigned levels from past Taxis. While the levels are all fine and dandy, the real story is the new set of mini-games. As much fun as taxiing rude folks from place to place can be, Crazy Taxi's true strength has always been its mini-games. Such is the case again with the latest Taxi.
In the original Crazy Taxi, it was the Crazy Box. For Crazy Taxi 2, the mini-games comprised the Crazy Pyramid. For Crazy Taxi 3, exclusive to Xbox, it's the Crazy X. With more mini-games than any previous Taxi, there should be plenty of challenge for Taxi fans this summer. The mini-games of Crazy X can be attempted by any of the four new cabbies or any of the eight cabbies from the first two Taxi's.
To get you salivating for the latest in the series, we've decided not only to take a look at the 25 mini-games of Crazy Taxi 3, but to show you movies of the mini-games, because pictures are worth far more than words.
Tiers:
The Crazy X has four tiers of increasing difficulty. Completing each tier unlocks new goodies and offers access to the next tier.
Tier 1 -- Twelve challenges, most of which aren't too tough to pass. These are meant to teach the various skills needed to succeed as a taxi driver in the world of Crazy Taxi 3.
Tier 2 -- Ten challenges, which are much tougher than the first tier. You'll need to apply everything you learned in the first tier here. If you don't have skill, you won't get past this tier.
Tier 3 -- Just two challenges, but they are both doozies. Harkening back to final mini-game challenges of Taxis past, both of these will test your entire repertoire.
Tier 4 -- The final challenge and that's all we'll say.
Crazy Box:
1-A
Crazy Jump -- This one should seem familiar to old school CT fans. Hmmm... Somebody's left this big ramp out in the middle of nowhere. Wonder what a crazy guy in a cab could use it for. Just speed up and jump, baby. You need to leap at least 400 meters to pass this first test.
1-B
Crazy Home-Run -- Ah, summer is upon us and nothing says summer like girls in bikinis... err, I mean baseball. Take your taxi out to the diamond and hit a home run! All it takes is a little boost from the old crazy dash and a mighty leap with the crazy hop.
1-C
Crazy Ball -- Who says disco is dead? (Editor's note: Disco is not dead!) Have a ball on the dance floor by smashing ten pretty little disco balls. Complete this task and you'll be awarded a pair of crazy platform shoes. Okay, you won't be awarded any platform shoes, but you still gotta complete the mission to beat Crazy X.
1-D
Crazy Tornado -- Remember that movie Twister? Yeah, me neither. But you could have flashbacks playing this mission as a crazy tornado is raining down cars all over the place. Remember the taxi driver's motto: "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor falling cars shall keep me from earning dough."
1-E
Crazy Balloons -- Few, fortunately it's not 99 red balloons you need to pop. Sega's taking it a little easy on the kids these days, required you to pop just a mere fifteen big orange balloons. Scary thing is, this is exactly what my prom looked like, taxi and all.
1-F
Crazy Football -- It's time to take it to the house. All you gotta do is get your sorry-ass customer from one end zone to the other. And all that's standing in your way is a buttload of angry drivers. That sure looks like more than eleven men on the field, but I don't hear the ref's whistle so I guess you'll just have to play on
1-G
Crazy UFOs -- Someone's been leaving bizarre circles in your crops! It's time to take some vengeance to the annoying green men who've been turning all your cows inside out. Drive down this quiet field and take out those pesky martians. Hit 'em hard and send there little green arses back to outer space.
1-H
Crazy Ring -- I fell in to a burning ring of fire... No, Johnny Cash doesn't appear in this mission, but his presence can be felt, as you must repeatedly leap through a ring of fire. Don't stress though, this isn't much more than a cheap parlor trick, like the ones your mom used to do back when you were seven and your friends came over for a slumber party.
1-I
Crazy Poles -- Pyramids and poles go together like, uh, peanut butter and gravy. But on this mission they seem the perfect mix. Use your crazy drift to smack into the poles to stop your bad self long enough to pick up passengers. Deliver all eight concerned citizens to get a cookie. (Legal disclaimer: Sega reserves the right to refuse cookies to any and all cab drivers.)
