Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars is a 2007 racing video game developed by Sniper Studios and Black Hole Entertainment, and part of the Crazy Taxi series. A compilation of Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2, Black Hole Entertainment ported the original games from the Dreamcast to the PlayStation Portable, while Sniper Studios added a new multiplayer mode. A new single-player campaign was foregone due to budget and time constraints. In the multiplayer, players compete against one another for customers and fare money. While Crazy Taxi received numerous ports, Fare Wars gained notoriety as the sole port of Crazy Taxi 2 outside of the Dreamcast version. It was released in North America, Australia, and Europe in August and September 2007, followed by a Japanese release in August 2008.

The game received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the gameplay of the original games, albeit calling it dated, as well as the new multiplayer mode. However, they criticized compromises made to bring the two Dreamcast games to the system of the less powerful PlayStation Portable, such as lower frame rate and higher loading times, the removal of the original games’ licensed soundtracks, and control issues. The game’s developers noted difficulty in porting the games to such limiting hardware.

Gameplay
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars combines the games Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2, leaving their respective original gameplay intact. In the single-player mode, the player, controlling one of several yellow cab drivers, each with their own unique cab, must drive around the city, picking up passengers and racing recklessly to get them to where they need to go in the fastest time. When each passenger is dropped off, the player earns a fare and extra time on the limited countdown clock, while extra money can be earned by performing stunts.

The ports also carry over the games’ minigame modes, Crazy Box and Crazy Pyramid. In the former, players can access nine minigames, including bowling and bursting balloons with their taxi. The latter, while similar, includes minigames that utilize the “Crazy Hop” feature included in the sequel, which allows the taxi to leap through the use of hydraulics.

Fare Wars adds three new multiplayer modes. In Time Trials mode, players can use ad-hoc multiplayer to compete to see who earns the most money within a certain time limit. In C-R-A-Z-Y mode, one player attempts to beat the other player’s score for an individual fare, while in the final mode, Head to Head, two players compete to win on the same map. If one player hits the opponent’s car, they can steal the passenger from their opponent.