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Crazy Taxi is a series of games where the objective is to pick people up and take them to their destinations as fast as possible. The money you earn can be seen as your score and you earn extra money for stunts. Mastering the mechanics will help you become more efficient and the fast-paced gameplay of speeding around cities, weaving through traffic and drifting and hopping, all while seeing your combo and income increase makes for an addictively fun time. Crazy Taxi 2 introduced picking up multiple passengers at once and the hop mechanic along with new maps but otherwise, it’s more of the same. One of my gripes with it is that I feel it lacks content, especially considering it wasn’t originally an arcade game like its predecessor. You can see everything it has to offer in a single sitting and I wish it offered more. I’ve heard several players say that the next game, Crazy Taxi 3, is the best so I have been looking forward to playing it.
Developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega, Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller was released for Xbox in July, 2002, as an arcade game in 2003, and for PC in 2004. For this review, I played the PC version. I did, of course, consult the game’s PCGamingWiki page before playing to see what I may need to do to get it running on a modern system. I used CT3Tweaks to play it at a modern resolution and the tool also allows the game to run at sixty frames per second. I also applied the Xinput Fix to resolve issues with Xinput controllers and I did play using an Xbox Series controller. The PC version does lack the licensed soundtrack of the Xbox version but you can download the Xbox music if you’re so inclined.
As expected, there’s no plot or storyline. Your objective is to pick people up and take them to their destinations as fast as possible. You can pick up multiple passengers at once, make your vehicle hop at the press of a button, and will earn money for fares. And you can earn extra money for performing stunts. This should all be familiar to veterans of the previous games. In fact, much like Crazy Taxi 2, Crazy Taxi 3 also doesn’t feel like a big leap forward. It’s basically the same stuff but with a new map and new cabbies. It comes with three maps and only one of them is actually new. The other two are from the previous games. You’ve got the Arcade map from Crazy Taxi which is called “West Coast” here, the Small Apple map from Crazy Taxi 2, and the new Glitter Oasis map which appears to be based on Las Vegas. Crazy Taxi 3 also comes with four new cabbies along with the cabbies from the previous games. And this game’s version of Crazy Box and Crazy Pyramid is Crazy X. A mode that consists of numerous challenges to complete and this is the mode you play through to unlock things.
I agree with those that say Crazy Taxi 3 is the best but not because the game is actually a big improvement over its predecessors. At least not in my experience. It’s because it has the most content. Unfortunately, most of the content isn’t actually new. The returning maps showcase some minor changes here and there, Small Apple is now set at night, and being able to hop in the West Coast map is significant and opens up new possibilities. But, ultimately, the game feels very been there, done that. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the returning cabbies and maps but I do wonder why just those two maps? Why not the Original map from the first game and Around Apple from the second as well? Crazy Taxi 3 is yet another game in the series where you can see everything it has to offer in a single sitting.
I would recommend jumping into the Crazy X mode first, especially if this game is your gateway to the series, because it will teach you mechanics you should master if you want to earn as much money as possible in the maps. Each map allows you to work for up to ten minutes and if playing under Normal Rules, you do earn extra time for speedy trips. Considering the gameplay is basically unchanged from that of the previous games, series veterans should be able to get into the groove of things instantly. Basically you want to learn the maps, even memorize them, so you know the best or fastest routes to destinations. As your driving passengers around, you can chain stunts together to increase your combo because the higher the combo, the more money you earn.
Glitter Oasis is the new map here and features an urban section and desert. It is set at night with a lot of bright and colorful lights illuminating areas. I do enjoy the map and just like the previous games, you’ll need to learn the fastest routes to achieve the best possible score. I feel I should mention that I think Glitter Oasis is easier to navigate and learn than the maps in Crazy Taxi 2, mainly because the design feels more in line with the map design of the first game. The desert area has some twists and turns that threw me off every so often but in general, it doesn’t feel like a labyrinth or as claustrophobic as the Crazy Taxi 2 maps. I’m not saying that to throw shade at those maps because I like them, too, but I know some players don’t care for the Crazy Taxi 2 map design so I figured its worth sharing that Glitter Oasis isn’t like that.
Crazy X is the mode where you unlock things but it’s not a mode I would ever want come back to after completing it. Honestly, I’m just not a fan of these Crazy modes which seem to be a series staple. I feel the biggest benefit of them is that they teach you mechanics. Just like the Crazy Box and Crazy Pyramid modes, Crazy X features multiple challenges to complete and you are rewarded for completing them. This is how you unlock cabbies, the Another Day mode, and additional vehicles. As expected, I feel several challenges are more tedious and frustrating than fun. If you’re familiar with the challenges in the prior games, then you should know what to expect here. I will say there are some new and interesting challenge types this time but I can’t say there’s anything here that really calls me back.
Crazy Taxi 3 is another entry that showcases a bright and colorful presentation. It does feature some cool visual effects like tires emitting flames when performing a crazy dash and I think the night setting is welcome. I also like the look and feel of Glitter Oasis. However, I don’t like the trail effect. That’s what I call it, anyway. It appears that any maps set at night have lights that produce a trail effect, very noticeable when you’re in motion. I just find it distracting. Other than that, the presentation holds up relatively well. It does look dated but doesn’t look terrible. Some textures look blurry when viewed up close and every so often I encountered a bug where this hideous green color was prevalent which may or may not have been the result of me “alt tabbing”. As for the audio, in general, I feel the sound work is on par with that of the previous games. I am not a fan of the music in these games and that includes Crazy Taxi 3 so, needless to say, I did not download the music from the Xbox version. But it does come down to personal preference. On the technical side, I did not encounter any what I consider major issues but I did notice the performance stutter every now and again. According to the game’s PCGamingWiki page, this is the result of the game switching music files. Basically, every time a different song loads, the performance stutters.
I had a good time with Crazy Taxi 3 but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t in any way disappointed with it. It’s more of the same and that’s about it and the only reason I consider it the best game in the series up to this point is solely for the fact it has the most content. Even though most of the content isn’t actually new. It features twelve cabbies but only four are new and three maps but only one is new. The gameplay, itself, hasn’t really changed much. Basically, it’s all the same stuff in a new package. And just like its predecessors, you can see everything it has to offer in a single sitting. I do wonder why they didn’t just bring over all the maps from the previous games and at this point, I would have loved to see additional game modes to mix things up and even more unlockable content. More cabbies, skins, vehicle customization, gameplay modifiers – any of that would have been welcome. Things to work towards.
I do recommend Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller because it’s fun. If you’re a veteran of the previous games, you can expect more of the same. I would say any of these games make for a good gateway to the series but this one does have the most content so if I had to pick just one, I would tell newcomers to start here. It shouldn’t take you long to see everything it has to offer but learning the maps and mastering the mechanics will take time and the gameplay is fun and can be addictive. Definitely check it out.