Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller

Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller is the third video game in the Crazy Taxi series, and was released for the Xbox (not compatible with Xbox 360) and Microsoft Windows, with also an arcade release under the name Crazy Taxi: High Roller for the Chihiro game board. It expands on the previous two games with additional locations, taxis and other features. It received a 69/100 score at review aggregator Metacritic indicating mixed or average reviews.

Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller
North American Xbox coverart
Developer(s)Hitmaker
Publisher(s)Sega
SeriesCrazy Taxi
Platform(s)Xbox
Microsoft Windows
ReleaseXbox
  • NA: July 24, 2002
  • JP: July 25, 2002
  • EU: September 20, 2002[1]
Microsoft Windows
  • JP: February 26, 2004
  • EU: 2004
Genre(s)Racing, action
Mode(s)Single player

Gameplay

Crazy Taxi 3 is a score attack game. The player controls one of several taxi drivers in a fictional city, looking for fares and then taking them to their destination in the fastest time possible. The player must perform this while time still remains on an overall gameplay clock. Passengers looking for rides are indicated by an overhead marker that is colored to represent the distance to their intended destination. The color marker ranges from red indicating short trips, to yellow for intermediate distances, and to green indicating long ones. When a passenger is picked up, the player is awarded additional time on the countdown time. Furthermore, a second countdown timer is started, representing how quickly the passenger needs to be at their destination. While a passenger is in the taxi, a large green arrow is shown on the player's HUD that points in the general direction of the passenger's destination to help guide the player through the map.

The player can use special "crazy stunt" moves such as drifts, jumps, and near-misses, and consecutive combos of these, to earn extra money from the passenger during the trip. If the destination is reached in time, the player is paid based on distance driven with a possible time bonus based on how quickly the destination was reached. If the passenger's countdown strikes zero, he/she will exit the taxi without paying and the player will be required to look for another fare. The game continues in this mode as long as time remains on the main clock. Once the clock reaches zero, the game is over, and the player is ranked and rated based on the total earned.

The player character is able to pick up a party of passengers, each having a different destination. The number of passengers in the car multiplies the tip bonuses earned from stunt driving, while the total fare can only be earned once the last passenger is dropped off in time. The game also features a set of mini-games. Crazy Taxi 3 inherits the tradition of mini-games from the Crazy Taxi series. Crazy X consists of three levels, each testing a different criteria of skills e.g. Steering, use of Crazy Dash, Crazy Drift etc. By completing all of level 1, maps of the locations are available on the menu which includes all the destinations and short-cuts. Completing level 2 will provide the player with three more different types of vehicle to ride on: Stroller, Bike and Carriage. Completing level 3 will allow the player to use any cabbie in any map. Prior to each game session, the player can pick one of several drivers and their associated cars; each car/driver has slightly different performance relating to factors such as speed and turning, that impact the game.[2]

The game consists of three locations, West Coast from Crazy Taxi, Small Apple from Crazy Taxi 2, now set at night, and Glitter Oasis which is a new location for Crazy Taxi 3. Stages are improved graphically and are tightened and updated for full use of the gameplay elements.

Development

Hitmaker had tried to develop an on-line version of Crazy Taxi, to be called Crazy Taxi Next exclusively for the Xbox, which, besides multiplayer game modes, would have included night and day cycles, each with a different set of passengers and destinations, while reusing and graphically updating the maps from Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2. Ultimately, both multiplayer and day/night cycles were dropped and work on Crazy Taxi Next was transferred to Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller, which included some of the nighttime driving concepts suggested by Next. In 2003, High Roller was ported to the arcade via the Xbox-based Chihiro system board. Some versions of this game allow the player to actually win money back from the machine. These versions also include a non-paying version of the game with different difficulty levels. The soundtrack for Crazy Taxi 3 features four bands, The Offspring, Bad Religion, Pivit, and Silverbullit. Additional songs for menus and credits are provided by The Offspring, Bad Religion, Pivit, Methods of Mayhem and Brian Setzer. It was released for the Xbox and Microsoft Windows,[3] with also an arcade release under the name Crazy Taxi: High Roller for the Chihiro game board.

Reception

The Xbox version received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[4] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 32 out of 40.[9]

References
  1. http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox/558595-crazy-taxi-3-high-roller/data
  2. "Crazy Taxi". EA Games. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  3. "Release Information for Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller". MobyGames. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  4. "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  5. Marriott, Scott Alan. "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  6. Edge staff (October 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller". Edge (115).
  7. EGM staff (August 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller". Electronic Gaming Monthly (157): 132.
  8. Reed, Kristan (December 31, 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  9. "Xbox - クレイジータクシー3 ハイローラー". Famitsu. 915: 105. June 30, 2006.
  10. "Crazy Taxi 3 [High Roller]". Game Informer (112): 85. August 2002. Archived from the original on October 25, 2003. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  11. Dan Elektro (July 22, 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  12. Liu, Johnny (July 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  13. Park, Andrew (July 23, 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  14. Hodgson, David SJ (July 22, 2002). "GameSpy: Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 26, 2005. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  15. Bedigian, Louis (August 14, 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller Review - Xbox". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  16. Goldstein, Hilary (July 22, 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller Review". IGN. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  17. "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller". Official Xbox Magazine: 91. September 2002.
  18. Brooks, Mark (September 6, 2002). "CRAZY TAXI 3: HIGH ROLLER Review". Entertainment Weekly (670): 89. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  19. Boyce, Ryan (July 26, 2002). "Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller". Maxim. Archived from the original on August 5, 2002. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
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