Taxi Chaos isn’t trying to hide the fact this is a Crazy Taxi clone. Created and published by GS2 Games and Lion Castle, this spiritual sequel has no affiliation with Sega at all. Other than the non-Offspring soundtrack and a New York feeling cityscape, Taxi Chaos is pretty much exactly the same game as Sega’s 2000 original for better and worse.
The goal is to drive around a mock-New York City, pick up citizens waiting on street corners, and deliver them to their destination in the shortest amount of time possible. Successfully completing these tasks earns points and extended time on the clock. Once the short timer hits zero, it is game over, your score gets uploaded to the online leaderboards, and you are tasked with trying again.
This is not a realistic simulation by any means as the game encourages players to drive recklessly, smashing through guardrails, stop signs, and light poles along the way. Pedestrians will often get the way but always jump to safety at the last second, ensuring this arcade experience does not receive an M rating. The only new but highly welcomed feature Taxi Chaos brings over Crazy Taxi is the ability to jump. This helps avoid incoming traffic and reach higher tiers with ease, keeping action constantly fast paced and more exciting.
The problem with Taxi Chaos is the lack of any staying power. The Arcade mode only lasts a few minutes, there are only a few unlockable vehicles which all feel the same, and the only incentive to keep playing is to earn a higher spot on the leaderboard. The unlockable Pro Mode also doesn’t really make sense as it is the same game as the standard Arcade mode only without the arrow GPS indicator. Unless you play this game for hours and start to memorize the city roads, much like a real life cabbie, you will be totally lost. The fake New York City is also composed of generic visuals (roads are often empty of vehicles and barely any people on the sidewalks) and the soundtrack doesn’t add anything. In fact, it is best to play with the volume off as the banter between the cab driver and cab riders repeat to eye rolling levels.
With the original Crazy Taxi still available on most digital stores sold for a fraction of the price, there really isn’t much reason to play this 2021 release since this short lived arcade experience would be better played when you drop a quarter into a machine at your local pizza parlor instead of sitting down for a console experience at home.
Also available on PS4 and Switch.
SCORE: 4/10
Also Try: Crazy Taxi on GBA
Oh Yeah: there was Crazy Taxi 3
Wait For It: Simpson’s Road Rage 2
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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