Have Time to Spare? Crazy Taxi Edition

Written by Bill Elder on July 06, 2001

Special: Before you jump to any conclusions, yes, I have a life

Writing for big online gaming publication isn't easy. Countless hours at your computer screen typing, big deadlines, and mean bosses (oops, I didn't say that) are a huge part of a writer's life. But, every once in awhile you'll end up having a little time to spare. On those rare occasions when I do get free time, I usually jump into the other room where my Dreamcast is and we spend some quality time together. That's exactly what I was doing all last night? up until around 2:30am.

Before last night it seems like it was years since I last played the original Crazy Taxi. Because of that fact, I popped that bad boy in my Dreamcast and started playing away. Everyone knows how you're supposed to play Crazy Taxi, but I soon noticed some weird things? the things you can do in Crazy Taxi when you have ?time to spare.?

The first place to go in Crazy Taxi, when you have some free time, is the Arcade City. In the parking garage (straight down from the park, instead of turning right, go straight up onto the ramp to enter the garage) there are a bunch of parked cars. I found myself driving around and pushing them all to the side. This may sound? strange, but it's actually kind of fun and challenging. Plus once you're done you can go down onto the street to see all the havoc that you've wreaked! Muhahahaha?

Another thing I happened noticed in the Arcade City is that there are never any 18-wheeler trucks on the normal streets. You only see them driving on the highway, or exiting and entering the highway. I thought to myself, ?where do they go?? So, I chose the play for ten minutes option just so I could follow one of them. I parked at the end of the highway (on the baseball stadium end) and waited for one to come off. I then proceeded to follow him around the city with eight minutes still left on my playing time. I ended up following him all the way to about half way up the ?big hill? near the beginning of the city (you know the one with the trolleys) and unfortunately, that's where my time ended. I'm still on a mission to find out the trucks' secret though, so if any of you have followed them any further, be sure to let me know! It's a conspiracy I tell ya.

I'm sure everyone knows about the railroad and subway systems in the Original City mode, and I'm willing to bet that everyone who owns the game has driven on them a time or two. But, I'm also willing to bet that most of you have never ever raced a train in reverse before! That's what I find myself doing sometimes (it's sad). Simply hop on the railroad system (I don't like the subway) and wait for the train, when one comes by get in front of it and put your car in reverse. Now floor it! You'll find that the train goes faster then you and it will have to slow down so it doesn't hit you. However, the real fun comes when it stops at a station. This is where you keep going, and try to make it to the next station without the train catching up! It usually ends up getting right in front of you before stopping at the next station. It can be very nerve racking, and not to mention, fun.

As you can tell, I sometimes have a lot of time on my hands. In fact, after reading this article you all probably think I'm some kind of weirdo. And I don't blame you one bit. Nevertheless, you've read this much, so hopefully I've entertained you because that's my job. One day I hope you too will try and do some of these wacky things that I've talked about in this article, and when you do, feel free to email me about it, I'd love to hear from you. Plus, be sure to check back over the next couple of weeks, I might just have another episode of ?Have Time to Spare?? up my sleeve.