Crazy Taxi 2 Review

Check out our video review:

Crazy Taxi is a fun arcade game where the objective is to pick up passengers and take them to their destinations as fast as possible. You can drive recklessly and perform stunts to earn extra money. It looks and sounds pretty simple on the surface but there are mechanics you can master to help you become more efficient and earn tons of money. It’s the kind of the game that can be addictive once it gets it hooks into you. It has been ported to numerous systems over the years and even spawned sequels. The first being Crazy Taxi 2. Developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega, Crazy Taxi 2 was released for Dreamcast in May, 2001 and a port for the PlayStation Portable as part of Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars was released in 2007. For this review, I played the Dreamcast game. Considering Crazy Taxi 2 was not originally an arcade game, I did go into it expecting more to see and do.

Crazy Taxi 2 is basically the same game as its predecessor but with some new mechanics, new maps, new cabbies, a replay feature, and some kind of online functionality which I did not get to check out. That said, I’m going to say upfront that I am disappointed that it doesn’t offer more. The first game is great fun and the console and PC versions do contain more content than the arcade original. But even with that, it doesn’t take long to see everything the game has to offer. I can forgive it somewhat because it was originally an arcade game. But Crazy Taxi 2 is not. I don’t know the history of its development but as far as I know, it was originally developed for Dreamcast and while I certainly welcome the new stuff, most of it doesn’t make it feel like a big leap forward.

Crazy Taxi 2’s new maps include Around Apple and Small Apple and both appear to be based on New York City. Then there’s the Crazy Pyramid mode which is this game’s version of Crazy Box. It consists of numerous challenges to complete and rewards including maps of the cities, additional vehicles, and even the cabbies from the first game. The big new features here include picking up multiple passengers at once and the Crazy Hop mechanic. At the press of a button you can make your vehicle hop allowing you to easily get over certain obstacles and onto elevated surfaces. Other than that, not too much about the gameplay has changed when compared to Crazy Taxi. I think how much you enjoy Crazy Taxi 2 will more or less come down to how much you enjoy the maps.

The concept is simple. Pick up passengers and take them to their destinations as quickly as possible. Each map allows you to work up to ten minutes and if playing under normal rules, you will gain extra time for speedy trips. The money you earn can be seen as your score and you are ranked at the end of each run. As expected, you will earn extra money or tips for performing various stunts and moves, including hopping, and when picking up multiple passengers, the money earned from stunts is multiplied by how many passengers are in the vehicle. Chaining stunts or moves together increases your combo and the higher the combo, the more money you earn. Basically, all the mechanics from the previous game return so if you’ve mastered them in that game, you’ll do fine here, especially after learning the maps.

I will say the maps here do make for a different atmosphere then those in the previous game. They also feel more like labyrinths and it seems like the hop mechanic is supposed to make up for this, allowing you to get over certain buildings and obstacles. This means learning and memorizing the maps is important. Hopping over things can be seen as taking shortcuts and will save you time. If you’re headed in the right direction that is. The arrow on the HUD will point you in the direction you should go and will change directions depending on where you’re located. It’s a good guide but after a while, I learned that I shouldn’t always rely on it. It may point straight one second and then point in a different direction the next indicating you should turn but the destination may, in fact, still be straight ahead so it might be faster to hop over something rather than navigate the turns. Basically, you should learn the maps and maybe even memorize them so you know the best routes. The arrow typically keeps you on the roads but hopping over something may be the faster option but you have to know when and where to do that, what the shortcuts actually are, because if you’re wrong, it will just take longer to get to your destination.

I would recommend jumping into the Crazy Pyramid mode especially if this is your gateway to the series because it will teach you some important mechanics. Also, playing through this mode is how you unlock certain things. Just like the Crazy Box mode in the previous game, Crazy Pyramid offers a series of a challenges to complete. I can’t say I’m huge fan of the Crazy Box mode. I found many of the challenges to be tedious and/or frustrating. But it teaches you certain mechanics that you should master if you want to earn as much money as possible in the maps. The same applies to Crazy Pyramid. I’m not the biggest fan. However, I feel many of the challenges here are less frustrating but it’s certainly not a mode that will keep me coming back. I just had an easier time getting through Crazy Pyramid than Crazy Box. It was the last two challenges that gave me the most trouble.

Crazy Taxi 2 retains the visual style of its predecessor. That means it’s bright and colorful and features product placement which I feel works and adds some realism to the environments. While I feel the presentation does hold up for the most part, it does look dated now. It doesn’t look terrible but some textures and character models don’t look amazing when viewed up close. As for the audio, Cabbies and passengers will say things during trips but the dialogue does often repeat. Passengers will also shout with joy when you perform stunts and complain when you crash. The gameplay is backed by a soundtrack consisting of licensed tunes from the bands The Offspring and Methods of Mayhem. On the technical side, I did not encounter any issues.

I enjoyed my time with Crazy Taxi 2 but I left it feeling the same way I felt about the previous game. It needs more. And since this isn’t a port of an arcade game, I’m not sure I understand why the developer didn’t do more. I certainly welcome the new hop mechanic and picking up multiple passengers and I like that you can unlock the cabbies from the first game. I also like the maps. I found getting around them to be a little confusing at first but they grew on me over time. It just feels too much like the first game but with new scenery. I think if you’re a veteran of the first game, you’re enjoyment of Crazy Taxi 2 will probably come down to if you like the maps or not. They are different and learning them is very important. They can feel like labyrinths – somewhat maze-like – some areas feel claustrophobic in a sense, and you’ll need to hop to take advantage of certain shortcuts. Other than that, there’s really not much to say about the game. The gameplay is still fun and can be addictive but you can see everything it has to offer in a single sitting.

I do recommend Crazy Taxi 2 if you’re a fan of the previous game. If you’re not, then I don’t think you’ll enjoy this. There’s really not much here to attract a new audience. But it does deliver the same fun gameplay and comes with some new features. Ultimately, Crazy Taxi 2 is a fun game and offers some cool new stuff but isn’t a huge leap forward but if it hooks you in, you may be glued to the screen for a while. Definitely check it out.