Crazy Taxi mod fixes controls, adds back brand names and cheats

In news that should make any Dreamcast fan scream “YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH,” you can now once again play Crazy Taxi with the branded locations added back in. Thanks to a mod for the Steam version of the game, players can relive the thrill of driving customers to Pizza Hut, KFC, Levi’s, Tower Records, and FILA — brand names removed (regrettably but somewhat understandably) when the game was ported to the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, and Steam.

But most importantly, the mod also fixes the port’s notoriously busted analog controls to finally make proper controller support a reality.

The mod includes two separate parts: the Dreamcast Restoration Mod 2.0, which seeks to restore the look and feel of the original port for the Dreamcast, Gamecube, PlayStation 2, and Windows and SilentPatch to fix bugs and restore broken or removed features. Modders Alexvgz and Silent collaborated to bring these patches together, helping to make the Steam port more like the classic Crazy Taxi experience.

Alexvgz uploaded a video showing off the mod, which you can view below:

Rather than just being a simple texture swap, the modders had to dig into the game’s code to restore the original assets. When the developers brought Crazy Taxi to seventh-gen consoles, they added new models to the Pizza Hut and FILA buildings — which the modders had to circumvent by altering the port’s code. And in a baffling move, not only were the FILA stores de-branded to a generic shoe store, but the game was reprogrammed so that no customer would ever ask you to take them there. Thankfully, this mod removes that bizarre restriction.

As part of SilentPatch, the modders also fixed the wonky analog controls of the Steam version. Previous mods attempted to fix this issue but the results were often inconsistent, sometimes not working well with specific controllers. SilentPatch once again corrects vital code issues (this time, improperly configured deadzones) to make analog control much smoother. And for those who play with steering wheels, good news: the mod also removes a crash that occurs when the game detects a steering wheel controller is connected. Finally, the mod restores the in-game cheats that were also missing from the Steam port. This means that Steam players can finally access the first-person camera and show the game’s speedometer while you’re driving around.

While we eagerly await any news from SEGA of a new Crazy Taxi game, it’s awesome to see fans keeping the original spirit of the game intact. Plus, it’s very rare to see product placement be added into something to the delight of fans. Some might say it’s a little… crazy.

You can learn more about and download the Dreamcast Restoration Mod 2.0 and SilentPatch here.

Via Eurogamer.