Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller is the third game in the Crazy Taxi series, and was released for the Xbox

Xbox

The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

 and Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, with also an arcade

Arcade game

An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

 release under the name Crazy Taxi: High Roller.

Development

Hitmaker had tried to develop an on-line version of Crazy Taxi, to be called Crazy Taxi Next exclusively for the Xbox, which, besides multiplayer game modes, would have included night and day cycles, each with a different set of passengers and destinations, while reusing and graphically updating the maps from Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2. Ultimately, both multiplayer and day/night cycles were dropped and work on Crazy Taxi Next was transferred to Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller, which included some of the nighttime driving concepts suggested by Next.

Features

The game consists of three locations:

• West Coast (from Crazy Taxi 1
  Crazy Taxi
  Crazy Taxi is a sandbox racing video game developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega. It is the first game in the Crazy Taxi series. The game was first released in arcades in 1999 and was ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. Subsequently, it was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube by...
  
  )
• Small Apple (from Crazy Taxi 2
  Crazy Taxi 2
  Crazy Taxi 2 was released solely on Dreamcast early in 2001 and is part of the Crazy Taxi series. It was ported to the PSP as part of Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars in 2007....
  
  , now set at night)
• Glitter Oasis (new location for Crazy Taxi 3)

Stages are improved graphically and are tightened and updated for full use of the gameplay elements.

Crazy X

Crazy Taxi 3 inherits the tradition of mini-games from the Crazy Taxi series. Crazy X consists of three levels, each testing a different criteria of skills e.g. Steering, use of Crazy Dash, Crazy Drift etc.

By completing all of level 1, maps of the locations are available on the menu which includes all the destinations and short-cuts. Completing level 2 will provide you with three more different types of vehicle to ride on: Stroller, Bike and Carriage.

Background Information

In 2003, High Roller was ported to the arcade via the Xbox-based Chihiro system board. Some versions of this game allow the player to actually win money back from the machine. These versions also include a non-paying version of the game with different difficulty levels.

PC Port

A PC Port of Crazy Taxi 3 came in early 2004 only in Europe, featuring higher resolution graphics and steering wheel support. Unfortunately the game suffered frame rate drops as the Xbox version but didn't have a very significant impact on the gameplay itself. Due to poor sales the game was out on the bargain range within a few months of release..

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Crazy Taxi 3 features three bands, The Offspring

The Offspring

The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...

, Bad Religion

Bad Religion

Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...

, and Silverbullit

Silverbullit

Silverbullit is a Swedish rock band based in Göteborg. Formed in 1995 under the name "Silverbullet", which was changed after a conflict over the rights for the name. They are known under the name Citizen Bird in the US, and have toured under that name and released their album Citizen Bird as a...

. Additional songs for menus and credits are provided by The Offspring, Bad Religion, Methods of Mayhem

Methods Of Mayhem

Methods of Mayhem is an American rock band formed in 1999 by Tommy Lee, who had temporarily quit his position as Mötley Crüe's drummer.-History:...

 and Brian Setzer's '68 Comeback Special

Ignition!

Ignition! is a studio album by Brian Setzer released in 2001. Following fronting a swing orchestra in the 1990s, Ignition! marks Setzer's return to purist rockabilly fronting a trio, named the Brian Setzer '68 Comeback Special, in homage to 1968 TV Special of Elvis Presley.-Track listing:All tracks...

.

Main menus: The Offspring - Special Delivery (intro)

West Coast

Character select: Bad Religion - Hear It (intro)

Credits: Bad Religion - Inner Logic

• The Offspring - All I Want
• The Offspring - No Brakes
• The Offspring - Want You Bad

Small Apple

Character select: Methods of Mayhem - Who The Hell Cares (intro)

Credits: Methods of Mayhem - Crash

• Bad Religion – Punk Rock Song
• Bad Religion – Empty Causes
• Bad Religion - Ten in 2010

Glitter Oasis

Character select: Brian Setzer's '68 Comeback Special - Ignition (intro)

Credits: Brian Setzer's '68 Comeback Special - Hot Rod Girl

• Silverbullit - Boom Boom Boogie
• Silverbullit - King of the Line
• Silverbullit - Raw Power Angel

The following list is for the Microsoft Windows version:

• Pivit – Fingercuffs
• Pivit – Middle Children
• Pivit - Cyber Christ
• Pivit - Redo
• Too Rude – The Distance
• Total Chaos – Let It Roll
• Total Chaos – What You Gonna Do
• Lobo - The Caribbean Disco Show (character selection screen)