3RRDC CT2

They'errrrr back! It's time for some Crazy Taxi 2! Nearly two years after
the first taxi hit the Dreamcast we get another helping of this fast
paced, in your face, heavy bass joy ride from the good folks at
Hitmaker, which now has been jumbled around with all the internal
changes within Sega. So what does this sequel bring to the table? A
new city, new cabbies, new music, new game play mechanics, new
crazy challenges, and more. Only thing is, even with all of these new
additions, I still prefer the first taxi over this one? What gives this taxi
a flat tire? Read on and find out!

The setting has changed from the very open and large San Francisco
area to a more condensed and maze like setting in the Big Apple. Axel
and co. are no where to be seen (at first) and now we have four new
crazy drivers. But they just aren't as cool as the original four. Slash is
the new main character. He lacks the cool green hair and surfer dude
get out for a "hip" unbuttoned red shirt and "insane" white hair.
Joining him is Iceman, "a cabbie with an attitude." He's a shirtless
weirdo with tattoos and an ugly hair cut. No fun. How about Cinnamon,
a "positive" and "spunky" driver? Meh, Gena was cooler. But we've
saved the best for last! Try out Hot-D, a 78 year old man who at one
time was a crazzzy stunt driver. Please. In short, these new characters
both blow and suck. Everything from their designs to their voices reek.
Yikes, well how about the game play?

I'll admit there are some rather cool additions to give the game play
some cool new features. The basic concept is still the same. Drive
around, pick up customers, race to their destinations, get money,
repeat until the time runs out. The most noticeable new feature is the
crazy hop. By pressing the Y button the car will hop off the ground into
the air. Very useful for jumping over congested traffic. Also this allows
for players to reach new heights and find shortcuts that they wouldn't
normally find on the main road. So it's Crazy Taxi, but you can jump? No
there's more! Some customers come in groups, so you can have a few
customers in your car at once. Drop one off and then high tail it to the
next spot. It's interesting, but not used enough. And there you go. The
rest of the game is virtually the same. Well, except for the new city.
How did that turn out?

Unfortunately, the setting in CT2 just isn't as "magical" as the first
one. Maybe my expectations were too high, and maybe I'm just so used
to the first town that I couldn't connect with this one. The location just
feels colder to me and more restrained. CT1 had wide open areas and
loads of nature everywhere. This one has many tall buildings, and the
town itself is just one giant maze. But like the first game, you get two
different, but similar cities. The big apple is more spread out, and the
small apple is very confusing, for the pros only. Just like how CT1 had
locations like Pizza Hut and KFC, CT2 has Hard Rock Cafe, Fao
Schwarz, the Gap, and Burger King. The Burger King in the game looks
great too. Made me wish I could get out of the cab and go stop for a
virtual burger. Ummm virtual burger....

There are enough modes here to keep taxi fans coming back. In
addition to Big Apple and Small Apple, the Crazy Box challenges have
returned, this time called the Crazy Pyramid. Still hard, still fun, and you
can unlock stuff by beating it. I'm stuck on the last one. Darn. A lot of
the challenges involve the crazy hop and crazy drift. I like these little
challenges because they are fun, but man they can get oh so
frustrating at times. In replay mode you can watch your own previously
recorded taxi runs. Ok, but wouldn't you rather play the game instead
of watch what you've already done?

Rounding out the modes are Records, and Internet. Records is cool,
but they changed one key feature from the first game. You don't put in
initials when you get a high score! How lame is that? I don't know,
maybe I play too many games for high scores, but I enjoy seeing my
initials in a game you know? Otherwise, how will I know what my
scores were, and which ones were my brother's? Finally check out
internet mode. Or not. No, you couldn't download new characters or
whatever. It just connected you to the official CT2 website. I think the
actual site has long since gone down. Throw in the mandatory options
and there is your game play. Very similar to the first one, aint it?

The graphics look a bit better then before, but not by much. It seems
like there is more detail going into the buildings, but things are no
longer as bright and cheery as the first game. There are definitely
many places to go, and many ways to get to places. So if you thought
CT1 looked ok, you'll probably be fine with CT2.

Going into this game, I was very anxious to hear all the new tunes.
Sure, I wouldn't listen to the tracks from CT1 on my free time, but in
the context of the game it just clicked and all of the songs got stuck in
your head. For CT2, the Offspring has returned to lend some tracks.
There are 5 Offspring songs, and 3 songs from Methods of Mayhem,
which I guess is (was?) Tommy Lee's group. So how do they sound?
Sorry, but I still like CT1's music way better. Some of the tracks in CT2
have grown on me though, and when they play I will sing along to the
best of my ability. But they just aren't as memorable or cool as the
original ones. The voices for the characters, which caused some
controversy in the first game due to stereotypical lines and voices is
back, but way more annoying. First, Hot-D sounds like a damn muppet.
In fact many of the town's folk have such high messed up voices that
they all sound like muppets! On a positive note, the narrator from the
first one is back, so there's a plus!

By beating Crazy Pyramid challenges you can unlock new modes of
transportation like the baby carriage and the Chinese bike. I hear that
if you beat the last challenge you get all the old cabbies from the first
game, but again I'm not too sure on that one [editors note: that is
confirmed].

So in the end, the original Crazy Taxi is still king of the cabs. CT fans
will probably find some enjoyment with this sequel as the central game
play is still fun, and the hopping and multiple passengers are cool
additions. But it was such a hard act (or is that car) to follow. I applaud
Sega for making such a drastic change in scenery to CT2, but I'll take
the first one any day. But then again, maybe I'm just like the cabbies in
this game. I don't prefer change (pun!).

Review by: Orochi Sonic