NCS
Game Notes
» Tamsoft designed the game for D3P.
» The taxi company has no less than four
marquees on the outside to let the world know that
its a taxi company.
» If you look closely at your boss' teeth, you'll
notice that a gold incisor is mounted on the left
side of his mouth.
» The taxi cab is the squat type with a "CAB"
sign mounted on top of it. After picking up a
passenger, he'll give curt
instructions on where he wants to go. Once he's
seated, a little image pops up on the lower left
corner of the screen which shows the passenger
seated. Every time you collide or crash into a
wall, the passenger may be seen rolling around on
his seat. Follow the red arrow on the top
of the cab's hood which points the way to the
destination. You can usually tell the goal is near
by spotting the green barriers around it. Brake the cab when
the goal is reached and the passenger will thank
you and gingerly hop off while paying for the
ride.
» Your first day earnings target is JPY3500 which
can be accomplished by performing well in at least
three fares. If your driving was fast and good,
the customer will be shown exulting when he gets
out. If your driving was poor, he'll kick the
ground after exiting the cab and shake his head in
disdain.
» Either the d-pad or analog nub may be used to
maneuver the cab.
» The sound of the cab's engine is monotonous
when rolling on an even pace but it downshifts
when braking and goes into a higher whine when
accelerating.
» It's possible to go against the flow of
traffic without being pursued by police but you'll
just have to watch out for the other cars that'll honk at
your foolhardy performance.
Controls
TRIANGLE.............Go in reverse
SQUARE................Brake
CROSS..................Accelerate
L1-TRIGGER..........Manifest red ring around cab
for passenger pickup trigger
R2-TRIGGER..........Toggle map view on/off
When going in reverse, you'll hear a beeping
caution sound.
» The streets are barren at the outset
and there's sparse foot traffic. What you will
encounter from time to time are potential
passengers waiting on street corners. There are
populated areas of the city near the shopping
district where pedestrians stand around.
» Pedestrians are very nimble. We crashed
into a sidewalk while attempting to pick up a fare
and the person ran quickly out of the way. She
then returned to get into the cab for a ride.
» We tried to make the taxi drift but the
brakes are too effective in their stopping power.
All we could manage was a half-assed slide before
the brakes shut it down cold.
» There's a design flaw in the game. Every once
in a while, your boss will appear on a screen
overlay with information, encouragement, or
ridicule. When these alerts pop up, they obscure
the screen which reduces visibility, which in turn
reduces your ability to avoid pedestrians,
sidewalks, and other cars on the road.
» When driving around the streets, there's no
urgent time limit and you can roll around lazily on your
shift which goes from 8AM to 1PM. However, a time limit
is enforced
once a passenger gets in your cab and you have a
certain amount of time to get him/her/them to
their destinations. Botch it and the passenger
exits the cab in a huff and pays nothing for the
wasted effort.
» After each day, you'll return to the taxi garage
and receive congratulations or scorn from your
boss. You can then save your progress to memory
stick.
» All in all, another pleasing Taxi-themed game
with well executed game play and solid
fundamentals. Since this may be an ongoing D3P
franchise, we're looking forward to "The Taxi 3"
which should incorporate exotic cities and sights
such as Cairo, Egypt. Or something like that. Easy
comparisons to Crazy Taxi may be made but unlike
that Sega game, the pace is less frenetic and the
game as such is more enjoyable in that respect
where exploration is possible under the loose
constraints of the 5-hour daily shift.
