Quite simply not as fun as Part 1. (Crazy Taxi 2 (DC))

Member Name: DaChild

Product:	Crazy Taxi 2 (DC)
Date:	03/09/01 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Just so playable, great challenges in the Crazy Pyramid mode, revels in its own humour.

Disadvantages: Arrow doesn't direct you very well, not enough new features.

WE'RRRRRRRRRRE BACK! Announces him at the start with no name, for the second installment of the Crazy Taxi series. About a month before this game was released, myself and a friend agreed that this would be one of those games without a sequel, because quite simply, what could you put in a sequel?

So when a sequel was announced, we were both worried. Could the game be improved enough to warrant spending another £30?

Yes and no.

The first time I played Crazy Taxi in the arcade, I fell in love with it. The action, the intensity, you just wanted to do better. If there's one thing I've noticed with Crazy Taxi 2, it's that you just don't want to do that anymore.

Crazy Taxi 2 offers us 2 new cities to drive around, both simulations of a city similar to New York (hence the stage names "Around Apple" and "Small Apple"). Both cities are reasonably designed, and I find them easier to navigate than I ever did with the cities in the first game.

4 new characters are also included, but just as in the first game, they are all identical. Simply play with the character you do best with.

Controlling the car is again a doddle, with an identical button layout. However, possibly the most major addition to the game is the pressing of the Y Button, which activates the Crazy Hop, where your car leaps into the air. This can allow you to jump over other cars, and onto bridges. This really opens up the game, as a well timed jump can clear masses of traffic, making it easier to reach the destination.

For those who don't know the objective of Crazy Taxi, you pick up a customer, drive them through the city to wherever they want to go, and pick up the money. You'll get bonus tips by ducking and diving through traffic, jumping, or performing a crazy drift to get round corners. In the game there are 4 modes of play: Arcade Mode where you get time bonuses depending on how efficient you are, o
r the 3, 5 and 10 minute modes, where you get to work for the specified amount of time.

I said earlier that I found the cities easier to navigate than in the first game. This is vital to me actually liking the game, because quite simply the big arrow at the top of the screen is no longer effective. In the first game, it would direct you to the destination, and you'd just have to drive. However, the poor guiding of the arrow means that a 500m drive can often turn into well over 1km, as you take long winded routes that the arrow suggests. What this does achieve is getting really high scores in the Arcade Mode impossible, as if you follow the arrow the customer will decide you are too slow and jump out of the car, leaving you with not enough time.

The game has made a good attempt at being fresh - you can now get pick-ups of up to 4 people whom you all have to deliver to different places, and the Crazy Hop is a good addition. But the really fresh part of the game, and the reason you'll go back for the while is the new Crazy Box, or Crazy Pyramid this time out. There are 15 challenges, which range from jumping 250 metres, to hitting a giant golf ball, to having to drop off 29 customers in 6 minutes. Even when you've done the challenges, you'll come back to try and better your score\time.

But despite it's efforts, I don't feel the game is actually as good as the first one. The very poor arrow really ruins the main part of the game for me, and I prefer the challenge of the first game. The music, provided by the Offspring, is no better or worse, it just seems to be more annoying on the 100th playing. If you've never played Crazy Taxi before, then you're going to love this game, but you may want to find the first one. For everyone else, this is a rental game. 2 days solid play and you'll have everything you want from the game.

Summary: