Sega ported Crazy Taxi to the Xbox 360 a while ago, but the company removed the old music, which irked a lot of fans, so we were a bit worried that it would do the same with this version. Thankfully that’s not the case, as this is a faithful port of the classic Dreamcast game, complete with frantic tracks form Offspring and Bad Religion.
If you’ve not played Crazy Taxi before the premise of the game is very straight forward. You take on the role of a taxi driver and have to drive manically around town picking up punters and dropping them off at their stop as quickly as possible. The faster you get them there, the more money they’ll pay you, but you’ll also earn extra bucks if you drive in a crazy way while doing so – driving close to other cars without hitting them or performing jumps. If you take too long to get passengers to their destination they’ll get agitated and eventually jump out of the cab, even if it’s going at full speed. Oh, and you’ve got to do all this while racing against the clock.
As you can image the gameplay is very fast-paced and it really gets the adrenaline flowing when you’re up against the clock trying to drop off a punter as quickly as possible so as to pick up your next passenger.
The iOS version is basically an exact copy of the Dreamcast game, as it’s got the same soundtrack, city layouts, mini games and mad commentary from passengers. The only difference is that branded locations, such as KFC, have been removed, presumably due to licensing restrictions. However, it’s also got the same graphics, which look a little bit blocky, especially on the iPad 3‘s retina display, and there’s a fair bit of popup due to the 3D engine’s short draw distance.
Nevertheless, these are fairly minor points simply because the game play is still so good. It may appear simple at first, but sussing out insane shortcuts, like driving through shopping malls or underwater, adds longevity. In short, it’s still very much a classic game.
Crazy Taxi Verdict
The graphics could have perhaps done with a spruce up and the cityscrapes could have been expanded. However, even without these extras Crazy Taxi is still a blast to play, especially as its short three and five minute gameplay bursts are ideally suited to mobile play. It’s well worth the £2.99 asking price.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Usability 8
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Design 7
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Value 8
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Features 7