Crazy Taxi 3

Frantic fun, but lacking in depth.

First released on the Dreamcast four years ago, Crazy Taxi has now hit version number three.

If you've never played Crazy Taxi before, it really won't take you long to work out exactly what you have to do. Simply find someone who needs a taxi ride, take them to their destination using whatever route you deem suitable, then repeat.

In line with the previous versions, a selection of thumping tunes blast away while you're tearing round the streets and terrifying your passengers.

With a name like Crazy Taxi, you wouldn't expect this game to be a totally realistic driving simulator, but the way in which your taxi bounces off other cars is a little too crazy for our liking. If the car handled more realistically, we feel the game would benefit a great deal.

However, the main problem with Crazy Taxi 3 is that it's just far too similar to the previous two releases. You do get to burn around Glitter Oasis, a brand new city full of bright neon lights, but the game really doesn't have any depth.

A selection of new mini-games, such as Crazy Bowling, add a bit of spice, but endlessly picking up and dropping off characters to the same old destinations soon becomes monotonous. It's impossible to harm any of the characters, so this game is at least suitable for children of all ages. No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to clatter in to a pavement full of pedestrians - whether this is good or bad is up to you.

If you're after a full-on arcade game to play every once in a while, Crazy Taxi 3 delivers the goods, but apart from the new city there really is very little reason to upgrade from previous versions. You'd be better off buying Grand Theft Auto 3, which also includes a taxi mode that offers just as much excitement as Crazy Taxi 3.

Contact: Empire Interactive
www.empireinteractive.com

System requirements:

• Windows 98 or later
• Pentium III 1GHz
• 128MB of Ram
• 500MB of hard disk space