''Vixen'' is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

published by

Martech Martech was a video game publisher which operated in Pevensey Bay between 1982 and 1989. It was founded as Martech Games. The company published a number of successful video games for the BBC Micro, BBC Model B, ZX Spectrum, ZX81, MSX, Amstrad CPC, ...

in 1988 for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

Plot

Vixen is the last human on the planet Granath, which is now ruled by a race of dinosaurs. Abandoned as a child and raised by magical foxes, she intends to follow through on a promise she made to her elders to wipe the dinosaurs out and restore the planet to humanity.

Gameplay

''Vixen'' was based unofficially on the

Tecmo was a Japanese video game company founded in 1967. It had its headquarters in the Kudankita district of Tokyo. Its subsidiary, Tecmo Inc, was located in Torrance, California. Prior to 1986, Tecmo was formerly known as Tehkan. Tecmo is known for ...

arcade game '' Rygar''. Each level must be completed within a time limit, by progressing from left to right. The player's character is armed only with a whip, used to defeat enemies and to collect bonus items such as gems (for points), extra lives and time. The player's character can also collect fox head tokens. If enough are collected by the end of the level, she will transform into a fox, allowing the player to enter a special underground lair. Here she can collect gems, mega gems (which increase scoring potential above ground) and weapon upgrades (to increase the power of her whip). A notable feature in the game was that it used an early form of

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

to generate the animation for the main character making it far more realistic than usual for a computer game of that era.

Reception

The various versions of ''Vixen'' received a wide range of review scores. '' ACE'' gave it a score of 452/1000 saying it had "nothing original to offer". '' Computer & Video Games'', praised the graphics, particularly on the Atari ST, but criticised the playability. '' The Games Machine'' rated the game from 42% for the "barely adequate" Amstrad version to 72% for the PC version. '' Your Sinclair'' awarded the game 6/10 stating that while the animation of the main character was superb, "the rest of the graphics suck". The cover of the game, featuring Page Three girl

Corinne Russell Corinne Russell (born 22 November 1963) is an English former Page 3 girl, glamour model and dancer during the 1980s. Modelling career Russell made her Page 3 debut in ''The Sun'' on 23 August 1982, and first appearing in the '' Daily Star'' ...

in the guise of the Vixen, caused controversy and high-street chain

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

refused to stock the game until

reissued the game with a less provocative cover. The May 1988 issue of ''Your Sinclair'' featured a similar image on the front page which was equally controversial and attracted a number of complaints.

Reviews

* '' Jeux & Stratégie'' #53

References

External links

*
''Vixen'' on the Amstrad CPC
* * {{WoS game, id=0005589, name=Vixen 1988 video games Jungle girls Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games Martech games Side-scrolling platformers Single-player video games Video games about foxes Video games about shapeshifting Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set on fictional planets ZX Spectrum games