Sega's iconic arcade racer, Crazy Taxi, is set to make its return with Crazy Taxi: World Tour, a new entry that aims to recapture the frenetic energy of its Dreamcast predecessors. The game, recently playable at gamescom, delivers the core driving experience that fans remember, characterized by its satisfying acceleration, tight controls, and the liberating feeling of boosting off ramps. The inclusion of The Offspring's "All I Want," with its signature "YA YA YA YA YA," immediately evokes the nostalgic atmosphere that made the original series so memorable. This strong auditory and kinetic link to the early 2000s is a key element that Sega has clearly prioritized.
This iteration introduces new locales, including a preview level set in Germany. Players begin at a sprawling airport, a suitable starting point for acclimating to the game's mechanics. The German level is segmented into five distinct areas: the airport, the City, the Walled City, the Mountains, and the Autobahn. While some areas offer a glimpse of a "Deutschland vibe," the overall impression of the environment is somewhat generic, leaning towards a "generic European town" aesthetic rather than a distinctly German one. A notable new feature allows players to manually change the time of day, offering options for morning, afternoon, evening, and night. However, in the preview build, this time shift did not appear to impact gameplay elements such as passenger availability, traffic density, or the types of odd jobs presented. The developer hopes that the final game will feature a dynamic day-night cycle that influences the game world.
The driving mechanics themselves remain a strong point. Maneuvering the taxi feels responsive, allowing for sharp turns, well-timed boosts, and evasive actions to dodge traffic. The arcade-style handling, a hallmark of the series, is present and accounted for, offering the kind of engaging gameplay that rewards mastery of the maps and movement. Beyond the primary objective of picking up and dropping off passengers, World Tour includes various side activities and skill tests. These range from mundane tasks, like helping a passenger collect paper with a backseat vacuum, to more exhilarating challenges, such as braking hard to launch a passenger in a wingsuit for maximum distance. The preview session was unfortunately cut short by a demo crash, a common occurrence with pre-release software.
Despite the strong core gameplay and nostalgic callbacks, Crazy Taxi: World Tour faces challenges in fully realizing its "World Tour" concept. The visual presentation, while functional, can feel bland. The taxi model itself is well-rendered, but other vehicles on the road and the NPC passengers lack detail and personality, appearing more like generic assets. More significantly, the game's environments struggle to convey the distinct cultural identity of the locations they represent. The reviewer noted a lack of authentic representation, such as passengers with regional accents or environmental details that truly immerse the player in a specific country. The hope is that Sega will lean more into cultural details in the final release to make the "world" aspect of the "World Tour" more meaningful.
Even with these reservations, the fundamental loop of driving, boosting, and collecting fares remains inherently fun. The game offers a refreshing simplicity, eschewing complex systems like skill trees and crafting that have become prevalent in modern gaming. This uncomplicated approach provides a satisfying and exciting experience, reminiscent of the appeal of classic arcade titles. Whether this simplicity will be enough to elevate Crazy Taxi: World Tour beyond a nostalgic retread remains to be seen, but the foundation for a fun, if perhaps minimally evolved, return for the beloved series is certainly present.