Skyfox
Skyfox is a 1984 action computer game developed by Ray Tobey and published by Electronic Arts. Ariolasoft published the game in Europe. Originally developed for the Apple II, it was ported to the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and Macintosh in 1985 and to the Amiga and Atari ST in 1986. The game was produced by Stewart Bonn, and Richard Hilleman also supported Ray Tobey's work; both would later become high-ranking EA product development executives.
Description
The player pilots the Skyfox, the most advanced attack fighter plane available to the fictional government, the Federation. The plane has armaments consisting of radar guided missiles, heat-seeking missiles, laser cannons and deflection shields, and has a top speed of Mach 4. Gameplay consists of finding and destroying enemy tanks, planes and motherships. The game has 15 scenarios that can be played at five skill levels.
Featuring a view from the cockpit of the jet, this game is recognized as popularizing this view. The cockpit featured radar which showed incoming missiles and other threats. Flying above the clouds, the player fights hordes of enemy planes. Flying below them, the player is attacked by enemy tanks. Hailed upon its release, most criticisms of the game cited repetitive gameplay as the only drawback.
