Relive Crazy Taxi with PSP rehash
Forget PSone, Sony should have worked out a deal with Sega to emulate Dreamcast on PSP. Instead, we're starting to see some attempts by publishers to revisit some of their Dreamcast titles using the UMD format. First, Capcom did Power Stone Collection, and now, Sega has announced Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars, built from Crazy Taxi 1 & 2.While Fare Wares offers a new *Ad Hoc* multiplayer mode, we'd gladly trade the additional content for straight-up ports; if it meant we'd be downloading the games and playing them via emulation. Is this just wishful thinking?
[Via press release]
Press release:
SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars coming exclusively to the PSP system. All-new twists have been included in the classic Crazy Taxi experience including for the first time, multiplayer modes that allow two people to play cooperatively or competitively. Now gamers can relive the addictive, action packed gameplay of the original Dreamcast games, Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2, on the go. Hang up those fuzzy dice and register for a cabbie license this Summer 2007 with Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars developed by Sniper Studios.
Only skilled cabbies need apply in Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars, where drivers are more aggressive than ever to earn the big dollars by speeding fares to their destination, no matter what the obstacles. Brand new multiplayer gameplay features provide endless entertainment where players can steal passengers from other cabbies by bumping their opponent's car and create chaotic competition on the road. Navigating through traffic, hills, and obstacles isn't easy, so it takes a skilled cabbie with no fear to earn the big bucks. Players can drive through the two original maps of Crazy Taxi, including the arcade map and the original Dreamcast map, both inspired by the steep hills, trademark cable cars, and breezy waterfront of San Francisco. Then they'll head for the Small Apple maps in Crazy Taxi 2, which is inspired by New York's large building fronts, hectic downtown streets, and the city's famous Central Park and subway system.
"With over 2.7 million games sold to date in the Crazy Taxi franchise, SEGA is excited to bring back such a popular series from our vault of classics," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars is fun, frantic, and highly addictive, and perfect for gamers on the go." The simple concept of competing for fares, is successfully built upon gameplay containing a variety of timed missions and mini-games, making it fun and challenging for short stints or hours on end.
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars offers cabbies several single player modes including the mission-based Arcade mode, where skilled drivers earn time bonuses, and Time Trial mode where drivers collect the highest fares possible in the time allowed. In addition, for cabbies to practice their crazy driving skills, two mini-game training modes are available. They include Crazy Box, a collection of 16 original Crazy Taxi mini-games and Crazy Pyramid, mini-games arranged in a pyramid that drivers must complete to unlock more mini-games from Crazy Taxi 2.
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars introduces new multiplayer modes for two cabbies to collaborate or compete wirelessly via Ad Hoc. Drivers can also record and save gameplay replays of their driving performance in Crazy Taxi 2 on the PSP system's memory stick to replay and show off.
Get ready for the return of a classic favorite next Summer 2007 with Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars for the PSP system.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
v1cios @ Jan 12th 2007 4:35AM
wow... they even added new content, and you guys still bitch.
ill trooper @ Jan 12th 2007 5:30AM
"Relive SNES Street Fighter with XBLA Rehash"
"Relive N64 Mario World on DS Rehash"
"Relive NeoGeo's Metal Slug on the new Wii Rehash"
AazzaMetalHead @ Jan 12th 2007 5:30AM
wow, you carry on reading this website, yet you still bitch.
stx @ Jan 12th 2007 5:33AM
Yeah yeah yeah no.
I really can't see this controlling well with the analog hubby bit and or the d pad.
Jeff @ Jan 12th 2007 6:48AM
Yeh i wouldn't call it much of a rehash.
Its a great (in fact bloody brilliant) game thats being ported to another system, at the same time they've even added some lovely new content. I for one will thourougly enjoy buying this game as its one of the best early 3D games there is i'd say.
Bartholemues @ Jan 12th 2007 7:12AM
I'd think since Dreamcast is of the same generation of hardware as PS2 that the PSP wouldn't be able to handle DC emulation.