1-J
Crazy Ramps -- A jumping cab will never be as much fun as a jumping girl from DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball, but it's the next best thing! Launch yourself off the many ramps to get your fare to their destination (why anyone wouldn't just take a bus at this point is beyond us). But be careful, miss-time that leap and you'll be driving cabs in the afterlife.
1-K
Crazy Logs -- It's loooog, it's loooog, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood... No cabbie gets his license without first going through a little log jumping drill. Standard procedure. You may recognize this scene from Scorsese's Taxi Driver if you were really drunk when you watched it. Just hop over the logs rolling down the course and get to that goal pronto!
1-L
Crazy Plates -- This girl's got a date up on the top of a bunch of platforms. Shows you how freaky meeting people online can be! Get her to the top by performing a series of crazy drift hops or by just driving really fast and jumping a lot. When she gets to the top, she'll give you the best gift any man can get. Money.
2-A
Crazy Hopper -- A man. A cab. A customer. A destination. And shifting platforms in between. Possibly one of the hardest of all the mini-games, the Crazy Hopper is easy once you figure out the timing. With so many sliding platforms, though, it's easy to make a big mistake and end up falling into the void. And if that happens, well, you'll just have to hit retry.
2-B
Crazy Rise -- How do you get a customer up a series of platforms leading to some nosebleed destination? With the crazy drift of course! Just hop to a platform and do a 180 degree turn with the wonderful crazy drift so you're pointed at the next platform. Anyone who's played Crazy Pyramid will find this to be quite a similar experience.
2-C
Crazy Floor -- It's one thing to be driving precariously on a thin stretch of winding road. It doesn't help that the floor moves to the left and right, causing you to be pushed one way or the other. Oh, and some fool put a time limit on this mission and everything. Nice going!
2-D
Crazy Canyon -- The Grand Canyon sure is pretty, but this is no time for sightseeing, you've got a customer to deliver! Hop over the gaps in the road (unless you prefer getting a close-up view of the canyon floor) and make a final brave leap to the plateau destination, using the crazy stop to keep from pulling a Thelma & Louise
2-E
Crazy Air -- It's all about the crazy drift hop as your attempt to leap over watery gaps to get your precious cargo (a person) and their precious commodity (money) to the destination in time. Fail to get them there in time and you get no green. And if you screw up a jump, you'll find yourself swimming in the deep blue sea.
2-F
Crazy Bowling -- No, your passenger is not The Dude, but you are out there bowling. Whoever owns this alley must be one big fella, 'cause these pins are enormous! Time your crazy drifts just right so you can knock down all 70 pins! This is slightly different from the bowling challenge in Crazy Taxi's Crazy Box, but the idea is the same
2-G
Crazy Turn -- It's time to bust out the crazy drift hop again. Fans of the Taxi series will certainly recognize this location, though the course is a little different. The aquatic Inca temples aren't so bad to look at when you're doing things right. Sadly, more often then not, you're doing them wrong and ending up in the drink.
2-H
Crazy Infinity -- Drive the hockey play up the spiral road using the crazy drift to corner. Why's he need to get up there? Who knows, who cares. Really, shouldn't this guy be out on the ice high-sticking someone? As you can see from the video, the crazy dash is always a useful tool.
2-I
Crazy Rush -- Three customers, three destinations. This will test your true taxi skills as you must stop on a dime to pick up each customer and deliver them quickly to their various destinations. The path for each customer is different and requires a separate approach to be successful.
2-J
Crazy Zigzag -- Guess what? You've got a customer and they need to get somewhere no one else in their right minds would want to go to! And, you have to use your crazy dash hop to make it in time. But time the hop correctly, because it's easy to over-jump the next platform and end up swimmin' with the fishes.
