Previous Next

An alien task force has landed in the Arctic and started to build giant oxygen converters to change Earth's atmosphere to what they consider to be breatheable ammonia and methane. Naturally, this stunt would lead to the extinction of mankind, so the aliens must be stopped before they can get the converters fully operational.

The aliens have defended their beachhead very well and the only way they can be defeated is if the special Arcticfox assault tank goes in solo and completes a series of hit and run attacks. Guess who's driving the tank...? You, dear reader - so slip on your boiler suit, thermal knicks and crash helmet and prepare to save the world.

The program has four different skill levels: enemy preview, training mode, beginner and tournament. The first two levels allow you to see what you're up against and shoot at the alien craft without fear of reprisal. The other two levels are proper games, with the beginner level having fewer alien resources, less aggressive opposition and more reasonable weather conditions than the tournament level.

When a level has been selected the screen displays a 3D vector graphic view from the cockpit of the tank. A status area surrounding the window includes a radar, the speedometer, a readout giving the oxygen level in the atmosphere, the game clock, a compass, and a damage indicator. The relative importance of these displays varies, but all of them have to be used if you are going to complete your mission. At the bottom left of the screen are six icons which can be accessed via the keyboard to initiate the following combat activities: fire guided missile (you are given control over the missile for the duration of the flight and the screen displays a view through the missile's nose camera); drop mine; rear view; cannon inclination, and reverse and dig in (hide in snowdrifts).

The tank can drive up and down the hills and mountains littering the arctic landscape. However, it can't drive across crevasses - attempting to cross one wrecks the tank and results in the termination of both the game and the human race. Electric storms make an occasional appearance, as do arctic blizzards, and they severely reduce visibility. This is when radar comes in handy.

The aliens have constructed a range of installations while setting up camp and their ground craft and flying machines patrol the vicinity. There are three types of ground vehicles: Recon Sled, Light Tank and Heavy Tank - their firepower and aggression increases accordingly. Ground installations include Rocket Launchers, Radar Stations, Oxygen Converters, Communication Forts and Main Forts, while flying artefacts consist of fighters, Recon Fliers and floating mines. The priority you have on these targets varies, but ultimately all the alien machinery needs to be destroyed if the world is going to be rendered a safe place to live once more.

Nice idea - same about the execution. The big drawback with this is that you spend most of your time wandering around the snowscape not actually goind much, and when the action happens it's all in slow motion.

The graphics are inadequate and the sound sums up Polar conditions nicely - nothing more than white noise. A game like this would be fine on a more powerful machine - the graphics, and consequently the action, would be a lot faster. On the C64 however, it's just too sparse and dull to be worthwhile.

Arcticfox is a tiresome, uninspiring and unrewarding Battlezone clone.

The action is slow and very tedious due to the (yawn) speed of the vector graphics, and there's nothing innovative about the gameplay. To make matters worse, it's multi-load! Ridiculous.

If you want a fast, playable Battlezone-type game, forget Arcticfox and get Novagen's Encounter instead.

With the exception of Encounter, Battlezone clones have never been very good on the C64, so I wasn't really expecting much from this. I got less than I bargained for.

I found Arcticfox very boring to play from the start - the action is so slow that it makes the whole game pointless and monotonous.

Moving around the playing area is often confusing as your tank is unresponsive and there are very few landscape features on-screen. Consequently, you are denied any indication of motion. The vector graphics are slow and blocky, and the sound is poor - no music, and spot effects are few and far between.

Quite simply, there's nothing about Arcticfox to justify the high price tag. Give it a miss.

Presentation 71%
Four different difficulty levels and comprehensive instructions. Annoying multi-load system though.

Graphics 56%
Slow and ineffective 3D vector graphics.

Sound 7%
Sparse and simple spot effects.

Hookability 54%
The instructions tell you exactly what to do, but the action isn't immediate.

Lastability 38%
Slow gameplay combined with insufficient depth, variety and playability.

Value For Money 29%
Not enough action to justify the price tag.

Overall 35%
An uninspiring and dull Battlezone variant.