Taxi Chaos 2 Review (PlayStation 5 & PC)

If memory serves me correctly, Taxi Chaos wasn’t the love letter to Crazy Taxi that it could have been. With a general clunkiness and a lack of technical polish, it failed to deliver a faithful response to SEGA’s all-time cult classic. It had the potential, as did it have an idea of how to make a high-octane arcade taxi game. Yet, it fell short in more ways than one, which ultimately led to the release of a disastrous recreation of a genuinely commendable fan favorite.

With hindsight, Taxi Chaos should have cut its losses after the first chapter and punched new coordinates into its GPS. Instead, Team 6, desperate to redeem its past mistakes, made a decision to rebrand their label and take a second swing at the gauntlet. Oh, it would retain the core mechanics and sci-fi setting of the first, but it would also make an attempt to surpass its predecessor in terms of gameplay and world-building elements. It wanted to turn a blind eye to the original, yet it couldn’t quite escape from the fact that, even with a fresh lick of paint and a greasier finish, Taxi Chaos was never built to last, much less to surpass its biggest rival.

Taxi Chaos 2, much like the original, takes a shot at stealing the thunder from Crazy Taxi. To that end, it isn’t a new thing; it’s a familiar thing, if anything, and one that, thanks to SEGA, Team 6 is able to capitalize on without having to reinvent the wheel. The only real difference here, of course, is the sci-fi aspect and the light platforming features. But other than that, what you see here is what you get: a direct clone of Crazy Taxi, but with rocket boosters and environmental roadblocks.

The idea, true to the spirit of Crazy Taxi, is to ferry passengers around a vibrant, albeit barebones city in search of funds, vehicle upgrades, and, well, chaos. With AI TaxiBots threatening to steal the coin from your back pocket, you find yourself with the challenge of keeping the trade alive, even if it means losing your patience and your street credibility along the way. With that, you have a clock that looms over the dash, and a concrete jungle that desperately hungers for a driver who can fulfill transactions at ludicrously high speeds. Again, think Crazy Taxi or, at a push, The Simpsons Road Rage, and you should have a good idea of how this world operates.

In light of its rather dubious history as a run-of-the-mill doppelgänger, Taxi Chaos does bring some great features to the asphalt. For example, the environment is teeming with obstacles and platforming segments, meaning, you never truly know how each fair will pan out. An example here would be the roadworks. See, in several cases you may find that your route is blocked by an obstacle that might not have been there before. At times like these, you have to source creative ideas to help you reach your destination. A bridge gap, or a rooftop, for example, can push you closer to the goal.

True to its word, Taxi Chaos 2 brings a good amount of road-based theatrical appeal, with a host of chaotic moments and rampaging AI vehicles to grease the wheels of what is, in all honesty, a textbook imitation of a much, much better game. The mechanics, on the other hand, are still as sluggish and as awkward as before. Or at least, they’re not as impeccable as they should be for a game that is quite simply about driving people to and from their respective destinations. That being said, the gameplay does exceed expectations. Not that the original set the benchmark all that high, mind you.

Don’t get me wrong, Chaos Taxi 2 does foster some great bits and pieces. In addition to a campaign that orbits a day-and-night cycle, the game also features a dynamic world that frequently shifts to keep you on your toes. Moreover, it provides plenty of ramps, stunt jumps, and obstacles to overcome, alongside a trove of crucial upgrades that can elevate future shifts. It also looks good, too, with a vibrant setting and cleaner character models. Again, the bar might have been low to begin with, but it doesn’t take much to recognize the improvements here.

Behind its blatant similarities and tongue-in-cheek jabs to the source material, Taxi Chaos 2 is a passable arcade game with some engaging gameplay elements. In no way does it rewrite the code or do anything significantly better than its adversaries. It does, on the other hand, add a lot more to the equation than the original, with livelier neighborhoods, cleaner visuals, and more opportunities to enhance your vehicle and source various upgrades to boost your ride. Granted, a lot of these overhauls could have been implemented in the first chapter, should Team 6 have had an interest in resurfacing the potholes after its rocky launch. Still, there’s a sign of progress here. It’s just a shame that it all arrives a little too late.

With all of the above said, yes, Taxi Chaos 2 is a heck of a lot better than the original. It’s still mediocre, but it certainly holds its own as an arcade tribute that has the potential to start making bigger moves in the field. It’ll never be able to hold a candle against SEGA, but I can appreciate that it is trying to make an effort. Maybe that’s enough, maybe it isn’t.

Verdict

Taxi Chaos 2 takes a well-needed step in the right direction to establish its identity as a thrill-fueled sci-fi arcade game, but it also fails to capture what made the likes of Crazy Taxi the powerhouse of cab-based catharsis that it was back in its heyday. Don’t get me wrong, it has the potential to be a great doppelgänger, but sadly, that’s all that it will ever be: a clone without a sense of ownership of the concept. It might be a lot better than its predecessor, but it still falls short on its promise to incubate a brilliant spiritual successor.

Taxi Chaos 2 is bound to make someone out there happy, but not the audience in its entirety. As a quick and affordable alternative for a similar series, it gets the job done. That said, it doesn’t quite meet the same standard as its next of kin, which of course makes it less of a worthy contender and more of a cheap palate cleanser for those looking for a short-term solution. Still, I can give credit where it’s due. It might be a far cry from a perfect Crazy Taxi substitute, but at least it makes an effort to fill a hole.