Extropia’s Retro-Gaming: Vixen

EXTROPIA’S RETRO-GAMING: VIXEN

‘Vixen’ was published by Martech and released for the Spectrum and C64 in the late ‘80s.

The gameplay had the player take control of the titular ‘Vixen’- a whip-wielding woman who has to sprint across a horizontally-scrolling landscape, leaping over ravines and lashing out at dangerous wildlife with her trusty whip.

But what has all this to do with female foxes, you might be wondering? Every now and then you encountered a bronze ball suspended from a chain. Whipping it released a fox’s head (I believe it was meant to symbolise the fox spirit) and collecting these filled up a bar near the top of the screen. Once filled, the player entered a bonus level in which the woman transformed into a fox that romped around picking up gems and racking up bonus points.

“Running and whipping” pretty much summed up the gameplay on offer here. Other than offering up tougher opponents, the gameplay never deviated from a horizontal dash, leaping over ravines and trying to strike enemies with your whip. It was not a bad game, but it was by no means a classic.

It did, however, have one standout feature in the form of a terrific theme tune. Oh, and the box art featured a blonde glamour model posing in a leopard skin bikini, which I suppose is another plus if you like that sort of thing.

Thanks to Martech for the images.