Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride

• Release Date: April 09, 2003
• Genre: Racing
• Style: Mission-Based Racing
• Similar Games: Smuggler's Run (Game Boy Advance), Matchbox Cross Town Heroes (Game Boy Advance), The Simpsons Road Rage (Game Boy Advance)

Game Description

The handheld version of Sega's popular taxicab series features a choice of four drivers from the arcade original (Axel, B.D. Joe, Gena, and Gus) and two cities to explore. The basic premise is the same as in past titles: pick up and drive as many fares to their destinations as possible within the time allotted. Each successful route earns players cash while adding a few extra seconds to the clock.

The visual presentation mirrors those found in previous versions, with a perspective set behind the cab as players weave past traffic and take various shortcuts en route to their drop-off point. An arrow positioned at the top of the screen helps guide players toward their destination while a clock located in the upper right corner gradually counts down the time remaining in the driver's shift. As in the original, the longer the player has to drive a passenger, the higher the fare.

Tips can also be earned by performing various tricks while speeding across the traffic-filled cities, with Catch a Ride supporting crazy drifts, jumps, and other techniques from previous games in the series. Nine mini-games are available to test driving prowess in a number of offbeat situations, such as popping a series of giant balloons, and five fare difficulty levels help determine the overall challenge required of players in meeting their quotas.

Review: Overall

Crazy Taxi makes its handheld debut as a surprisingly close attempt at delivering the same gameplay found in its console predecessors. The same four characters are available, a sprawling city is filled with traffic and pedestrians, and most impressively, the game is played from the same viewpoint, just behind the vehicle. The gameplay is also identical: pick up passengers and deliver them to their destinations as quickly as possible to earn cash. The developers even included nine Crazy Box mini-games, as well as battery backup to save high scores.

The two included cities are huge, filled with three or four types of traffic in the form of station wagons, vans, and trucks, with curbside pedestrians marked with different colored dollar signs above them. Players should immediately turn off the music, however, which is grating and drowns out the crisp sound effects and voice samples. The famous announcer is back for more "cuh-ray-zee" fun, sounding like an aspiring Wolfman Jack with his throaty "Follow the AY-ROW" and similar musings.

While the gameplay has essentially remained unchanged, the physics are quite different from the console versions. None of the cabs feel like they have any weight to them, and steering left or right has the car quickly sliding back and forth as if it were on ice. More problematic are the various stunts available in the Crazy Box mode, which use the awkward shoulder buttons to shift gears or to accelerate and brake (three configurations are available, but none of them make performing the Crazy Drift or Crazy Dash any easier).

Crazy Taxi on Game Boy Advance isn't the prettiest version out there, which is understandable given the complexities associated with creating a city teeming with activity, where players can go anywhere they want to as fast as possible. The frame rate is a relatively smooth, but at the expense of visual detail, with noticeable pop-up and pixilated buildings, vehicles, and pedestrians that are difficult to distinguish from one another. Factor in the loose control and slower rate of speed, and you have a watered down version of the hit coin-op and Dreamcast game.

Crazy Taxi is more a curiosity than a great game. Players who have experienced the title on other platforms will want to see how close the developers have come to delivering the same wild and crazy feeling, and to their credit, most of what made the original a hit is accounted for. Yet the handheld's capabilities are pushed hard in this game, making you wonder if a different viewpoint would have yielded better results. While Crazy Taxi is still playable despite the faults, the platform's limitations diminish the overall fun, making this taxicab racer rather pedestrian.

Review: Enjoyment

The game has its moments, but it seems the Game Boy Advance cannot handle such visual complexity.

Review: Graphics

The taxicab looks nice, but the platform can't handle the complex cities and traffic without slowing the action down and using substantial pop-up.

Review: Sound

The music is awful, but the voice clips are clear and funny. Fortunately, the music can be switched off in the options screen.

Review: Replay Value

Battery backup saves top performances in each mode, and players can unlock a second city by earning a top ranking. Unfortunately, the presentation doesn't encourage many repeat visits.

Review: Documentation

The full-color manual features character bios and a clear explanation of the special moves and game modes.

Production Credits

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