The first Xbox Crazy Taxi is almost here. Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller screeches onto Xbox in late July, bringing with it a brand new level and two redesigned levels from past Taxis. While the levels are all fine and dandy, the real story is the new set of mini-games. As much fun as taxiing rude folks from place to place can be, Crazy Taxi's true strength has always been its mini-games. Such is the case again with the latest Taxi.
In the original Crazy Taxi, it was the Crazy Box. For Crazy Taxi 2, the mini-games comprised the Crazy Pyramid. For Crazy Taxi 3, exclusive to Xbox, it's the Crazy X. With more mini-games than any previous Taxi, there should be plenty of challenge for Taxi fans this summer. The mini-games of Crazy X can be attempted by any of the four new cabbies or any of the eight cabbies from the first two Taxi's.
To get you salivating for the latest in the series, we've decided not only to take a look at the 25 mini-games of Crazy Taxi 3, but to show you movies of the mini-games, because pictures are worth far more than words.
Tiers:
The Crazy X has four tiers of increasing difficulty. Completing each tier unlocks new goodies and offers access to the next tier.
Tier 1 -- Twelve challenges, most of which aren't too tough to pass. These are meant to teach the various skills needed to succeed as a taxi driver in the world of Crazy Taxi 3.
Tier 2 -- Ten challenges, which are much tougher than the first tier. You'll need to apply everything you learned in the first tier here. If you don't have skill, you won't get past this tier.
Tier 3 -- Just two challenges, but they are both doozies. Harkening back to final mini-game challenges of Taxis past, both of these will test your entire repertoire.
Tier 4 -- The final challenge and that's all we'll say.
Crazy Box:
1-A
Crazy Jump -- This one should seem familiar to old school CT fans. Hmmm... Somebody's left this big ramp out in the middle of nowhere. Wonder what a crazy guy in a cab could use it for. Just speed up and jump, baby. You need to leap at least 400 meters to pass this first test.
1-B
Crazy Home-Run -- Ah, summer is upon us and nothing says summer like girls in bikinis... err, I mean baseball. Take your taxi out to the diamond and hit a home run! All it takes is a little boost from the old crazy dash and a mighty leap with the crazy hop.
1-C
Crazy Ball -- Who says disco is dead? (Editor's note: Disco is not dead!) Have a ball on the dance floor by smashing ten pretty little disco balls. Complete this task and you'll be awarded a pair of crazy platform shoes. Okay, you won't be awarded any platform shoes, but you still gotta complete the mission to beat Crazy X.
1-D
Crazy Tornado -- Remember that movie Twister? Yeah, me neither. But you could have flashbacks playing this mission as a crazy tornado is raining down cars all over the place. Remember the taxi driver's motto: "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor falling cars shall keep me from earning dough."
1-E
Crazy Balloons -- Few, fortunately it's not 99 red balloons you need to pop. Sega's taking it a little easy on the kids these days, required you to pop just a mere fifteen big orange balloons. Scary thing is, this is exactly what my prom looked like, taxi and all.
1-F
Crazy Football -- It's time to take it to the house. All you gotta do is get your sorry-ass customer from one end zone to the other. And all that's standing in your way is a buttload of angry drivers. That sure looks like more than eleven men on the field, but I don't hear the ref's whistle so I guess you'll just have to play on
1-G
Crazy UFOs -- Someone's been leaving bizarre circles in your crops! It's time to take some vengeance to the annoying green men who've been turning all your cows inside out. Drive down this quiet field and take out those pesky martians. Hit 'em hard and send there little green arses back to outer space.
1-H
Crazy Ring -- I fell in to a burning ring of fire... No, Johnny Cash doesn't appear in this mission, but his presence can be felt, as you must repeatedly leap through a ring of fire. Don't stress though, this isn't much more than a cheap parlor trick, like the ones your mom used to do back when you were seven and your friends came over for a slumber party.
