Games of crazy taxi 2

The Empire Strikes Back this is always the case in film and can, to some degree, be applied to video games as well. Do any of you remember Freespace 2? How about most of the Mortal Kombat or Tomb Raider sequels?

When I was handed the sequel to Crazy Taxi , one of my favorite Dreamcast games from last year, apprehension overwhelmed me. Crazy Taxi 2 is the screamingly good sequel to Crazy Taxi , putting you back in the driver's seat as you steer, crash, and bash your way through insanely fast and crowded New York streets. Do you have the cajones to make it as a real cabbie? Can you make it across town in just under two minutes? Are you going fast enough to jump over that bus? Using a very unrealistic, arcade simplified control style, Crazy Taxi 2 is easy to control and not that difficult to master.

Adding to this, and new to Crazy Taxi 2 , is the hop feature, which lets you jump your car on hydraulics as you race down the road. Gameplay is just a simple as all you need do is find a fare and pick him up. While this addictive, mesmerising need to perfect your skills clearly succeeded in making Crazy Taxi a rather good arcade game, the whole thing works much better in the comfort of your own home.

That said, the game is still much better enjoyed as a social experience, where one-upmanship, mockery and disparagement are given their due consideration. The first of these, as featured in the original arcade game, is the more straightforward of the two. Near identical streets are joined at fiendish and confusing angles, roads cross over and under each other, circuitous byways and large city blocks ensure that a single wrong turn can result in a long and costly detour The upshot is that you can no longer rely on the guide arrow and your indifferent knowledge of the streets to get by.

Clever use of shortcuts such as train tracks, underground tunnels and highway overpasses is essential. You even have to jump over entire city blocks now and again to be truly efficient. At first, much of this is frustrating, especially when you realise that the big green arrow guiding you to your destination is giving you a major bum-steer, but it highlights the fact that this is no longer just a ten minute arcade investment.

And once your initial anger subsides, getting your passengers there in record time becomes much more satisfying. The other reason Crazy Taxi is such a pleasure to play is the sheer exuberance of the whole thing.

The graphics, while fairly unsophisticated, are bursting with colour and vitality. Silly voices add a measure of humour, and ridiculous jumps and bumps ensure that you never start to take things too seriously.

In short, it looks and sounds like and is a fun game. In some ways this is fair enough - whatever floats your boat and all that. But anyone willing to embrace Crazy Taxi's upbeat arcade aesthetic will find an incredibly gratifying game beneath, one founded on pure, distilled gameplay values and good old-fashioned insanity.

First screenshots inside. Sega has allowed us a look at a handful of Crazy Taxi 2's features. This week, we examine the game's smaller play area, the Small Apple mode. Check back in This week, we're looking at the game's larger map, and a handful of its mini-games. Crazy Taxi is back with a brand-new city, more drivers, a more mission-based theme, and maybe even online play in Q2 of