As with any good arcade title, there's no lengthy, thought-provoking back story to the world of Crazy Taxi. It's instantly accessible, mindless fun. After ten minute of gameplay, you feel like an old pro. You could take a wild guess about the premise just by looking at the CD jacket and get 90% of it correct. OK, get this... you're a TAXI driver.... who is rewarded for driving all CRAZY-like... and your only purpose in life is to earn more money. End of story.

As seems to be the case with any arcade game, the physics of CT have been mussed with just a teensy bit, aiding in the transformation of a taxi driver's day from monotonous, mundane errands to wild, exciting rides. Your car will never sustain any damage, nor will those of the game's various citizens. Instead, vehicles bounce off of one another, roll over and sail through the air like so many cartoony bumper cars. The lack of any real visible consequences for your actions (aside from the obvious loss of game time) really help to set a player's mind at ease and let the relaxation set in. Sure, you're rushing around the city like a madman... but at least you're at ease in doing so.

A new addition to the home release of the Taxi is the refreshing "Crazy Box" mode, which takes the tweaked physics engine of the regular game and applies it to other varied driving games. You'll drive down a bowling alley, complete with oversized pins. You'll cruise down a skier's long jump ramp and sail off the edge. You'll navigate a teeny stretch of road, complete with sharp turns, instant death on either side and a relentless time limit. It's a great way to introduce new players to some of the more advanced methods of game play, while giving experienced players a set of new challenges and a chance to brush up on their abilities. It's exactly what the home release needed to set it apart from its arcade cousin and to intrigue the more demanding home market.

In addition to an easily established (and notably improved) premise, the control scheme on my familiar white Dreamcast controller is damned close to perfection. The number of commands necessary to play a game of Taxi are relatively small: you just need to steer, accelerate, brake and shift. The Dreamcast pad, however, functions as though it were sculpted with this very game in mind. The left and right triggers are your brake and gas, respectively, and are pressure sensitive, which means you have much more control over your pedals. The analog stick is a flawless de facto steering wheel, to the point that I can't imagine controlling the game with a regular wheel any more. Likewise, the "A" button switches you to reverse and the "B" button guns it back into drive... both buttons placed logically in the exact spot where your thumb should be while holding down the right trigger. This placement makes shifting, accelerating and the various advanced play mechanics introduced in "Crazy Box" much more natural and easy to accomplish.

Visually, there's no distinguishing the game from its arcade counterpart. They're honestly identical, which was really a big feather in the Dreamcast's cap at the time of the game's release. In today's world, alongside graphical masterpieces such as Gran Turismo 4 and Project Gotham Racing 2, it doesn't stand a chance, but at the time it was really inspiring to see. Each of the four selectable drivers are well crafted and easily recognizable, even in the heat of a tight deadline. They each cruise around in their own original cab, styled to match their personality and come fully equipped with their own custom license plate. There's a good selection of different models out on the roads, but I'd be lying if I said you'll never see a duplicate out on the road. They're all pretty abundant, but there's enough variety that you won't be distracted by the same car lined up, bumper to bumper, all the way down the road.

Finally, the audio... which is just completely over the top. Seriously, the amount of effort that went into acquiring, licensing, writing, recording, mastering and implementing the various audio aspects of Crazy Taxi is just mind-blowing. Everything from the musical score (provided by The Offspring and Bad Religion, respectively) to the driver / passenger voices and interactions (which vary depending on the individual) to the sound of oncoming traffic, rubber on asphalt and screaming civilians is spot on. The speedy, racing mainstream punk rock soundtrack perfectly accompanies the rushed, frantic pace of the game itself. Absolutely flawless.

In short, Crazy Taxi was everything Sega needed to re-establish themselves in the home market. It's a superb experience, whether you're playing alone at home on a Friday night or taking turns with a large group of friends. Where it's lacking in depth, it makes up with replayability and a tight control scheme. If you've got a Dreamcast sitting around at home and you haven't picked this game up yet, now is most certainly the time.

"Crazy Taxi Is Not So Good"
If you are thinking about buying the game change your mind!!!!! It might seem fun at first but after the first couple of months it's going to be boring.I bought this game because I was intrested and today it's collecting dust.There goes ten dollars down the drain.So take my advice and don't buy the game.

"I like it !!!!!!"
Hi, my name is Chantale and I want to talk you that this game is VERY fun and I like it because itsn't to complicated. Well done!!!!!!