Just how crazy do you have to be in order to drive a Crazy Taxi? Do you need an afro? Heavy gold jewelry? Maybe a complete disregard for traffic safety and value of human life? We're not quite sure but these latest screenshots of the upcoming PlayStation Portable title from Sega, Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars, might give us a hint or two. Or maybe it'd just make us think twice before calling a cab - lest they be of the non-roofed variety.

Let's take a gander at them, shall we? Graphics are still looking as smooth and lively as they've been in the game's past incarnations, with the environments looking clean and convincing. The vehicles aren't looking bad at all, and the HUD doesn't take up much of the screen space (although, to be fair, the timer at the upper right corner of the screen just takes away all the fun and makes things seem hectic). Yup, it's still the Crazy Taxi we all know and love.

So many tempting screenshots, and the game still hasn't been released. But worry not, we'll keep you updated on any and all developments regarding Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars, so keep it locked right here!

More screenshots after the jump!

As co-founder of Sniper Studios, Jeff Hasson has had a lot of experience in outsourcing game development resources and being outsourced for game development, despite the general outlook of the industry as a "dirty" word in the business.

 

The studio itself has already had a number of games under its belt - Halo, SOCOM and Star Wars Battlefront being those that stand out of the list. But after a team up with SEGA and its illustrious arcade franchise Crazy Taxi, Sniper Studios was able to take a step forward into next-gen development.

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars for the PSP is currently under their skilled development hands and the game is slated to be set off as a blend between Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2 with multiplayer features. Although much of the ideas won't be coming from Kenji Kanno, SEGA of America has been on-hand to lead the project the way its supposed to.

PSP development hasn't been all that smooth however. According to an interview by Gamasutra with Hasson, certain technical issues such as UMD loading times and access times have been a difficult hurdle. Of course, they were impressed with the platform's power as a handheld PS2, and even more so with Sony's developers tools for the platform.

In fact, he mentioned that for a game that originated in a 4:3 aspect format, shifting to a small screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio was "straightforward." Added to that, they've developed the multiplayer code from scratch while the engine for the PSP were ported from the original engines from Japan.

Not bad for a studio taking baby steps into PSP development. Big news is that they've also been tagged by Microsoft as an officially licensed Xbox 360 developer, but they are hoping to enter the Wii and PlayStation 3 also. Hasson said:

Sniper has experience developing across all major platforms and the team looks forward to making announcements about new development projects in the future. Every platform is of significant interest to Sniper. This includes potential projects on PS3 or the Wii.

 

While videos are perhaps more apt when you want get a taste of quasi-illegal taxi-driving found in Sniper Studios' Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars, screens do reveal a few details that a fast paced video doesn't.

For one thing, you get to see all of the jaggies and the pixels that get hidden by the break-neck driving. However, who cares if the jaggies are there? This isn't a 1080p game for your excessively expensive high-def TV, this is a game for your PlayStation Portable. The craziness and the chaos should be on shelves by June, if in case you're curious.

What should matter here is the style and the character of the game. Good thing that the screenshot of the character called "Slash" (check it out below) exudes nothing but style and character. The thumbnails are below, you know the drill.

     

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars for the PlayStation Portable will not only test your crazy non-street legal driving skills, but it will also test your patience. Yup, some passengers just might be irate and/or talk too much. The two gameplay videos we have today shows us that and then some.

The passengers need to get to their destinations and they need to get there fast. Sega and Sniper Studios' Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars feature mad driving and you can't really expect the passengers to sit through the (near death) experiences quietly. Anyway, we see more crazy driving in the gameplay trailers and the reactions of the assorted passengers.

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars will be zooming to the shelves around June so we'll watch out for more info about the video game. We'll quit with the prattle now so you can enjoy the videos. You know the drill.

 

Catch the other video right after the jump!

We think we've seen enough Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars gameplay videos to say that it really is crazy (or sanity impaired). Here's another one for you, showing that the best way to get there is to fly.

Sega and Sniper Studios' Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars for the PlayStation Portable is set to hit the shelves in June. So far, we've seen its much loved gameplay and the usual insanity from the original Dreamcast video game. In this trailer, we see the leaping, jumping, and hopping power of them cabs. All in the name of getting your passenger to his destination on time - and the tips that come with it.

We'll quit the babble and let you watch the video. Enjoy!

For those who've played the original game on the Dreamcast, they'd remember that one of the craziest aspects of Crazy Taxi is, well, its crazy shortcuts. And while the traditional definition of "shortcut" would be a path through secret or obscurely hidden alleys, detours, or side streets, the definition of "shortcut" in Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars is taken a bit loosely.

As seen in this 'Shortcut' clip from GameVideos, "shortcut" can be defined as barreling your way through turn-turtle'd trucks, flying through speed ramps onto sidewalks, and dashing your way past a "keep of the grass" sign and speed-demon-ing your way across a park. Sniper Studios and Sega bring you... Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars:

Here's some more footage from Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars. This vid's a short trailer from the game, and aside from the kick-ass gameplay, it also comes with some cool tunes. Check it out below.

Sniper Studios and Sega have really pushed the pedal to the metal in this one, what with more furiously-paced taxi action all happening on the maps found in the original Dreamcast games. They've even added head-to-head multiplayer in Fare Wars. Now two players can race for fares and steal passengers from other cabbies in the head-to-head competition mode or help each other go for the big tips in co-op play.

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars is set to hit the Sony PSP handheld system in June.

Here's another dose of crazy driving for you. Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars showcases its insane gameplay once again via a video montage.

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars from Sega and Sniper Studios is set to bring out the taxi driver in all of us. So you'll play a cabbie, with utter disregard for traffic rules or safety - basically all the things you can't do during Driver's Ed. You've got some pretty demanding passengers and you've got to get them wherever they are going on time (and hopefully in one piece).

We'll be seeing Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars on the shelves in a couple of months in June 12 for North America and June 30 for Europe. In the meantime, check out the video. Enjoy!

The game Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), developed by Sniper Studios and published by SEGA, is the fifth of the Crazy Taxi series. In sticking with the theme, you will have to earn big money by ferrying passengers around. You can still pick up huge bonus points by doing tricks (drifting, near-collisions, etc.) on the way to the drop-off point. Maps from the original Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2 are both in the game, so veterans of the game should find all of it familiar.

While the premise and the maps may be from older iterations of the game, the multiplayer mode of the game includes things you've never seen in the series. There is now a game mode where two players can race for fares. It is considered a good move to steal passengers from other cabs on the road. For the less aggressive, you can play cooperatively working for big tips.

Slated to be released on Q2 2007 in the US and June 30,2007 in Europe, the game looks to be collecting a lot of followers. If you want an idea of what the packaging looks like, check out the packshot.