Crazy Taxi Arrives For PSN, XBLA Version Coming Soon 56
Today a remake of the Dreamcast classic Crazy Taxi launched on the PlayStation Network, with the Xbox Live Arcade release coming November 24th. The graphics have been updated to 720p, but licensing issues for the soundtrack and some in-game locations resulted in noticeable changes. Quoting the Opposable Thumbs blog:
"The Offspring, along with Bad Religion, provided the game's soundtrack in the original release. These songs, along with the sound of that announcer, went a long way toward creating the game's mood. In the new version, they have been replaced by completely forgettable pop-punk tracks, and it's a downgrade. ... That's not the only thing that's missing. The game originally featured licensed locations. Customers would need to be dropped off at the Pizza Hut, for instance. These companies didn't spring for the advertising in the game's rerelease, but the buildings weren't updated to look like anything else; the result is a game that looks like its filled with closed-down fast food restaurants. ... this is an interesting look at what went on to become a cult classic. Still, this is no replacement for my original copy."
Re:Wii (Score:2, Informative)
The ORIGINAL crazy taxi was ported to the Dreamcast, then to other things.
The ORIGINAL Crazy Taxi was an arcade game, the Dreamcast port came second.
Re:Wii (Score:3, Informative)
The beauty of the game only started to emerge after you played it long enough to learn how to *really* drive the cab. And by really drive, I mean spend more time going sideways or in the air than straight-ahead driving. Also, as you began to learn the map, you could do even more stunts using the environment and shortcuts.
It definitely rewarded a zen-like combination of skilled precision and absolutely bat-shit insane risk-taking. Until you built up the chops to be able to do that, it was just a point-a to point-b driving game with pretty graphics.