Crazy Taxi

Crazy Taxi is a racing video game developed and published by Sega. It is the first game in the Crazy Taxi series. The game was first released in arcades in 1999 and then was ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. Gameplay is based on picking up taxi customers and driving to their destination as quickly as possible. Reception to Crazy Taxi has been mostly positive. It was ported to other platforms numerous times, including the PlayStation 2 and GameCube by Acclaim in 2001, and then Windows in 2002, becoming Sega's first multi-platform game after the company transitioned to third-party.

The game has also been rereleased for the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, iOS and Android, and is also featured on the Dreamcast Collection. It became one of the few Sega All Stars on the Dreamcast and also earned Greatest Hits and Player's Choice status on PlayStation 2 and GameCube respectively. Sega followed up on the success of Crazy Taxi with numerous sequels, the first being Crazy Taxi 2 for the Dreamcast, which included several gameplay changes.

Gameplay

The main objective of the game is to pick up customers and take them to their chosen destination as quickly as possible. Along the way, money can be earned by performing stunts, such as near misses with other vehicles. The player is directed to a destination by a large green arrow at the top of the screen. The arrow does not adjust based on obstacles but rather points in the general direction of the destination. Once the player arrives near the destination, they must stop within a specified zone. When the destination is reached, the customer's fare is added to the player's total money earned. Ratings are then awarded depending on how long the player took to complete the journey. If the customer's timer runs out before the player reaches the destination, the customer will jump from the taxi without paying the driver.

Players can select three-, five-, or ten-minute settings, or the Arcade Rules used in the original coin-op version of the game. In the three time-limited settings, play continues for the designated period of time, after which the cab automatically stops and no more points can be scored. Under Arcade Rules, the player starts with an initial time limit of one minute, which can be extended through time bonuses earned for quick deliveries. Console versions of the game also feature a mode known as Crazy Box, a set of minigames that feature challenges, such as picking up and dropping off a number of customers within a time limit, bowling using the taxi as a ball, and popping giant balloons in a field.

The arcade version of the game includes one stage, and an additional "Original" stage was added for the console versions. Both stages are based in sunny coastal Californian locales, with steep hills and other strong similarities to San Francisco. The player has a choice of four drivers (Axel, B.D. Joe, Gena, and Gus) and their cabs, each of which has slightly different attributes.