Crazy Taxi

Overall: C+
Violence: C
Sexual Content: A-
Language: B
Drugs/Alcohol: A

Platform reviewed: PlayStation 2
Publisher: Acclaim
ESRB rating: T

What is the shortest distance between two points? In Crazy Taxi, you'll discover a whole new definition for the colloquialism, "As the crow flies."

No longer must you think in terms of following traffic laws, or avoiding buildings, other vehicles, and pedestrians. Choose one of four drivers, hop into your invincible cab and this slightly demented game--jam packed with thrills and spills--will make such restraints appear as mere incidentals. In fact, even roadways are only suggestions.

I must confess, for the first 10 minutes of test driving this single player game, I thoroughly enjoyed smashing into anything that was foolish enough to be on or anywhere near the same road as me. Fortunately, the mobs of people I encountered quickly jumped out of the way and no one actually got hit.

But getting down to business, the object of the game is to pick up as many customers (identified by cash signs over their heads) as possible and drop them off at specified locations (illuminated in green) before the clock runs out. If your zeal makes you too reckless (considering the broad definition of acceptable, this amounts to some very extreme driving), or if time is running out, the friendly banter between cabby and customer turns to insults, then mild profanities, and finally the passenger jumps out and potential earnings are lost.

Thanks to the game designers, you can do some pretty insane things, like drive into the ocean to pick up a snorkel wearing customer while a killer whale swims overhead, or zip down the subway stairs and offer a lift to someone waiting for the train, then exit via the tracks. You can also cut your routes by ramping over buildings. The mini-games offered in Crazy Box mode provide a crash course on jumping and drifting techniques.

With the exception of distant approaching objects popping out of thin air, the graphics of the two regular courses set in San Francisco are very impressive. However, the two looped adrenaline pumping songs by Offspring and Bad Religion, although perfectly suited for the kinetic chaos of the game, became so monotonous after awhile that I would have settled for Herb Albert's Tijuana Taxi.

Crazy Taxi's successful track record in the arcade and on the Sega Dreamcast system has Sega eagerly changing lanes to the Sony PlayStation 2 platform. Along for the ride, with some not so subtle advertising, are companies like Pizza Hut and KFC obviously hoping to cash in on a few fares of their own. Like a frenetic commercial, the passengers actually give directions such as, "Yo, honey, take me to Pizza Hut!"

Unlike the real world where the speed of the cab seems inversely proportional to the importance of the event it is traveling to, this virtual taxi encourages fast-paced, out of control driving, and blatant disregard for person and property. Teens (and even some of us adults) are sure to get caught up in the "fun," but the objectionable material, bad language, and modeling of poor (okay, deplorable) driving habits, should have concerned parents giving Crazy Taxi a cautionary yellow light when considering it for their families.

Melanie Law

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