“Cosmic Cab” has a simple formula, but the permutations on that formula get pretty neat, pretty quickly. You have to pick up fares (represented by cute, tiny avatars) and rocket them to their destination. Simple enough. But like Crazy Taxi before it, the devil’s in the details. You have to consider your time (and, correspondingly, fuel) constraints for each trip. You also must watch for environmental dangers and the damage they’ll reap, and you have to perform risk/reward analyses about whether short-cuts are worth the risk to save fuel, or not worth the risk given they often offer greater opportunity to damage your ship.
The addition of fuel and ship damage actually strengthen the game, making success feel more rewarding. For 240 Microsoft Points, I found it to be an enjoyable romp, and one that gets progressively more challenging at a rate that felt about right to me, though by the end it becomes pretty fiendishly difficult. One note: this game is not to be confused with a completely different game of the same name for iOS (that one reminds me more of S.T.U.N. Runner, and is nothing like “Cosmic Cab” for Xbox Live Indie Games).
Here’s what the developer (bluuuSKY) has to say about the game:
“The XBOX Avatars need to get places and you are the only one Dr.Jacque will trust with his ship. Test your flying skills in a series of mind bending gravity scenarios. Venture deep into the core of planets and dodge asteroids as you deliver avatars to their destinations. If you’re really good you just might be the first person to beat the last level. We never have.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 