Well, this is a pleasant surprise. The Game Awards is known for its surprise announcements and this year’s show didn’t disappoint. During the show, Sega announced that several reboots of classic franchises are in development including Crazy Taxi.
First look at Crazy Taxi reboot
A few seconds of early development gameplay for the long-rumoured Crazy Taxi reboot are shown in Sega’s Power Surge trailer. From the trailer, the Crazy Taxi reboot looks set to retain the original’s frantic gameplay, with players weaving through crowded streets delivering passengers to their destinations before time runs out.
The fictional San Francisco setting implies it will be a remake of the original game, with huge hills to jump over and parks to tear through.
However, Sega has updated the gameplay for modern audiences. For the first time in the series, your reckless driving will attract the attention of the police, with the trailer showcasing taxis being chased by the cops. The trailer also confirms you can play as the cops to chase down cabs.
Speaking of cars, Axel and Gena’s cars based on a Cadillac Eldorado and Ford Mustang respectively appear in the trailer along with a new taxi inspired by a McLaren.
No Crazy Taxi game is complete without songs from The Offspring blaring out the speakers, but the soundtrack has yet to be announced. Re-releases of the original Crazy Taxi on PS3 and Xbox 360 released without licenced soundtracks, but that hopefully won’t be the case in the remake.
More Sega reboots in development
As well as Crazy Taxi, the trailer also previews reboots of Shinobi, Golden Axe, and Streets of Rage, covering a broad range of genres.
“In recent years, Sonic the Hedgehog has forged new paths for SEGA, bringing the franchise to life and reaching new audiences in ways we had only dreamed of in the past. Building off that success, we are digging into our legacy and reimagining several franchises to bring these games to more audiences around the globe,” says Co-COO of SEGA Corporation and CEO of SEGA of America, Shuji Utsumi.
“Today's announcement is just the start of our initiative. First and foremost, our ambition will be to create great games with memorable characters and worlds. We hope fans of all ages will look towards our future with anticipation as we release these projects in the coming years.”
Crazy Taxi first hit arcades in 1999 before being ported to Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and PC. It spawned two direct sequels and several spin-offs.
The last official Crazy Taxi game was the 2017 mobile spin-off Crazy Taxi Tycoon where you run a taxi business. Before that, the last true Crazy Taxi game was another mobile spin-off called Crazy Taxi City Rush. It came out in 2014, so we haven’t had a new Crazy Taxi game in nearly ten years.
We’re excited to see a modern take on Crazy Taxi, but there’s no release window yet sadly. According to Sega, the projects are in “different stages of development” and are set to “release over the next several years.”
Let’s hope it’s better than Taxi Chaos, which failed to recapture the spirit of Crazy Taxi.
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