Before I begin my review, a little background. Crazy Taxi is a game I have always really admired for its encapsulation of a bygone Sega (even if that sounds a little dramatic). This game has always stuck out to me as an example of the arcade-heavy games they made for a very long time starting (obviously) in arcades but continuing until about the early 2000s. Obviously Sega still makes arcade games but I feel like this and Monkey Ball were built for arcades originally before being brought to home platforms unlike a lot of the arcade only or home console only releases they have now.
With all that rambling out of the way, I finally sat down and played Crazy Taxi via the Steam release and had a great time. Before writing this review I completed all Steam achievements which included the crazy box challenges (which I will definitely be talking about). This is an arcade game at heart and it is 100% built to feel like one. Steering is imperfect and jerky, the timer is an ever present threat, and the gameplay is simple to learn without tutorials. This last point is one of my first issues with the game. So I think before I get into the positives, let me cover the negatives. There are a variety of mechanics in this game and there is a lack of any explanation for them. There is a simple controls screen which is nice but doesn't offer much explanation on harder controls. Limit cutters, crazy dashes, and crazy drifts are three huge techniques that are not taught anywhere to my knowledge. The crazy box mission mode is there to help with these, but it doesn't explain them either. You have to consult online sources to figure a majority of these out which is a pain. A special thank you to http://www.crazytaxi.net/index.html. The crazy box challenges also suck. Big time. 1-S. Holy crap, this mission sucks so much, the timer is abysmally small and the pins fall down when they feel like it. Most of these challenges are just somewhat modded in and don't really help mastering techniques. One mission (I forget the number) has you drop off multiple passengers, a feature from Crazy Taxi 2 not seen anywhere in this game. Incredibly odd to have mechanics tested you will never use but maybe I'm just looking too much into it. Basically, the game is not great at teaching any mechanics and the mission mode is garbage.
BUT
Once you master these techniques, you will be able to enjoy an amazing arcade game. The arcade map is great in this game. Such a distinct and vibrant location which feels so American (despite being developed in Japan). Its almost like a time capsule to the late 90s with its awesome soundtrack and aesthetics. Quick note, the PC version changes the soundtrack and removes all real world advertisements which does kinda suck. You have to play this game with rumble feedback on it. It's such a great feedback system with shaking for crashes and quick vibrations when you perform a crazy dash. The characters are goofy and I love how happy the passengers get when you ram a SUV with a family of four off the road. Shout outs to the amazing announcer who makes this game what it is. In the PC port (which is a modified Dreamcast port to my knowledge), you can drive on the arcade and original Dreamcast maps for up to 10 minutes which allows you to soak in the setting at a more chill pace (though I do wish there was an unlimited mode). Despite crazy box sucking, the reward is super fun and I won't spoil it here. Basically, this is a solid, enjoyable, and light-hearted game that I think everyone should try some time in their life.



YA YA YA YA YA

After much hesitation, I finally decided to bite the bullet and play Silent Hill 4. It was always the most interesting game of the Team Silent games for me due to its polarizing reception. This game is like the middle ground between good and bad according to the community. However, now that I have finally finished Silent Hill 4. I can give some of my thoughts.

First and foremost, Silent Hill 4 is not as good as its predecessors in my opinion. The minds of Team Silent took a slightly different creative approach to the game. This can mostly be seen within its gameplay. Silent Hill 1-3 allowed you to use both guns and melee weapons. However, as you keep playing 4, you'll notice that the game is more melee focused. There are a ton of melee weapons to be found since there are only 2 guns within the game. Taking a page out of Resident Evil, Silent Hill 4 features a limited inventory. Now personally, I never found the limited inventory to be an issue. The only thing I can really complain about the inventory is that handgun/revolver ammo no longer stack, so you have to carry individual stacks. The same also applies to health items.

The combat in Silent Hill games haven't always been the greatest. Like I mentioned earlier, Silent Hill 4 takes a slight departure from the original 3 games and goes more melee focus. You can perform normal attacks and charged attacks with any melee weapon you find. The gauge for charged attack vary depending on the weapon. Charged attacks is the norm for when doing combat since you're given i-frames during the attack animation. You also have the option to dodge in combat, but I never did it too much. If you want to have a more solid time with this game, then use the Rusty Axe once you find it. It's charged attack is absurd and it eliminates the need of having other weapons in your inventory. It's just that good and it gets rid one of the biggest problems people have with the game.

One of the biggest things against Silent Hill 4 is the 2nd half of the game where you have to escort Eileen through your world revisits. Eileen, herself, doesn't particularly have the greatest AI in the world. There are times where she'll either get stuck at corners and you have to wait for her. Genuinely, the only hindrance Eileen does is make you slow down for her. Henry easily outruns her and you'll be waiting for her to catch up. She can't access the next room unless she's within a certain proximity of Henry, so you have to wait on her. The only time this can be annoying is if you're traveling through a room with hummers which only happens a handful of times. One slight thing I want to add here is that she can help in combat if you give her one of her weapons. Although, there's a risk of her taking damage or getting in the way. Anyways, the escorting itself isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's like an overblown exaggeration similarly to Ashley in the original Resident Evil 4.

Presentation is one of Silent Hill's strongest suites and I think 4's overall tone is good. The titulary room, Room 302, is an interesting concept. It acts as a safe haven while also imploring that there's something else more menacing going on as you collect red notes. Speaking of the red notes, the story in Silent Hill 4 is really good and interesting. You won't understand the overall narrative at first, but as you collect more memos it's quite interesting. The characters featured within the game aren't really all that interesting outside of one person. That one person being Walter Sullivan. The entire game centers around him as you explore his manifestations, learn his background, and understand his motives to why he's performing the 21 Sacraments. Walter is potentially the best antagonist within the Silent Hill games. The worlds that you do get to explore are fine. I didn't find any of them to stand out personally on a visual level excluding Room 302. However, I do find the Water Prison to be the most interesting in terms of aesthetic and lore. It's also the first time you encounter the Twin Victim. Speaking of enemies, Silent Hill 4 doesn't have a memorable enemy lineup except for the Twin Victim. The most memorable thing about the enemies are the stock sound effects that play you fight and kill them. An interesting thing that Silent Hill 4 does take from is Japanese horror with the introduction of ghosts. The ghosts aren't exactly all that threatening, but rather impose themselves as annoying enemies. Although, they didn't feel that annoying. The only annoying ghosts are the victim ghosts.

I want to talk about the soundtrack here for a moment. It's interesting because Silent Hill 4's soundtrack is good. Not as memorable as the first 3, but still good with its own selection of memorable songs. I'm really huge on Tender Sugar, Room of Angel, Nightmarish Waltz, and Pulsating Ambience. I think the only reason I really wanted a short paragraph here is to mention the official soundtrack that you can listen to on music services. It's quite interesting that Silent Hill 4's official soundtrack is comprised of both music heard in-game, but also music that's just not even featured within the game itself. I don't know why, but it kind of intrigues me. Anyways, just know that Silent Hill 4 has a good soundtrack but isn't as strong as Silent Hill 1-3.

Although, my thoughts are quite scattered on Silent Hill 4. I find the game itself to be interesting conceptually. In fact, it somewhat feels generic in a way, yet also maintains that feeling of being a Silent Hill game. I'm somewhat relieved to have finished this game because now I don't have to doubt whether the game is bad or not. It's good just not as good as what came before. I do implore that any doubters of this game do give it a chance because there is something here.