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Crazy Taxi for PlayStation 2
Crazy Taxi for PlayStation 2 is an arcade racing game in which you deliver as many passengers as possible before the clock expires. Choose Axel, B.D. Joe, Gena or Gus and race through a hilly coastal city. The coloured marker above a customer roughly indicates the journey length. A quick arrival earns money and extra time, while jumps, near misses and other reckless driving increase the tip.
The disc contains the original Arcade city and a second Original city designed for the console version. Both can be driven with arcade rules or a fixed limit of three, five or ten minutes. Techniques such as Crazy Dash, Crazy Drift and Crazy Stop help you gain speed or turn sharply. Crazy Box contains sixteen short trials testing jumps, drifts, balloons and precise deliveries, among other skills.
This PS2 version is entirely single-player and has no local or online multiplayer. Scores can be saved on a memory card, allowing players to compare classes and records in turns. The offered copy is the European Platinum reissue; its game content remains that of the 2001 PS2 port. This version does not contain maps or multiplayer from Crazy Taxi 2, Crazy Taxi 3 or the later PSP compilation Fare Wars.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Crazy Taxi for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Crazy Taxi
Sega AM3, later known as Hitmaker, developed Crazy Taxi under director Kenji Kanno. The game appeared in arcades in 1999 on Sega's NAOMI hardware. Its premise turned an everyday taxi ride into a brief action session: traffic became a moving obstacle, passengers created a different route each time and a visible clock forced quick decisions. The hills and coastal atmosphere clearly evoke San Francisco.
The 2000 Dreamcast version added the Original city and Crazy Box challenges. Acclaim Studios Cheltenham brought that console version to PlayStation 2; Acclaim published it in Europe on 1 June 2001. It was an early Sega game on a rival console following the company's changing hardware strategy. The PS2 port retained the four drivers, two cities, licensed locations and fast punk-rock presentation of the period release.
Success led to Crazy Taxi 2 on Dreamcast, Crazy Taxi 3 on Xbox and PC, and later Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars on PSP. Those games added other cities, techniques or multiplayer. They are not part of this PS2 disc. Platinum packaging indicates a later budget reprint, not an expanded edition. The original Crazy Taxi remained influential because route choice, time pressure and stunts made one simple objective continually exciting.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Road Rage uses almost the same rhythm of picking up passengers and delivering them against time, but places it in Springfield with dialogue and routes from The Simpsons. Crazy Taxi has faster special techniques, four cabbies and two original cities. Both reward short routes and driving on without collisions.
Burnout 2 makes oncoming traffic, boosts and lap times central to closed races. Crazy Taxi uses open city routes and lets each customer choose a new destination. Both reward risky passes through traffic, but only Crazy Taxi links stunts directly to tips and extra taxi trips.
Midnight Club offers free city driving and checkpoints that can be approached in your own order. Crazy Taxi uses similar freedom for short passenger trips without car selection or a career. Midnight Club revolves around rivals and vehicle upgrades; Crazy Taxi around money, time and mastering one taxi per driver.
Smuggler's Run uses large outdoor areas where you collect contraband, evade pursuers and reach delivery points. Crazy Taxi plays in denser cities and turns civilians into customers rather than cargo. Both require quick route choices, but their terrain, vehicles and mission context differ greatly.
Taxi 3 is also a PS2 game with a taxi theme, but follows missions and pursuits based on the French film series. Crazy Taxi has no story campaign and builds every session from individual rides for a higher score. The similarity is speed; structure and handling are clearly different.
