''Vixen'' is a

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

published by

Martech Martech Games was an early video game publisher based in Pevensey Bay between 1982 and 1989. It published a number of successful video games for the emerging home computer games marketplace, including BBC Micro, BBC Model B, ZX81, Sinclair ZX81, Z ...

in 1988 for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

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 Sin ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 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 the Guinness ...

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 ope ...

, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

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 corporation founded in 1967. It had its headquarters in Kudankita, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its subsidiary, Tecmo Inc, was located in Torrance, California. Tecmo was formerly known as Tehkan. Tecmo is known for ...

arcade game ''

Rygar ''Rygar'' is a video game created by Tecmo in 1986 and originally released for arcades in Japan as . It is a side-scrolling platform game where the player assumes the role as the "Legendary Warrior", battling through a hostile landscape. The ...

''. 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 mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...

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 An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

'' gave it a score of 452/1000 saying it had "nothing original to offer". ''

Computer & Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website w ...

'', praised the graphics, particularly on the Atari ST, but criticised the playability. ''

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' is a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published ''CRASH'', ''Zzap!64'', ''Amtix!'' and other magazines. History The magazine ran head to head with ...

'' rated the game from 42% for the "barely adequate" Amstrad version to 72% for the PC version. ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The ...

'' 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 22 August 1982, and first appearing in the '' Daily Star'' on ...

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

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Boot or Boots may also refer to: Businesses * Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England * Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom * The Boot, Cromer Stre ...

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 cover which was equally controversial and attracted a number of complaints.

References

External links

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