Update: We’ve added footage of the game in action above, check it out!
SEGA’s Hardlight Studio in cooperation with Kenji Kanno, the man behind the original Crazy Taxi, are back to make more crazy money in Crazy Taxi: City Rush – coming later this year to iOS and Android devices. In an interview with Polygon, producer Stephen Ye described the upcoming free-to-play game as something for “casual players and die-hard Crazy Taxi fans in the mobile space”. A teaser trailer, found after the break, reveals that B.D. Joe has set up shop and is employing players to drive customizable cabs. The game will feature music from some licensed music from indie bands as well as offering players the ability to create their own playlists from their device’s music library.
During their hands on with the game, Polygon noted that the gas pedal is permanently floored and breaking for passengers is done via tapping the screen. Turning requires swiping or moving your finger in a specific direction. Despite the simplified controls, the game was described as being “as frantic as console versions, thanks to the need to dodge cars or quickly switch lanes”. Being a mobile title, daily challenges will be available, and if players connect to Facebook they will be able to pick up their friends as customers within the game. And, as Ye told Polygon, “the more Facebook friends you have, the more social missions you have in the game”. Players can even visit their friends garages to view their cars, and clean them to earn in-game currency.
Crazy Taxi: City Rush will release later this year worldwide, and will be released in Canada and Australia this month as part of a soft launch to prepare the game for a worldwide audience. After the break, more screens and a teaser trailer!
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Wow, at first my reaction was, “Oh no… what have they done?” After looking at screens and video though, I’m digging it. The visual style is not what I would deem “appropriate” for a Crazy Taxi game, but I still like it and it reminds me more of Jet Set Radio.
Considering Sonic Dash is my most-played free-to-play mobile game, I’m not hating the simplified controls of simply tapping and swiping. The tilt controls on the original iOS port are difficult to deal with for long durations.
I just hope the music is good…
I’d love to see a new traditional crazy taxi game…..but this doesn’t sounds too bad. Simplified controls are kind of a bummer, but that’s the sacrifice you need to make for touch devices. I’ll definitely check it out, if only to support the Crazy Taxi franchise.
Hmm… I’ll try to have an open mind about it. It’s got some cool features, like being able to customize your cab. But where’s the announcer? I’m expecting to hear “All right now, let’s see how you did…” and there’s just silence when it’s tallying up the points.
For a mobile Crazy Taxi game, this is looking pretty dang good! Can’t wait.
The original Crazy Taxi is also free on iOS and Android right now for another five days.
It seems to have been pulled from the Google Play store, the US one at least.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sega.CrazyTaxi&feature=nav_other&hl=en
I’m not liking the art style of this game, and the music seems too soft. But it is a mobile game, which could account for the art.
huh I couldn’t find it on my phone but I did through my computer…
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sega.CrazyTaxiplayhaven
Google doesn’t allow apps or games to go free and then back to paid. Whenever a developer decides to do this, mainly as a promo, a separate listing has to be created. I’m guessing once the free time period is over we’ll see the original back on the Play Store and the free version gone.
The driving mechanics seem well suited for the medium, but I’m not sure how I feel about a purely mission-based Crazy Taxi without the open world elements. A daily challenge to increase longevity is a great idea, but it seems like not having the option for 3-minute open world mayhem takes away the most fundamental element of Crazy Taxi. I totally respect what they’re doing, though.
The music is terrible, though. Doesn’t have to be The Offspring and Bad Religion again, but the music they have now is just so rounded-off and sterile. You have to have jagged, high-energy tracks — it’s Crazy Taxi!! Use some BBQ Chickens, Good Clean Fun, or Razors Edge or something!
Crazy Taxi is a game that plays the music of the times. When I was younger The Offspring were all the rage from ’95 to the early 00’s. This new Crazy Taxi shows how far we are from those days. The character art and music seems like its catering to today’s crowd, which is good. That’s the only way to make sales. I just hope the new mission style gameplay is fun, or that there is an open world with a time limit option.
That’s not exactly true. Crazy Taxi 3 played songs from the original and a bunch of Elvis-style rockabilly from Brian Setzer. Pop-punk was nowhere near as popular as, say nu-metal or crossover rap in 1999 to begin with. They go for music that fits the mood of the games. I wouldn’t say that the new music fits the mood of Crazy Taxi even in this modified form. I know that I’m not the target audience anyway, I’m just saying that the elements don’t seem aesthetically cohesive in general regardless of target audience.
Yes, once more a mobile game ( ugghh !!!!!).
If the new Alien is crap im done with SEGA !
Though I give them credit for the music, this otherwise (like all iOS/Android games) isn’t looking like my thing.
I feel like I’ve already experienced everything that this game has to offer in that gameplay footage. I barely feel like I’d need to play it.