I feel like this was only made because Crazy Taxi was popular and this movie has taxi in the title. It even features an arrow at the top of the screen like Crazy Taxi!
Anyways, according to the intro FMV, this game is directed by Luc Besson himself so I guess this is him introducing himself to the games industry. So let's check out how his first attempt went!
Well, for starters, it was a really interesting decision to put in sub-Sega CD FMVs of the movie. I feel like lots of game directors would think that putting in terrible FMVs will distract from the game, but you see, Luc Besson wears his filmmaking background on his sleeve. Seeing these scenes in such low quality is supposed to turn you off. If you are a respectable person, you will seek something better, which will lead you to the film. Not only is this an effective motivator to watch the film, it is also a test. If you do not care about quality, you will not seek anything better, and thus your life will be less rich than those who watch Taxi 2 properly.
The controls of your car in this game are also a bold departure from other games in the genre. In most driving games like this, your car will slow down a little when you scrape a wall. However, in this game, it will completely turn around, gain 50mph, and clip through a wall into an alleyway that you can't back out of. Again, it tests your will to play. Can you make it out of the alleyway? Only pro players are allowed clearance to the next cutscene.
Taxi 2 also features a life bar, like
F-Zero. That's all.
Lastly, the choice of making the game look like a shitty 3DO tech demo and every song be a slight variation on monster truck music was a brilliant way to subvert the audience's expectations. You expect the game to look and sound like Crazy Taxi, which this game is clearly based on, but it slaps you in the face. If you want to appreciate this game, you have to abandon your expectations and embrace it for the genius that it is.
Because this game is truly genius. Everything from the game over screen to the game over screen is brilliant. I think we should all give Luc Besson a round of applause. We're looking at the next great game director right here. Congratulations.
