Crazy Taxi City Rush Review

“Crazy Taxi City Rush is a game which is well worth a play”

So recently I was browsing the Apple App Store on my iPad looking for something new and exciting to play, and on that very same day a new title had been released there. Crazy Taxi City Rush was that game; an almost futuristic take on the absolute driving game classic. For those of you who played the original game, you will remember it for the mayhem, the madness, the thrill of the ride and the screaming at the screen when the timer was on its final seconds but your drop-off point was in sight. Crazy Taxi City Rush as it plays today has all of this mixed in with the makings of what makes a shiny, successful mobile title. The question of course is does this new take on a once wild ride do the name of the game justice, or has the new mobile style of the old favourite lost the series its undeniable labelling as an all-time great? For answers, see below!

The aim of the game is what it always has been in simple terms. You are a taxi driver, and you have to get your customers from A to B as fast as possible and before the timer runs out. Some of the details around the way you play however have changed in order to make the game fit comfortably to its new, mobile style. You play the game from a home screen, where you can customise your driver and the appearance and abilities of your taxi. When you are done tweaking your ride and spending all of your money, you can head over to a map screen, pick a mission to play and hit the road! When you get there, the style of play is reminiscent of recent titles such as Temple Run and Minion Rush. You must swipe the screen to change lanes on the road in order to avoid obstacles, obtain power ups and ultimately reach your target before you run out of time. You no longer have to complete as many drops as possible in the given time as used to be the case, but instead complete the individual mission parameters and gain a set reward, rather than hitting a high score.

The new style of play then is not exactly the Crazy Taxi you might remember from the past, but has enough of the hallmarks and thrill of it where the game still fits into the template of what the original was all about. There are a number of different types of mission you can play too, including a run in a tank to destroy as much as possible in the time, or a checkpoint run where you must try to travel as far as you can. The game has plenty of variety then, and each game mode in its own way gives you the same exciting atmosphere to play in which Crazy Taxi has offered gamers for many years. While it is disappointing that the original style of play does not make an appearance, the new title does at least provide an entertaining variety of its own.

Unfortunately, some of the lesser elements of mobile games have come along with Crazy Taxi City Rush. You can only play so many missions at any one time before having to wait or pay to play further. There is also some content which you have to pay order to play with, which sadly is always a disappointment in modern gaming structures. Graphics of course are not quite up to the 1080p demands that some gamers put on new releases these days, however in this game this is hardly detrimental. In fact, the look of the game is certainly a positive, keeping in line with how Crazy Taxi has always looked and felt. The audio elements of the game are maybe even more impressive, especially for a mobile title, with some real music tracks featuring in the game whilst you play. The tracks are as hard hitting as the gameplay too, and help to create the game’s overall adrenaline value. Of course, the tracks are limited, but then it is hard to expect a massive library to feature in a relatively small mobile game.

One other issue that the game does have is frame rate drops whilst playing, which takes away from the overall experience and is a little disappointing to see in any title. Otherwise Crazy Taxi City Rush hits a lot of positive bases. Hell, it even has achievements for all of you crazy achievement-hunting fanatics out there! For a free mobile title (ignoring of course it’s paid elements) it is a pretty solid title to play. It has gusto, excitement, adrenaline-factor, and a big ol’ pile of awesome to offer you, and is great fun to play on top. The game isn’t perfect, and a few of its key issues and down sides have been mentioned. Some of its elements are not completely original either, but the game does well in adapting them to its own, traditional style. As a whole, Crazy Taxi City Rush is a game which is well worth a play, especially with its cost-free price tag. So get on the App Store, go and download it, and have yourself some fun!

The Good:

• A great mobile title with a happy, no-cost price tag.
• A strong, fresh take on a fun, adrenaline-filled classic.
• The same cool art style that perfectly suited the original game.
• Music to match the action, offering some great tunes from big-name bands.

The Bad:

• Paid features limit the free elements of gameplay.
• Waiting time between actions stops your gameplay experience from flowing.
• Occasional frame rate drops.
• The classic Crazy Taxi mission style does not feature in the game.

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.