Bond
05-23-2002, 08:05 PM
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/360/360530p1.html
Sega's Crazy Taxi series bursted onto the Dreamcast, sucking up hours and hours of my life. The original was so addictive, even when my hands began to hurt, I couldn't put it down. "Just one more time," I'd say again and again. For Taxi 2, Sega added the crazy hop, which allowed the cabs to launch into the air. This allowed for more complex level design as players could easily get to overpasses and hop over obstructions. Also added were multiple passengers. Now comes Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller for Xbox. The conventions of the first two Taxis remain, but no additions are readily apparent.
CT 3 features three cities, two of which are slightly remodeled versions of older Taxi worlds. The new city in Taxi, Glitter Oasis, is modeled after Las Vegas, but includes such non-Vegas landmarks as the Grand Canyon. The multiple passengers carry over from CT 2, but now you can pick up boxers, mascots, and more. The city itself is filled with neon lights and less-than-reputable women. A city like Glitter Oasis could only be appreciated at night, so the bright lights look brighter against the dark backdrop of the nighttime sky.
Gameplay is identical to the first two Taxis, with the much-needed crazy boost giving your thumb a serious workout. When a boost is hit, flames erupt around the wheels and the cab doubles its speed for a few short moments. It seems the crazy hop is even crazier, providing more lift than in CT 2. The taxi controls about the same as the previous versions, with a heavy-arcadey feel.
Graphically, Taxi 3 needs more polish. The game is very choppy and is visually unimpressive by Xbox standards. Xbox can provide amazing lighting. And a city filled with flashing neon lights, the lighing should be incredible. But currently, it's not. The design of Glitter Oasis and the style of the cabs and cabbies is cool, but I expected more from CT 3. Hopefully the graphics can get some loving attention before CT 3 is release this summer.
As with the other Taxis, CT 3 includes a ton of mini-games. Previously these games were Crazy Pyramid and Crazy Box. This time around it's Crazy X. Unfortunately, the mini-games are still being worked on and were unavailable to play. However, the mini-games have always been Taxi's longevity and I expect nothing to change with Crazy Taxi 3. Fans of the series will probably love the new game. But I got the sense Crazy Taxi was running out of steam. Developer Hitmaker can get by with the same Taxi with just a new city this time around, but there'll need to be some new innovations in CT 4 to prolong the longevity of the series.
BRAND NEW:
Crazy Taxi E3 Trailer (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1516400&object_id=16718&channel_id=73&page_title=E3+2002%3A+Crazy+Taxi+3%3A+High+Roller&adtag=network%3Dign%26pagetype%3Darticle%26site%3Dxboxviewer&return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fxbox.ign.com%2Fobjects%2F016%2F016718.html)
Some old screen shots:
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/CrazyTaxi3_01.jpg
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/CrazyTaxi3_02.jpg
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/crazytaxi3_050102_03.jpg
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/crazytaxi3_050102_04.jpg
Sega's Crazy Taxi series bursted onto the Dreamcast, sucking up hours and hours of my life. The original was so addictive, even when my hands began to hurt, I couldn't put it down. "Just one more time," I'd say again and again. For Taxi 2, Sega added the crazy hop, which allowed the cabs to launch into the air. This allowed for more complex level design as players could easily get to overpasses and hop over obstructions. Also added were multiple passengers. Now comes Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller for Xbox. The conventions of the first two Taxis remain, but no additions are readily apparent.
CT 3 features three cities, two of which are slightly remodeled versions of older Taxi worlds. The new city in Taxi, Glitter Oasis, is modeled after Las Vegas, but includes such non-Vegas landmarks as the Grand Canyon. The multiple passengers carry over from CT 2, but now you can pick up boxers, mascots, and more. The city itself is filled with neon lights and less-than-reputable women. A city like Glitter Oasis could only be appreciated at night, so the bright lights look brighter against the dark backdrop of the nighttime sky.
Gameplay is identical to the first two Taxis, with the much-needed crazy boost giving your thumb a serious workout. When a boost is hit, flames erupt around the wheels and the cab doubles its speed for a few short moments. It seems the crazy hop is even crazier, providing more lift than in CT 2. The taxi controls about the same as the previous versions, with a heavy-arcadey feel.
Graphically, Taxi 3 needs more polish. The game is very choppy and is visually unimpressive by Xbox standards. Xbox can provide amazing lighting. And a city filled with flashing neon lights, the lighing should be incredible. But currently, it's not. The design of Glitter Oasis and the style of the cabs and cabbies is cool, but I expected more from CT 3. Hopefully the graphics can get some loving attention before CT 3 is release this summer.
As with the other Taxis, CT 3 includes a ton of mini-games. Previously these games were Crazy Pyramid and Crazy Box. This time around it's Crazy X. Unfortunately, the mini-games are still being worked on and were unavailable to play. However, the mini-games have always been Taxi's longevity and I expect nothing to change with Crazy Taxi 3. Fans of the series will probably love the new game. But I got the sense Crazy Taxi was running out of steam. Developer Hitmaker can get by with the same Taxi with just a new city this time around, but there'll need to be some new innovations in CT 4 to prolong the longevity of the series.
BRAND NEW:
Crazy Taxi E3 Trailer (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1516400&object_id=16718&channel_id=73&page_title=E3+2002%3A+Crazy+Taxi+3%3A+High+Roller&adtag=network%3Dign%26pagetype%3Darticle%26site%3Dxboxviewer&return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fxbox.ign.com%2Fobjects%2F016%2F016718.html)
Some old screen shots:
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/CrazyTaxi3_01.jpg
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/CrazyTaxi3_02.jpg
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/crazytaxi3_050102_03.jpg
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/crazytaxi3_050102_04.jpg