Crazy Taxi
- March 4, 2011
- SEGA
- 14h median play time
Get on SteamCrazy Taxi is an arcade-style driving game where players earn money by quickly picking up passengers and dropping them off at their destinations. The game features two modes, Arcade and Original, and includes 16 mini-games to improve driving skills. With large hills, tall cliffs, and slow buses, players must navigate through traffic and obstacles to complete their fares and earn the most money. Extra features such as ramps, exploration opportunities, and frustrating cable cars add to the chaotic and fun gameplay.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- music800 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The music in this game has been a major point of contention among players, with many lamenting the absence of the original soundtrack featuring iconic punk bands like The Offspring and Bad Religion. Instead, the game features a new, generic soundtrack that fails to capture the energetic vibe of the original, leading to a diminished experience for fans. However, players have noted that mods are available to restore the original music, which many recommend to fully enjoy the game as it was intended.
“Crazy Taxi is well-known for its energetic and memorable soundtrack featuring punk rock tracks. The music, including bands like The Offspring and Bad Religion, complements the game's high-energy atmosphere and contributes to the overall enjoyment.”
“The soundtrack isn't the original from the arcade, but still has its fair share of songs that can get caught looping in one's head if this style of rock suits one.”
“Chaotic fun with a banging soundtrack.”
“The altered soundtrack just ruins it.”
“The new soundtrack just isn't driving music.”
“The soundtrack is 100% not the same.”
- gameplay250 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Crazy Taxi is characterized by its fast-paced, arcade-style mechanics that are both fun and addictive, encouraging players to master driving techniques for higher scores. While the core gameplay remains engaging, some players note that it can become repetitive over time, especially with the absence of the original soundtrack and brand names due to licensing issues. Overall, the game offers a straightforward and enjoyable experience, though the PC port has received criticism for control issues and lack of updates to the gameplay mechanics.
“The gameplay is instantly fun and insanely satisfying to (try to) master.”
“Crazy Taxi possesses perhaps the absolute best gameplay loop of any game I've ever played, regardless of its format as either a console or arcade game, which this game hits on the mark expertly.”
“The gameplay is fun and frantic, and it's cool to find that balance between being reckless and cautious so you can rack up the points.”
“The gameplay is repetitive because there is nothing new to unlock, but I admit that the game has an addictive element and you pick it up again from time to time.”
“It has big problems and the gameplay is outdated, especially with this PC port that is... honestly pretty mediocre.”
“Sega screwed around with the controls, and the end result is that this version controls horribly and it ruins the entire gameplay experience.”
- graphics118 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely regarded as outdated, reflecting its origins as a 1999 arcade title, yet they still evoke nostalgia and fit well within the game's vibrant atmosphere. While some players appreciate the unique art style and find the visuals enjoyable for their time, others criticize the lack of modern enhancements and performance issues in the port. Overall, the graphics may not impress by today's standards, but the engaging gameplay compensates for their shortcomings.
“Some of the aesthetic choices certainly mark the game as a bit of a period piece but the city and cars still look really vibrant and it's as fun to look at as it is to play.”
“Is really fun to play and the graphics have aged well.”
“The smooth graphics and framerate really make this game shine.”
“Yeah, it’s quite obvious that the game’s graphics are extremely outdated.”
“The graphics are not the best and have not been remastered, but the gameplay more than makes up for that.”
“This game was fine when I had a GTX 960, but now that I upgraded to a 1080, the graphics are so slow that it is completely unplayable.”
- story58 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for lacking a discernible storyline, with many users expressing a desire for a more structured narrative or career mode to enhance gameplay value. While it features various challenge missions, the overall experience is described as purely arcade-focused, offering little replayability or emotional depth. Players feel that a story mode could significantly improve the game's appeal and longevity.
“Wouldn’t a story mode for this be awesome?”
“Yeah, the game can use a storyline.”
“Apart from the arcade game modes that are available, a career mode with at least a really basic storyline would’ve made the game pretty cool & also gave it more value due to the addition of more content.”
“Unfortunately, this game is an 'arcade' type game with no storyline.”
“Beware that this is an 'arcade' game, so there's no story mode or anything; you play just for the score.”
“Yeah, the game could use a storyline.”
- humor46 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its absurdity and nostalgic charm, featuring hilarious one-liners, quirky characters, and chaotic sound effects that create a lively atmosphere. Players enjoy the blend of slapstick comedy and playful violence, with memorable moments like passengers laughing during near-misses and a comically exaggerated game-over announcer. Overall, the game's humor is a significant draw, making it a fun and entertaining experience for both new players and those revisiting it from childhood.
