Arctic Fox


Title		Arctic Fox
Game Type	3D Action
Company		Dynamix
Players		1
Compatibility	A500 1.3/2.04 OK; A1200 with 68030 fails (even with Relokick,
		disabled caches etc.)
Submission	ronny@tmx.com.au

Review
Arctic Fox was one of the first games available on the Amiga, and while
its age shows, it still holds up fairly well.

In Arctic Fox, you are the gunner/driver of an advanced tank battling the
minions of an alien invasion. The aliens are slowly converting Earth's
atmosphere into a replica of their own; your goal is to destroy their
command fortress before the entire atmosphere has been converted.

The display consists of a central area showing a 3D view of the view in
front of your tank, and an area below the screen showing a small radar
display (occasionally concealed by "static"). The area below the viewing
screen also shows an image of a hand holding a joystick (so you can see
where you are steering the tank - a gimmick of dubious value used rarely
these days) and a panel of six buttons for various special functions.
The functions include digging in, selecting missiles vs. the main cannon,
selection of your camera view and a few others.

The graphics are fairly primitive (simple filled polygons at about three
frames per second). Comparison with Dynamix's later efforts (such as Nova 9)
shows a vast improvement in graphical quality in the later games even on the
same platform.

Arctic Fox is set on a fixed map (a rough outline of which is included in
the provided manual). The map does not change from game to game, and there
is only one map, but the enemy responds fairly intelligently to your
activities and accomplishing the final goal is far from trivial.

The game also has a few unusual twists: if you are on snow, you can press a
key to have your tank bury itself in the snow to hide. Your tank has the
ability to jump short distances. It is possible to extend your deadline by
shooting atmospheric converters.

Partly due to these refinements, the game has significant depth and
lastability. In many ways it is better compared to more recent PC titles
such as the revamped Battlezone than Dynamix's Stellar 7 and Nova 9 games.
The need to hide from an enemy with vastly superior forces is not one that
crops up often in modern games where a hair trigger is more important than
the ability to hide and bide your time.

Unfortunately the game is badly let down by its graphics. The slow, poor
resolution shaded polygons have not aged well. The interface is also
something of a pain in the neck; if you wish to use a joystick, you need
to unplug your mouse. The mouse itself works only intermittently as a
control method. There is no save game function.

Overall, if you can get past the graphics, this is a game that you may find
absorbing and intriguing. Otherwise, the thwock-thwock-thwock frame rate will
probably get on your nerves a little too soon for the game to be worth your
while.


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