Viz: The Computer Game (also known in-game as ''"Viz: The Soft Floppy One"'' and ''"Viz: The Game"'' on the box cover) is a

single player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in addi ...

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...

based on the Viz adult comic which was released in 1991 by

Virgin Interactive Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the V ...

. The game's music was composed by

Jeroen Tel Jeroen Godfried Tel (born 19 May 1972), also known as WAVE, is a Dutch composer. He is best known for numerous computer game tunes he wrote in the 1980s and early 1990s for the Commodore 64. His most popular compositions appear in the following C ...

Gameplay

Characters

Johnny Fartpants The following is a list of recurring or notable one-off strips from the British adult spoof comic magazine ''Viz (comics), Viz''. This list is by no means complete as with each issue new characters/strips/stories are introduced. A–E * Abe ...

, Biffa Bacon, and

Buster Gonad Buster Gonad is a cartoon character in the British comic '' Viz''. The strip involves the surreal adventures of "the boy with unfeasibly large testicles". During a storm, Buster's gonads were zapped by cosmic rays which enlarged them to an enormo ...

compete in a series of five races around the fictional town of Fulchester for some unnamed

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. The races are run in the

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

, Fulchester

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

, a

building site Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the ...

, the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

and a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

. The race commentator is Roger Mellie, who provides irreverent chat throughout the game, and many of Viz's popular characters pop up to help or hinder the contestants. Before the race, each character has the chance to earn tokens by playing a

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...

which then can be used during gameplay to give him a temporary advantage. Biffa is able to punch his way through some obstacles or gets into a fight with himself boosting his speed. Johnny can use his " pump power" to jump over small obstacles or to take off and fly a short distance. Buster can use his "unfeasibly large

testicles A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of androgens, primarily testosterone. The ...

" to jump over small obstacles or put them in a

wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled load-bearing vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." " Ba ...

and gain a burst of speed. Each contestant must stick to his race lane; otherwise, the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

from

Billy the Fish Billy the Fish is a long-running cartoon strip in the British comic ''Viz (comics), Viz'' that first appeared in 1983. Created by artist Chris Donald and writer Simon Thorp (who later took on both roles), ''Billy the Fish'' is, like many ''Viz'' ...

will hurl bricks at the errant racer temporarily stunning him. The courses are set so that each character cannot help running in and out of each other's lanes. If the character is hit, he loses a life. If he loses three lives, it's race over for the human player - the AI characters have unlimited lives.

Reception

Although the game received mediocre reviews in the gaming press, with the Commodore 64 version coming under particularly heavy criticism for what was perceived to be excessive loading times, the game did sell very well, particularly for its adult

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

which was seldom seen in video games in 1991. The Spectrum version of the game went to number 2 in the UK sales charts, behind ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

''. ''

The One The One may refer to: Buildings * The One (shopping centre), a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong * The One (Toronto), a mixed-use skyscraper under development in Toronto, Canada * The One, a residential skyscraper under constru ...

'' gave the Amiga version of ''Viz: The Computer Game'' an overall score of 68%, expressing that it "isn't such good value for money ... £19.99 buys you a standard obstable course, a few bonus screens and a handful of jokes." ''The One'' furthermore expresses that the bonus games are "good fun" and "accurately capture the characteristics of the comic, but underneath the glossy exterior there lurks nothing more elaborate than a basic chase game ... there just isn't enough substance to justify the price." ''The One'' also criticises the absence of other characters from ''Viz'' such as

. ''The One'' concludes that "As a game all this is most likely to appeal to exactly the sort of people who aren't allowed to buy it - kids. Adults should consider sticking their nose in a ''Viz'' book instead."

References

{{reflist 1991 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games Racing video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Jeroen Tel Virgin Interactive games ZX Spectrum games