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The basic premise of the game, for those of you under a rock, is that you’re an insane taxi driver and you do anything you can to get customers to their destination on time. It’s that simple. Your game timer goes up every time you pick up a fare, so basically you lose time whenever you’re driving around without a passenger. Run out of time and it’s game over. The Dreamcast game is at least a couple of years old and it’s also available for the PS2, if not also the Xbox and PC. There’s a rich 3D environment and addictive gameplay. It’s probably my favourite DC game that I own and it looks particularly nice on a VGA monitor. The main problem with the GBA version is the controls, particularly if you have a GBAsp. After even 10 minutes of game play your hands really hurt. To do even basic manoeuvres such as the fast start or the power slide requires a level of button mangling I haven’t experienced in a long time. And often you’re left wondering why something you had down 30 seconds ago doesn’t work at all for the next 30 seconds. Meanwhile your fare has bailed.  Other problems include; a low frame rate, no grazing impact (you either miss or you stop) and low visual detail. Much as the base game is a proven fun (even addictive) game, the GBA simply isn’t up to the task of recreating the environment needed to make it enjoyable. This is, at best, a collectors-only title or perhaps a bargain-bin title. It’s certainly not worth the A$70 I paid for it. Better to buy a big-screen version. (Update: Since reviewing this I have played The Simpsons Road Rage. I would like to take back everything bad I said about Crazy Taxi.) |
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