Previous Next

It talks! So says the blurb for Flyer Fox, a flight/combat simulation from Tymac, a company new to the pages of C&VG.

Well, your Commodore does make a brave attempt to sound like a jet-fighter's radio - but ends up sounding like someone trying to speak with a mouthful of rice crispies. But don't let that put you off the game. Flyer Fox is a playable shoot-out style game with nice graphics. Shame about the sound.

The scenario is pretty basic. You are put in the pilot's seat of a jet fighter escorting a Jumbo jet airliner through hostile skies. Your job is to defend the airliner against the attacks of enemy fighters.

The screen shows your view of the outside world through the cockpit plus instrumentation which includes a radar screen - to show where the enemy jets are, an artificial horizon - to show your jets' attitude in flight, an altimeter and compass to help you relocate the airliner after a dogfight with the enemy.

There's also a readout which tells you the damage status of the airliner plus a fuel gauge. Your fuel gets replenished only if you complete a level by successfully fighting off all the enemy and protecting the airliner from any critical damage.

To shoot down the enemy jets you have to lock your sights onto their retreating tails and blast them. But it's not as easy as it sounds as those enemy jets don't hand around waiting to be blown up. They dodge and weave around the sky making your task pretty challenging.

The "soundtrack" says things like "Break away!" - as the enemy attacks - I think. But I couldn't quite catch the longer messages.

There are several levels of play with the jets coming in groups of greater numbers. You score points for blasting the jets and get a bonus if you complete a level quickly with fuel left.

One criticism I have is that you have to wait around a bit too long for the enemy jets to attack. After all, when you've got an airliner to protect you're not going to rush about looking for them, are you?

Don't buy this game for the promise of sound synthesis. But if you enjoy a straightforward shoot out you could do worse than Flyer Fox.