“The one-liners are hilarious, and there are so many sounds at the same time that you will feel like you sit on a central square and everything is screaming at you for no particular reason.”
“The passengers laughing as I narrowly avoid oncoming traffic and crash into silos is a mood.”
“People happily fist bump if you deliver them in time or hilariously announce that you suck if you run out of time.”
- optimization40 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many users reporting poor performance, stuttering, and frame rate drops, particularly on certain hardware setups. While some players have found ways to improve performance through patches and configuration adjustments, the overall consensus is that the port is poorly optimized, leading to a frustrating experience, especially for those using keyboard controls. Despite decent graphics, the game's performance issues overshadow its potential enjoyment.
“The performance is top notch, though.”
“After configuring the controls and settings, the game runs smoothly and plays like I would expect it.”
“The game is well optimized; we've got extras like the Crazy Box mode which consists of completing different challenges with our drivers, we can play both the maps from the arcade and Dreamcast versions and even determine how long we want to play, not necessarily following the arcade rules, which is nice.”
“What isn't easy to fix is the absolutely horrid performance (fps lock?) that this port uses.”
“This port of Crazy Taxi seems anything but a port, since it seems to be using Crytek middleware that, while keeping graphics intact, makes performance go from 60fps to 10fps, where it seems to stay most of the time, going up only in scenes with not a lot to render.”
“Only downside is that it's quite an unoptimized port and has really outdated controls.”
- replayability22 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
Crazy Taxi is praised for its high replayability, driven by its fun, fast-paced gameplay and unique art style. While some players note a lack of variety in missions and a poorly optimized PC experience, many still find the game offers significant replay value, especially in its run-based modes. Overall, it maintains an arcade-like level of replayability that keeps players engaged.
“Lots of fun and tons of replay value.”
“The first two modes are run-based modes meaning that they have a high replayability rate.”
“Badly optimized for PC (windowed in the corner of the screen!), 0 replayability after even a single mission as they're all the same, no discernible story mode or point to it.”
“Fast paced (depending on what strategy/mode you use), unique art style, and so much replayability.”
“Replay value out the wazoo.”
- stability16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is mixed, with some users reporting significant issues such as screen freezes requiring hard reboots and glitches that disrupt gameplay. However, others praise the port for running smoothly without major bugs, expressing surprise at its performance given its age, and noting that it works well on modern hardware like the Steam Deck. Overall, while some players experience momentary freezes, many find it stable and enjoyable.
“I was expecting an unspeakable mess because of this game's age, but it all runs incredibly well, no glitches of any kind, no need to patch or fix anything, feels like the good old one I remember, and there's even full Xbox 360 controller support.”
“Great port from the Dreamcast and other consoles, works and runs great.”
“This is a classic Sega Dreamcast game and runs great on the Steam Deck.”
“Doing so freezes the screen and you have to hard reboot the computer.”
“Very buggy, you can't even alt-F4 out of the game.”
“The game will have momentary freezes throughout.”
- atmosphere14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by high-energy punk and rock music, which enhances the overall experience and evokes nostalgia for classic arcade gaming. While some players feel the new soundtrack lacks the iconic quality of the original, it still contributes positively to the lively sound environment. The graphics, though simple, effectively complement the arcade vibe, and there are mixed opinions on the game's darker tone compared to previous versions.
“The music, including bands like The Offspring and Bad Religion, complements the game's high-energy atmosphere and contributes to the overall enjoyment.”
“Good punk/rock music and a very 'living' sound atmosphere.”
“Not sure, but I think this version has a darker atmosphere than the other ones.”
“You'll not regret, but you'll lose the atmosphere, which was concluded in the soundtrack, real brand names, and normal voices of pedestrians.”
“Everything is the same except for the music; some people say that it doesn't fit into the game's atmosphere, which to me is nonsense, but it's all a matter of personal preference.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspects of the game to be a mixed bag; while some challenges, like the bowling challenge, are seen as tedious, modes like the 10-minute option provide valuable opportunities for practice and earning in-game currency. Despite the grind, many users adapt quickly and still enjoy the overall gameplay experience, particularly in arcade and original modes.
“Some, like the bowling challenge, are painfully tedious to complete.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Even the grindy parts.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is described as fun but lacking in emotional depth, with no compelling story or graphics that evoke strong feelings. Players find the control mechanics frustrating, which detracts from any potential emotional engagement. Overall, the experience is more focused on gameplay than on emotional resonance.
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The Steam version lacks the original soundtrack and certain advertisements/locations, but users can resolve these issues through a simple four-step process.
