New Crazy Taxi Headed to Mobile as a Free-to-Play Title [TRAILER]

Flash back to 2000. Sega was still in the console business, Sony had just begun, and arcades had begun a steady downward spiral, but could still actually be found. One of the bigger hits before they faded out was Sega's Crazy Taxi, a chaotic open-world styled car racer long before The Simpsons: Road Rage. Players picked up fares around town, trying to get them to their destination as quickly as possible, while performing outlandish stunts for a nice pay day. A mega hit in the arcades, the game was ported to Sega's Dreamcast, helping to extend the live of the ultimately doomed console. Numerous sequels and spin-offs were created, but with each game worse than the one before it, the magic was gone.

Now, the series is back to try again, following in the footsteps of so many other franchises and going the free-to-play route. With the creator Kenji Kanno back at the helm, Crazy Taxi: City Rush is eyeing Android and iOS for a release later this year.

As good as technology is, mobile games just aren't up to par with console and arcades. An early look at the game has shown it to be downgraded from the take your own path freedom to an on the rails driver where the only option at freedom comes at changing traffic lanes.

Customization options are present for those who want to pimp their ride, but as this game promises to be free to play, expect customizations like stat increases and unloackable songs to come at a cost.

I was fine with plunking down quarter after quarter into the arcade original, but this...

The only good news is that with City Rush's announcement, the original Crazy Taxi has been made free on iOS and Android for a limited time, so now's your chance to go and try the series at its peak. Since arcades are so few and far between these days, tracking down the arcade no doubt promises to be a difficult task. Good thing that its up for grabs on both the PlayStation Network, and the Xbox Marketplace.