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This past weekend, SEGA hosted a closed network test for its upcoming arcade driving game, Crazy Taxi: World Tour.
This was my first opportunity to get my hands on it — a revival of a true arcade classic, and exactly the kind of game I want to see making a return.
As a big fan of the original, I couldn't resist taking the network test for a spin to see how the modern iteration is shaping up.
Crucially — and this is something Sammy pointed out in his hands-on preview — it feels like Crazy Taxi. The pace of it, that very particular way it feels to steer, the way you can rapidly accelerate from a standstill, the (mostly) very forgiving collisions — it really has recaptured the handling remarkably well.
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That was my main question going in. Crazy Taxi: World Tour needed to feel right in the hands, and I'm relieved to say it does.
While Sammy got to play some of the single player mode, this network test granted access to two online multiplayer modes — Pickup Race and Cops 'N' Cabbies.
As the name suggests, Pickup Race is a six-player race mode, but instead of vying for position on a circuit or rushing to a finish line, you must pick up and drop off as many customers as you can within a time limit, the winner being the highest earner.
Cops 'N' Cabbies splits players into two teams. Cabbies are essentially just playing Crazy Taxi, picking up passengers and earning cash. Cops, meanwhile, have to stop them from achieving a cumulative quota, and they do this by ramming into them. When their health bar is depleted, they go to jail.
Both modes are fun to play, and both feel true to Crazy Taxi; they're good spins on the formula that feel in keeping with the series' lighthearted nature.
More than that, though, the game's multiplayer really put me in mind (in a positive way) of the sort of online modes you used to see on PS3.
Many games of that time were getting online multiplayer of some description, no matter how well it fitted. One of the most egregious examples of this was the multiplayer in God of War: Ascension; it didn't need to exist at all.
However, it was actually pretty fun.
You can say the same about the multiplayer in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, or BioShock 2, or Dead Space 2 — all fondly remembered for their token online modes. I think my favourite was probably the multiplayer in the Uncharted series, although that felt a little more appropriate than some others.
Anyway, what I'm saying is these online multiplayer modes for Crazy Taxi: World Tour carry that same energy. Unless there are grander ambitions for the final product, dropping into quick-fire multiplayer rounds of a game almost always known for being single player — it has a very particular charm.
Crazy Taxi doesn't need online multiplayer. Based on the gameplay, the music, and the vivid visuals, I'm confident the main single player game will be worth a purchase on its own.
However, based on the short time I spent with Pickup Race and Cops 'N' Cabbies, I think the online side has earned its spot. It's a bit mindless and chaotic, but it's just good fun, you know?
Pickup Race is basically just regular Crazy Taxi, only sometimes other players might bash into you, and it's hard to tell if it was on purpose or not.
Cops 'N' Cabbies has a bit more going on; there's more of a back-and-forth between players, but it's still as simple and immediate as you'd want.
Despite it being an early network test, I didn't really have any issues getting into matches, and I didn't catch any noticeable latency or other problems.
Crazy Taxi: World Tour is pencilled in for release in 2027, so there's still a while to wait, but this little peek at the game has me looking forward to playing more.