Pros: High replay value, anyone who has played the original will be right at home.
Cons: Confusing arrow, lacking in the character department, the cars have odd characteristics, looping music.
The bottom line: Unlock the original cabbies, then you are good to go for the shear fun value that pushes it to must have status!
Crazy Taxi 2 is mostly the same as Crazy Taxi 1 as in the point behind playing the game. However, several things will leave a slightly different, and off taste in your mouth. I think that it might have something to do with the game's location, New York vs. the sunny and light-hearted feel of the original's San Francisco. Also, the second city in Crazy Taxi 2 is very reliant on the use of the jump button. The arrow will not tell you that you need to go in the direction that the shortcut takes either. Fortunately, characters and cities aside, the fun is still intact (and the croaky menu guy is back) for making some more crazy money.

Here are my playing impressions of Crazy Taxi 2. I am generally covering things that aren't really covered in a general review, such as in-depth detail of the characters. Normal reviews would simply name the 4 new taxi drivers, but I give my opinion on them. The rating system is for players you didn't play the first Crazy Taxi, and those who did. Example:
Learning Curve: 8/10
It's a little harder for players new to Crazy taxi to pick up a controller and go, but for Crazy Taxi 1 players, it should be a piece of cake.

Guidance System:
My first impression of Crazy Taxi 2, was that it should be called Crazy Arrow 2 instead. However, after a few 10-minute sessions of pure taxi goodness, that changed mostly. I think that the arrow this time around tells you were to go from right were you are, not at the next intersection. I remember picking up a person in the park of Small Apple, and the arrow told me to go right, even though I was at the very edge. I jumped out of the park and saw the green box were I needed to go straight ahead. I have followed the arrow before, and it made me take the nearest road out of the park, and then to the location. Needless to say, before I got to where I needed to drive to, the rider jumped out of the back, all because I followed to arrow too closely.

The arrow doesn't build up your trust very much, because it changes its mind frequently on the best route to take. I recommend driving around the 2 cities (Around Apple and Small Apple) for a while first, to learn the locations while occasionally picking up people. Plus, to help you learn the locations, when you complete a few lines of stages in Crazy Pyramid (replaces Crazy Box from the 1st Crazy Taxi) and you will get a map of each city. This assumes that you buy the game, which I recommend.

I guess that I don't like the arrow as much because the one in the Arcade mode of the original was excellent.
Rating: 4/7

The Cab Drivers
Hmmm... I don't really like them this time, but they get the job done. I liked the ones from the original (which are unlock able in Crazy Taxi 2), but these 4 seem too much alike, with little distinction, and none will stand out.

Slash is supposed to be a mental case, but it's not very obvious. His car is plain all the same. Iceman is supposed to be coldhearted, and cruel, but it looks more like he is just disoriented. Slash and Iceman have the same attitudes, and move (if you call standing still moving!) the same in the driver select menu (which this time, thankfully, no longer has a timer) to the music. Cinnamon, the only girl, is a little overly girly and drives about in a pinkish orange car with a pink interior, but she has more personality and slides around to the music. Then the 4th cabbie is this 70 something year old man that looks, sounds, and acts like a small child. Hot-D, who moves about as if he was youthful. A mix of B.D. Joe and Gus from the original gone horribly wrong? Well, he isn't that bad, but his voice is way off. He doesn't add the comic value that B.D. Joe did, in fact, no one offers a good laugh! I'll admit, though, that he is the craziest, like the name of the game suggests. He drives the oldest car too.

Were is a guy in a turban? If they wanted to add humor (like those of the original), they didn't do a good job. The cabbies that are in the game all seem to be high-school dropouts. What about real taxi drivers next time? These aren't humorous, distinct, or real. 2 stoned guys, a sugary girl and a really old happy man! Not what I called balanced! People new to Crazy Taxi won't notice, but those who have the first will probably find them to be lacking.
Rating: 9/4

The Cars: After playing with each of the 4 character's cars, and then doing the same in Crazy Taxi 1, I noticed that the cabs in Crazy Taxi 2 control poorly compared to their counterparts in Crazy Taxi 1. The 4 original cars in Crazy Taxi 2 slip and slide. I wondered while playing for the first few times why my hands began to hurt very quickly. I found out that it is from trying to get any performance at all out of the cars. With large distances to be traveled, Crazy Dashes and Limit Cuts must be implemented repeatedly with little results. Also, due to the greater difficulty to accomplish these this time, my fingers were constantly tightly gripping the controller and pressing the buttons with a higher force. The rate of failure to pull of the Dash and Limit Cut is now about 50% now, and I know how to do them. Also, the cars take forever to turn, get out of a turn, and begin forward motion that is why the "screescreescreeee" sound of the tires bothers me so much. I want a well-oiled steering system, not well oiled tires. It's as if the cabs have really slick tires. Also, is that torque-steer? In a rear-wheel drive vehicle?! No way! However, it's present in Crazy Taxi 2.

