| Vixen | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Intelligent Design |
| Publisher(s) | Martech Games Limited (UK) |
| Designer(s) | Code: Ian McArdle, Jonathan Howell and D.B. Richards (with Nick Jones on the Commodore 64). Graphics: Malcolm J. Smith and Mark Eason. Music: Jason C. Brooke. |
| Platform(s) | Commodore Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and IBM PC. |
| Release date(s) | August 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Vixen is a platform sidescroller released in 1988 for the Commodore Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and IBM PC.
A notable feature in the game was that the movements of the main character were (at least in some versions of the game) captured from the moving picture thus making animation more realistic than usual in computer games those days.
You play as the Vixen, 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.
Each level must be completed within a time limit, by progressing from left to right. The Vixen 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 Vixen 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).
The cover of the game box caused a lot of controversy, because it features the snarling Page 3 model Corinne Russell in the guise of the Vixen. The game also included a poster of the box cover. High street chain Boots refused to stock the game, prompting Martech to re-issue the game with a less provocative cover.
"Vixen" is exactly pronounced as the foul-mouth word for "to jerk off" in the German language (wichsen), therefore the game was renamed as "She-Fox" in the German speaking countries.
The cover of the May 1988 issue Your Sinclair, which featured the photo was equally controversial as it attracted a number of complaints, in regards to the provocative nature of Russell's pose, different from the box cover. However that issue became the second best selling issue ever released with 80,368 issues sold.