In Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire, players control the insane taxi cab company that allows the style of driving that made the original Crazy Taxi games so famous. Instead of driving the cars however, players assign the cars to passengers as they appear.
That initial delivery makes it sound very boring, but Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire is anything but. The cars zip through the limited map to their designated passenger, blaring the famously associated The Offspring as they quite literally destroy everything around them and do flips while bearing the passenger to their destination which, somehow, always seems only down the road.
In trademark Crazy Taxi style, more cash is awarded when the cars zip past other obstacles, finally giving a bigger payout once the passenger is delivered.[sc name=”quote” text=”In trademark Crazy Taxi style, more cash is awarded when the cars zip past other obstacles, finally giving a bigger payout once the passenger is delivered.”]
After a few minutes, you suddenly realize you’re not playing Crazy Taxi at all, though it certainly seems like it. You’re actually playing an idler. Somehow, someway, the developers of Crazy Taxi have managed to turn a hectic, active and destructive cab simulator into an idler. Each car earns additional money continuously based their level, which is improved through investing money into individual drivers. This supplements the money you earn from directly assigning passengers to cabs, providing a passive alternative to this exceedingly riveting active game.
As you progress and hire more drivers, not only do you earn additional passive income – even when the game is off, like all idlers – but you also have more passengers able to be picked up for the active element of the game. This continuous cycle of improvement and reevaluation means Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire is incredibly difficult to put down. You need to keep playing to get to the next level. You just need to!
After reaching a certain amount of cabs purchased, you are moved to an entirely new area. Now, all future cabs cost increasingly larger amounts of money, but each passenger also gives you much more. There are several of these map transitions, each providing a bigger source of income, and each time relegating the previous tier of cabs to be merely passive income generators. This cycle of continuous growth adds depth to the gameplay, giving the player the question of whether or not to stay in this new area or keep to the upgraded one, trying to balance driver upgrades and unlocking new cabs.
While controlling the active portion of Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire, it isn’t just new passengers that appear. There are stunts that cabs can perform which net them an increasingly large amount of money based on what map section you’re in. Alongside that, you can find famous passengers wanting to be picked up, as well as 5x bonuses on all your income for a few moments.
On hitting the 5x button, the classic “Yeah yeah yeah yeah YEAH” from The Offspring kicks into gear as everything literally catches fire, all your income shoots up and passengers start tipping like crazy. People in this city seem to really love The Offspring.[sc name=”quote” text=”On hitting the 5x button, the classic “Yeah yeah yeah yeah YEAH” from The Offspring kicks into gear as everything literally catches fire, all your income shoots up and passengers start tipping like crazy. People in this city seem to really love The Offspring.”]
Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire has managed to do something absolutely incredible; they have managed to turn an iconic 90’s classic into a modern idler, with next to no difference in overall feel or experience of the game. It is both relaxing for an idler, yet exhilarating as a piece of 90’s action-packed nostalgia.
It’s something rarely seen, and deserves to be enjoyed.