I'm not going to take away a star because of this though, because the 4 cabs from Crazy Taxi 1 are unlockable from the Crazy Pyramid.
Rating: 5/5

Graphics
The graphics are excellent! If you played Crazy Taxi, you'll notice less a lot less pop-up, slightly better look, less occurrences of the mysterious slow-down, new vehicles, ect. You've probably read about the improvements before.

If you haven't played Crazy Taxi before, then you will probably be blown away. Enough said.

The vehicles all have break and turn signal lights. They reflect their environment and all. Sparks and smoke are also presented nicely. The crumpled up phone booths are fun.
Rating: 10/10

Sound:
The songs are all one type, so if you don't hate it, you'll be fine. If you do, you have the option of turning it down. I tried playing the game with the music turned completely down (from the menu), with the sound effects still on. I found a marked improvement in the ability to enjoy the game, even when I liked playing the original with the music on.
The songs loop, and there aren't many of them either. They lack the punch that the songs of the original had. The original's songs were very loud and clear. Perfect for the game. This time, they thought that The Offspring worked last time, and they would just put more of their songs into this game. Bad decision! Why do you think that they picked those specific songs last time, out of every song and group out there? Because they fit. This time, the songs are… dull. Yes, dull. The words just blend into the music, which isn't very distinct, unlike the originals. You also can't really tell the difference in the songs, so it seems like one big song. I think the most distinct is "Walla Walla."

The sound effects of people screaming are really good, and what they scream is mostly good and new. You'll have to hear it for yourself.

The cars have new sound effects, and I hate them for the most part, except for the engine noise. The "screescreescreeeee" of the wheels are annoying! It happens at the same speeds, regardless if you are barely on the gas, or have it fully pressed. Also, there is a new strange wind noise.

Collision sounds are industry standard, but occasionally hitting a bus will sound like hitting an empty trashcan...
Rating: 6/6

Menu:
Very easy to navigate, and convenient to use. Were is the option to adjust traffic and time difficulty?
Rating: 10/10

Fun:
This is what Crazy Taxi 2 (and 1) is all about! You can play this game with no sound and in black and white, and the level of fun would still be astronomical! This alone warrants its purchase. If you liked the original, you will have the same amount of fun, if not more! The new cities make it all new, with a lot to be discovered. The jump action adds to the fun, and the amount earned!
Rating: 10+/10+

Just Driving about:
I enjoy just driving around as much as I do playing to earn some crazy money. The other cars are very civilized and follow the general rules of the road, except the other competing cabs, which also drive crazily. There are new vehicles, such as double busses, dump trucks, new competing cabs, and a few others. While this time, there aren't as many open stretches of road, it is still fun. If you want a driving game, this is it!

However, the game is somewhat buggy in this department because it wasn't designed for just driving. Collisions can sometimes result is being flung to the other side of the road for almost no reason, being stuck to another vehicle for a few seconds, but mostly otherwise it's realistic.

I wish that the other cars would crumple up and show visual damage. Same for the cabs that you drive. Why don't hoods fly off and fenders collapse? I'm not talking about degrade driving performance, but it would be a good treat.

I sometimes drive around for more than an hour smashing into other cars and into piles of boxes. Improved this time is the distance away that you must travel before things change back the way they were before you made the scene a chaotic jumble of carnage. In the 1st Crazy Taxi it was almost barely turning your car away changed things back, but now you don't have to worry about it.

But, for some reason, the feeling of speed is off. You are going much much faster than it looks, as in the 1st one. There was a code for a speedometer. It's a good thing that they didn't put a speedometer into the game because it would ruin things.

Rating: 9/9

Overall:
I very highly recommend this to just about anyone. You should read other reviews also, to give you the basics. If you have Crazy Taxi 1, you must have Crazy Taxi 2! There is no doubt about that. If you don't have Crazy Taxi 1, buy Crazy Taxi 2!
Must Have Rating: 9.5/9.5

I'm sure that I didn't cover everything, but this gives you my playing impressions. I choose things that stood out to me as I played to score. You can get a list of features almost anywhere. I was a bit critical of some things, but that was because the original is soooo good. Crazy Taxi 2 lives up to the original. In fact, it isn't a replacement, more like an extension. 1 was set in San Francisco, and 2 is set in New York, so it is as if the Crazy Taxi Company set up shop in New York, with cabs that have hydraulics. New city, same formula, more of the same fun!