Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars (PSP) Review

"Ya ya ya ya yah!" Yep, it's time to go make some crazy money yet again with the release of Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars for the PSP. This collection features two of the finer Crazy Taxi games in existence, the original and its Dreamcast follow-up Crazy Taxi 2, in one convenient package. (Fortunately, there's no sign of the somewhat average Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller from the Xbox...whew.) Players simply go from point to point, picking up onery passengers and delivering them to their hot spots before time runs out. If they fool around and take too long, they'll bail on the ride, but not before complaining constantly about how it's taking so long to get there. Yeah, never mind traffic and the abiding laws, lady. Let me drive like a fricking lunatic for you.

Considering Hitmaker Studios wasn't involved with the game's development, Sniper Studios has picked up the slack rather well. Both of the Crazy Taxi games feel just like the original, with car physics feeling just as slick as they've always been. Players can activate boosts by gearing into drive and hitting the accelerator at the same time, while also pulling off cool drift spins and other moves. In Crazy Taxi 2, drivers can make their vehicles jump on demand, putting their hydraulics to the ultimate test. (Never mind those lowrider hoppers -- they're just rookies.) It feels a little slippery in spots, but that's the point. It's a free-wheeling kind of ride.

The games don't entirely look the part, but they'll suffice. Constant pop-up comes into play here, particularly with buildings evaporating in and out of the scene in the distance and the occasional hit of slowdown. However, the oriignal games also suffered from this, so maybe Sniper Studios considered bringing them along simply for the sake of nostalgia. Sadly, the soundtrack has been completely revamped. Gone are the Offspring and Bad Religion songs we so humbly remember, replaced by another alternative soundtrack. However, players have the option of adding their own tunes through MP3 download off of their memory card, so for those who feel like driving around to "All I Want" all over again, hey, go for it. YA YA YA YA YAH!

Along with the fun single player modes, players can also try their luck with a variety of mini-games, including hopping across roofs to other fares, popping balloons and playing other games. To top it off, they can also play against others in multiplayer, passing the system around with time trials and a modified version of HORSE or going AdHoc with a couple of other options. This really adds some fuel to the game, although it already has enough replayability to spare, what with nearly endless routes to take and multiple passengers to satisfy. Seriously, why can't these people just buy some damn cars already? How expensive can they be?

Overall, Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars has its flaws, but remains a smooth running ride, one that'll certainly satisfy fans of the series and newcomers alike. Sure, the new soundtrack may be a slight bummer, but having a custom one on hand more that suffices. It's also good to have so many multiplayer and mini games on hand just in case the single player driving runs its course...although we can't see how it would. Yeah, those high-pitched customer noises can be a little too bitchy for their own good, but that's when you crank up the music and show them what crazy driving is really all about.