The US Presidential election this year has been absolutely wild.
Things got even weirder when Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, known for loving video games, became the star of a fan-made version of Sega’s Crazy Taxi. This all started after a New York Times article revealed that Walz was such a big Dreamcast fan that his wife had to take the console away from him. Later, IGN found Walz’s old Dreamcast, and inside was a copy of Crazy Taxi. This discovery inspired game developer Edward La Barbera to include Walz in the game and even add Kamala Harris as a special guest character.
According to MPR News, La Barbera said he got the idea from when Bill Clinton appeared in NBA Jam. He used voice clips from both Walz and Harris, and he also made the game’s background look like Minnesota, where Walz is from.
“I chose a more Minnesota-casual flannel outfit for Tim because it was easier to create than a suit,” said La Barbera. “That snowballed into trying to make the world into a wintry Minnesota environment instead of California. I replaced palm trees with snow-covered pines, replaced the stadium with Target Field, and the mall with the Mall of America.”
Fans love when their favorite celebrities appear in unexpected places.
La Barbera has posted his Tim Walz mod online, but it’s only playable through an emulated version of Crazy Taxi.