1-I
Crazy Poles -- Pyramids and poles go together like, uh, peanut butter and gravy. But on this mission they seem the perfect mix. Use your crazy drift to smack into the poles to stop your bad self long enough to pick up passengers. Deliver all eight concerned citizens to get a cookie. (Legal disclaimer: Sega reserves the right to refuse cookies to any and all cab drivers.)
1-J
Crazy Ramps -- A jumping cab will never be as much fun as a jumping girl from DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball, but it's the next best thing! Launch yourself off the many ramps to get your fare to their destination (why anyone wouldn't just take a bus at this point is beyond us). But be careful, miss-time that leap and you'll be driving cabs in the afterlife.
1-K
Crazy Logs -- It's loooog, it's loooog, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood... No cabbie gets his license without first going through a little log jumping drill. Standard procedure. You may recognize this scene from Scorsese's Taxi Driver if you were really drunk when you watched it. Just hop over the logs rolling down the course and get to that goal pronto!
1-L
Crazy Plates -- This girl's got a date up on the top of a bunch of platforms. Shows you how freaky meeting people online can be! Get her to the top by performing a series of crazy drift hops or by just driving really fast and jumping a lot. When she gets to the top, she'll give you the best gift any man can get. Money.
2-A
Crazy Hopper -- A man. A cab. A customer. A destination. And shifting platforms in between. Possibly one of the hardest of all the mini-games, the Crazy Hopper is easy once you figure out the timing. With so many sliding platforms, though, it's easy to make a big mistake and end up falling into the void. And if that happens, well, you'll just have to hit retry.
2-B
Crazy Rise -- How do you get a customer up a series of platforms leading to some nosebleed destination? With the crazy drift of course! Just hop to a platform and do a 180 degree turn with the wonderful crazy drift so you're pointed at the next platform. Anyone who's played Crazy Pyramid will find this to be quite a similar experience.
2-C
Crazy Floor -- It's one thing to be driving precariously on a thin stretch of winding road. It doesn't help that the floor moves to the left and right, causing you to be pushed one way or the other. Oh, and some fool put a time limit on this mission and everything. Nice going!
2-D
Crazy Canyon -- The Grand Canyon sure is pretty, but this is no time for sightseeing, you've got a customer to deliver! Hop over the gaps in the road (unless you prefer getting a close-up view of the canyon floor) and make a final brave leap to the plateau destination, using the crazy stop to keep from pulling a Thelma & Louise
2-E
Crazy Air -- It's all about the crazy drift hop as your attempt to leap over watery gaps to get your precious cargo (a person) and their precious commodity (money) to the destination in time. Fail to get them there in time and you get no green. And if you screw up a jump, you'll find yourself swimming in the deep blue sea.
2-F
Crazy Bowling -- No, your passenger is not The Dude, but you are out there bowling. Whoever owns this alley must be one big fella, 'cause these pins are enormous! Time your crazy drifts just right so you can knock down all 70 pins! This is slightly different from the bowling challenge in Crazy Taxi's Crazy Box, but the idea is the same
2-G
Crazy Turn -- It's time to bust out the crazy drift hop again. Fans of the Taxi series will certainly recognize this location, though the course is a little different. The aquatic Inca temples aren't so bad to look at when you're doing things right. Sadly, more often then not, you're doing them wrong and ending up in the drink.
2-H
Crazy Infinity -- Drive the hockey play up the spiral road using the crazy drift to corner. Why's he need to get up there? Who knows, who cares. Really, shouldn't this guy be out on the ice high-sticking someone? As you can see from the video, the crazy dash is always a useful tool.
2-I
Crazy Rush -- Three customers, three destinations. This will test your true taxi skills as you must stop on a dime to pick up each customer and deliver them quickly to their various destinations. The path for each customer is different and requires a separate approach to be successful.
2-J
Crazy Zigzag -- Guess what? You've got a customer and they need to get somewhere no one else in their right minds would want to go to! And, you have to use your crazy dash hop to make it in time. But time the hop correctly, because it's easy to over-jump the next platform and end up swimmin' with the fishes.