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 course of the gaming session. A single-player game is usually a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" is usuall ...

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

based on the Viz adult comic which was released in 1991 by Virgin Interactive. 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''. This list is by no means complete as with each issue new characters/strips/stories are introduced. A–E *Abel Unstable – ...

Biffa Bacon The following is a list of recurring or notable one-off strips from the British adult spoof comic magazine '' Viz''. This list is by no means complete as with each issue new characters/strips/stories are introduced. A–E *Abel Unstable – ...

, 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 enor ...

compete in a series of five races around the fictional town of

Fulchester ''Viz'' is a British adult comic magazine founded in 1979 by Chris Donald. It parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably '' The Beano'' and '' The Dandy'', but with extensive profanity, toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humou ...

for some unnamed prize. 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, a

building site Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and come ...

, 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, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

and a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

. 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 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 (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...

" to jump over small obstacles or put them in a

wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is mad ...

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 titl ...

from

Billy the Fish Billy the Fish is a long-running cartoon strip in the British comic '' 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'' strips, a l ...

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 Mediocre (a term defined as "having no peculiar or outstanding features") or mediocrity may refer to: * ''Mediocre'' (album), a 2008 album by Ximena Sariñana * "Mediocre" (composition), a 1955 jazz composition by Bud Powell * Mediocrity (adv ...

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''. '' The One'' 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 scored by Jeroen Tel Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games