gekko plays CT3

Bond · 05-23-2002, 08:05 PM

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/360/360530p1.html

Quote:

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

Some old screen shots:

gekko · 05-23-2002, 08:56 PM

My god this game looks good. They better get some sweet-ass minigames too, cause that's what I usually compete it, not the regular game.

But... damn! Why can't it come out any sooner?

Jin · 05-23-2002, 10:41 PM

I wonder how many drivers there'll be this time around. I would normally think 4 new ones like usual, but Axel's in the 3rd pic, so maybe they'll have 12 total. 8 from the previous ones, and 4 new ones.

Bond · 06-06-2002, 12:02 PM

Here are some new trailers of Crazy Taxi 3:

http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaP...3A+High+Roller

Also, here is mostly new media:

Jonbo298 · 06-06-2002, 01:58 PM

Ugh! This is XBox? Looks more like a PS2 game to me. The backgrounds look bad, the people, and the trees (2D flat cross section? Come on!). But the gameplay better make up for this. I mean it is Crazy Taxi, what is there not to love

Happydude · 06-06-2002, 02:08 PM

yeah...graphics look kinda...extremly bad...

ohh well...

Bond · 06-06-2002, 02:17 PM

I'm guessing you guys didn't watch the videos...

Jonbo298 · 06-06-2002, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bond
I'm guessing you guys didn't watch the videos...

I don't have the time to watch them. Im using 56K

gekko · 06-06-2002, 02:24 PM

GT guys prematurely judging games? Nooo... never!

Jonbo298 · 06-06-2002, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gekko
GT guys prematurely judging games? Nooo... never!

Well, times are a changin here at GT. You'll just have to get used to it. Join us..........................JOIN US!!!!

gekko · 07-12-2002, 11:44 PM

Got my hands on what I'm assuming is a near-final, if not final build of CT3. It wasn't retail though, aka it was burned on cheesy discs.

Anyway, my amazing CT skills got me through a good portion of the minigames already (played about an hour total). Did all of level 1, and most of level 2. They kick ass, but there seems to be an awful lot of zig-zag boards. Which, by itself, makes the games much more challenging. The minigames are good, but I would've liked to see more variety, like CT2 had.

All 12 characters (4 per game) were avaliable to use during the minigames, but (granted I haven't unlocked anything except maps), the levels only allowed you to select the 4 characters from that game. West Coast for CT1, Small Apple for CT2, and Glitter Oasis for CT3.

Now anyone who has played the demo know the slowdown problems. I only experience slowdown once, and it was for a short amount of time. I was using Bixbite, I doubt it makes a difference, but when I used the first guy (name slips my mind), I've played about 3 times and haven't seen any slowdown.

Anyway, this game ownz. I'll play some more tomorrow to check for slowdown, but all in all, this game is looking sweet!

Jonbo298 · 07-12-2002, 11:59 PM

In the review EGM gave, they said that there was one area that had a little slowdown, I believe it was the "Las Vegas" area (whatever its called, since I haven't played it)

gekko · 07-13-2002, 12:02 AM

It's Glitter Oasis. And I'm not a big fan of the level. Low lights are way too bright, distracting, and you can't see much but glare. Also the mountain and zig-zag roads are a pain.

Joeiss · 07-13-2002, 12:38 PM

So did you win the $1000 yet? Or is that tomorrow (Sunday)???

Sega fan · 07-13-2002, 05:22 PM

Still sounds great! I'll be picking it up whenever it comes out in Europe.