"Crazy Taxi: World Tour," Looks Fun, but the Use of Any Generative AI Makes Me Worry

Back in 2024, I discussed how, "Crazy Taxi," was a franchise that I had many fond memories of--and which was possibly going to get a new game at some point in the future (as per rumors). Well, "Crazy Taxi: World Tour," is official! However, there is a troublesome catch. The good stuff is how it looks like, "Crazy Taxi." You've got the big yellow cab, it does tricks, you speed around to get people where they need to go, and there is some quality vintage punk music. Plus, it is not just an arcade-style game, there is a story mode, which gives a reason for the globe-spanning adventure. An irritating concern that has been pointed out, though, is the disclosure of generative AI being used. Supposedly, AI stuff is being used for, "reference," with nothing ending up in the game. Hearing it has involvement is always discomforting, as a game using generative AI is a proces which has faced, "...widespread criticism as the tech must be trained on existing work by human artists, thus making any…