The wait for a new Crazy Taxi has been a bit long, really. It was just a couple of years ago when Sega announced that the franchise would return, teasing a new multiplayer twist on the passenger-carrying romp. But since then, it’s been radio silence, with only tidbits of information revealed. With that, Focuspoint Studios (taking over for Team6 Game Studios) has chosen to take up the slack with its own version of the formula, Taxi Chaos. And now it’s gotten a follow-up, the aptly named Taxi Chaos 2.
To say that the game borrows from Crazy Taxi is an understatement. It takes quite a bit from it, rolling with the formula while adding a few new ideas. That includes a story, and not a bad one at that. But at the end of the day, you’re still working your way through city streets, earning for new rides.
Taxi Chaos 2 lacks the polish and the awesome soundtrack of Taxi (and annoys with its over-chatty customers), so obviously those are sorely missed. But the manic racing action remains intact, and is pretty good fun, provided you can get used to the somewhat loose controls. There’s also new taxis to unlock, as well as joyous shortcuts to find to earn you save you precious seconds.
Let’s just say it, Taxi Chaos 2 won’t dethrone the champ. It’s an indie title that could’ve benefitted from a little more refinement. But it’s not bad, and those clamoring for quick drop-offs and pick-ups won’t mind a romp through the city.
Taxi Chaos 2 Lives Up To Its Name
The game has an interesting twist here – a story! In Taxi Chaos 2, you portray Vinny, who’s trying to make a name for himself in the city. That’s hard, since the city’s AI system wants to wreak havoc with their TaxiBots. (Hmmm, sounds familiar – been to Vegas lately?) With that, he ups his ante and vows to become the best taxi in the city.
But, of course, it’s all about the taxi gameplay, and Taxi Chaos 2 mostly delivers. I say mostly because the loose controls of your vehicle take a slight bit of getting used to. Precision isn’t the name of the game here, speed is. That said, it only took a couple of runs before I got into the rhythm, and was pleased with the result. Just be careful not to jump into water until you get the right vehicle.
The skill part of the game is aces as well, as you can achieve shorter times with shortcuts and other neat things to shave off the seconds. The game lacks the cash multiplier of the original Crazy Taxi, but still feels pretty good for the most part.
You can unlock some new rides and face different obstacles as your run gets deeper, and the TaxiBots continue to get in your way. It keeps the game refreshing, at a time when its concept could clearly, um, run out of gas. The end result is a sequel that surprises and goes further than the original. Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.
Taxi Chaos 2’s Mixed Presentation
Now let’s get to the presentation, which is okay but not quite up to par with Crazy’s antics.
Let’s be honest, this is an indie title, not Sega, so I expect that the team isn’t working with top dollars here. Team6 does a suitable job with setting up the city and the visual effects, and the game moves quickly enough that you’ll stay engaged. And some of these cabs actually look pretty rad, though you’ll likely not find them on real city streets. (Well, maybe the junker you start out with.)
That said, the fuzziness is easy to spot, especially in the Switch 2 version; and the camera has issues. A little bit of patching up wouldn’t be the worst thing, and would make this ride undoubtedly more attractive.
As for the soundtrack, however, it’s pretty generic. This would’ve been a great opportunity to line up indie bands with a Crazy Taxi-style soundtrack. Also, the customers…won’t…shut…up! They say the same dialogue over and over (“Now this is taxi driving!”), and insult you a wee bit too much. At least the sound effects are okay.
A Little (Taxi) Chaos Goes a Long Way
It won’t derail how you feel about the Crazy Taxi games, but Taxi Chaos 2 is a suitable alternative until the real deal returns. It handles great once you get a few practice runs in, and has a lot of bonus content to offer. The presentation is solid too, even though it has a few warts to smooth over.
In the end, it’s a pretty good step up from the original game (kudos to Focuspoint and Current Games!) and worth the investment if you need to get into “crazy” driving again. Seems more than, um, fare.
GAMERHUB RATING: 3.5 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
Thanks to Overload PR for providing us with a review code! Taxi Chaos 2 is available now for Xbox, PlayStation,Nintendo Switch and PC/Steam!
Need more racing insanity? Check out our review of Forza Horizon 5!
