Solar Fox

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The outer space version of Pac-Man
by Dan Loosen

March 24, 2004

Amazingly, I was addicted to this game for the longest time with a broken controller. The controller that I was using had a faulty button, and so I didn't learn that you could speed up until I had mastered the game on the slow setting. Without the speed up, I thought the game was sweet. When I found out what I was missing, I was even more amazed.

You are a pilot who needs to speed through various levels, picking up all of the solar cells contained within them while avoiding fireballs that are shot at you. If you do it quickly enough, you can warp past entire levels. In fact, if you do certain levels within a certain amount of time, you get to play "challenge racks" to "learn the ultimate secret of you mission" or something. While this doesn't seem very big now, this was a completely ground breaking game for the 2600 at the time that it was released.

The graphics leave a lot to be desired. Your ship is a Y, and that is about as complex as the graphics get. Sound is the opposite, with great sounding explosions that will leave you satisfied except for the fact that you just lost your ship. Control is the usual "just fine" for a 2600 title.

The gameplay is what it all comes down to of course, and Solar Fox shines. The challenges are great, but with a little practice you'll be flying through rack after rack. The "Skip-A-Rack" timer feature is a challenge no matter how many times you have played the game, and it is quite rewarding to know that you are about to skip a level you hate.

Solar Fox is a great example of the creative games that came out for the Atari 2600. Snag this game, and take to the bright skies!