Fubar @ Jan 12th 2007 7:28AM
Yeah there's no way a PSP could emulate a DC. DC had many features that the PS2 couldn't even do natively (antialiasing, near-infinite geometry), let alone under emulation, and so a PSP which is like a PS 1.5 in terms of power would never be able to handle it.
Leggo @ Jan 12th 2007 7:40AM
Awesome. But why didn't they include Crazy Taxi 3 while they were at it? Probably a little bit embarrassed by that lukewarm Xbox outing. Just don't forget the Crazy Box-type mission modes, and don't break #1 by letting people hop their cabs in San Fran. Finally, give some options for button config, because if I have to use Square for Drive, that button is as good as dead on my first-gen PSP.
It's amazing Crazy Taxi never got called out for being incredibly racist. Did anyone ever notice that only black people wanted to go to Kentucky Fried Chicken in the first game?
B.D. Joe is quite possibly one of the greatest characters in the history of video games. He deserves his own GTA clone.
Pulse @ Jan 12th 2007 7:40AM
The PSP is well capable of emulating a DC game, the graphics in some games are only a tiny bit behind PS2 graphics when done well.
This game looks crap though ¬_¬
Jeff @ Jan 12th 2007 7:45AM
The question is, are they porting the Dreamcast versions or the PS2 versions? Because they are different.
A lot of people don't realize it because they never played the DC version - only the more readily available PS2 ports. Acclaim did those ports and they sucked - they even re-recorded all the passenger voices. If I recall correctly (and I'm honestly not sure), Sega even then re-used some of Acclaim's work in Crazy Taxi 3. They just got lazy.
So, I would *think* Sega would be using their own original games as the basis for this, but you never know.
btw, the same was true of the GameCube ports. The DC versions of these games are the only ones really like the arcade game upon which they were based.
Leggo @ Jan 12th 2007 8:50AM
I just played the emulated Dreamcast version on Gametap about 5 minutes ago and it was HORRIBLE. the framerate was bad, and there was a good bit of slowdown.
Jeff, I was unaware about the rerecording, but now that you mention it, the Gametap version is probably that. I distinctly recall BD Joe would say "We gon' HAVE some fun!" and this version, he says, "Yeah! We're gonna have some FUN!"
It doesn't look very good.
Considering I've got an above average PC, I doubt the PSP would do an emulation of the game justice. Fortunately, this is Sega themselves bringing the game over and they have the original assets and don't have to settle for an emulation.
Hell, they released this game for the GBA, sega is releasing ports, not emulated games. Virtua Tennis and Powerstone were executed competently, if you can ignore the dreadfully slow load times.
I'm just concerned about the lack of analog acceleration triggers. That fundamentally breaks the game, doesnt it?
Scott @ Jan 12th 2007 10:20AM
Power Stone was released for the PSP? I loved that game on the Dreamcast, it was a blast. Hectic, with a simple control scheme and interactive environment. Capcom, please bring this to Xbox Live Arcade. This title would be great for XBLA and would enjoy a larger audience than it did on the Dreamcast.
Leggo @ Jan 12th 2007 12:13PM
Yeah, it's out on PSP as the Powerstone Collection, and it includes 1 and 2.
Unfortunately it's gimped by a combination of INSANELY long load times (enough to make a sandwich) and only supporting 2 live local players. If they didn't include a quick "rematch" option that lets you retry stages after losing and instead forced you to reload, it would be complete garbage. As is, it's only passable.
Pat @ Jan 12th 2007 12:35PM
Crazy Taxi and Powerstone are a couple of reasons I've held on to my Dreamcast. I'd love to see PowerStone on XBLA, and maybe a Crazy Taxi collection on 360. Port away, Sega!
EuroLamer @ Jan 12th 2007 2:39PM
Pulse, don't talk out of your arse. You need a considerable overhead of power to emulate a machine on a different machine.
According to you, you only need a 766mhz PC with a Geforce 3 to emulate an Xbox then yea?
Why do you think Sony's offering PSone emulation and not PS2 emulation on the PSP?
Jesus Christ.