Fire Fox

This page contains not a popular browser at all, but an exclusive Chinese (and, it seems, PRC, not Taiwanese!) two-dimensional platformer. The plot is extremely conventional: an anthropomorphic fox - a government agent, for whom we have to play, pursues another anthropomorphic fox, an international criminal - while the chase will stretch over seven levels, inhabited by various creatures hostile to our hero, which will have to be killed.

It may seem surprising, but Fire Fox is a very simple game, even for a platformer in general, and even more so for a representative of this subgenre originally from East Asia. It cannot be called completely elementary, since there is a risk of death here - but still it is clearly aimed at children and (or) people who do not like "fast" arcades. The perspective of the view, of course, is a side view. In the upper left corner of the screen, next to the portrait of the protagonist, the number of "lives" he has is displayed, and a little below, in the form of grayish dots, the health reserve within each of them, numbering several points. The fox can jump ("space"), and uses an infinite set of sticks ("Ctrl") as a weapon. You can improve your health with the help of bonuses in the form of various food products (sausages, hamburgers, and so on), which are not found on every corner, but still not very rare. At each level, you can collect diamonds, which are kept in the upper right corner - unfortunately, it is unknown whether finding each such object is a prerequisite for completing the level, but in any case, it will be difficult to miss them. To move on to the next stage, you need to take a bonus in the form of a conditional "medal" and, in fact, get to the finish point.

There are not very many opponents - both in number and in varieties, and they do not represent anything really interesting. At the first level, for example, you will have to fight with upright hedgehogs, moving back and forth along tiny predetermined trajectories and by default not showing aggression towards the protagonist, and large Viking jugglers standing still and inclined to chase the hero a little when approaching them; However, both are killed easily and quickly. Respawn in case of death occurs at the start of the stage without saving achievements. The mechanics of jumping are very simple: in fact, there are not even the usual "platforms" for the genre, but only narrow abysses (to successfully overcome which it is most often enough to stand on the edge of a cliff) and ledges. With the latter, the situation is a little more complicated: when jumping, the character clings to the surface with his hands, and in order to climb to the tier above, you need to simultaneously press the jump and move buttons in a certain direction. At the same time, occasionally abysses, for which the starting point has to be calculated, still occur.

The graphics of Fire Fox are very pleasing: the game is made for DOS and is surprisingly (especially for East Asian games) with a high-quality drawing of both backgrounds and creature models - large and clear; True, there is almost no local flavor in it - but many will probably find it rather an advantage. It is impossible not to note the pleasant music that accompanies the action. The verdict is another phenomenal find in its collector's value, which also turned out to be a very cute and entertaining game.