Software:Spy Fox 3: "Operation Ozone"

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Spy Fox 3: "Operation Ozone"
Cover art
Developer(s)Humongous Entertainment
Publisher(s)Infogrames[lower-alpha 1]
Producer(s)Rachel Frost
Designer(s)Brad Carlton
Writer(s)Brad Carlton
Composer(s)
  • Tom McGurk
  • Geoff Kirk
EngineSCUMM
Platform(s)Mac OS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
ReleaseWindows, Macintosh
  • WW: May 1, 2001[1]
Linux
  • WW: May 15, 2014[2]
iOS, Android
  • WW: August 13, 2015
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Spy Fox 3: "Operation Ozone" is an adventure game developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Infogrames, part of their "Junior Adventure" line and the final entry in the Spy Fox series of games. The game follows the heroic Spy Fox as he prevents a villainess from opening a massive hole in the ozone layer. The game was released for computers in May 2001.

Plot

Poodles' aerosol can shaped space station.

While undercover in the Scottish Highlands, Spy Fox infiltrates a hideout belonging to a group of rabbits. Agent Roger Boar gives Fox a rocket-powered origami skateboard sent by Professor Quack and a message hidden inside a lipstick container. After folding the skateboard correctly, Spy Fox is able to use it to escape from the bunny guards. After a chase, the scene switches to a giant aerosol can spraying on the ozone layer. Once the Spy Chief is informed of this, Spy Fox arrives with the message, which reads, "Please help me. Signed, Plato Pushpin". The Chief gives Fox the number of a jukebox song to play (in the form of a tea bag) so the latter can get into the Mobile Command Center.

Spy Fox is sent to the Middle of Nowhere. After punching the number in the jukebox at a bowling alley, Fox hops into a bowling pin and is sent to MobCom (short for Mobile Command Center), which is above the bowling alley. Monkey Penny informs Spy Fox that Plato Pushpin, a cosmetics expert, has been captured by Poodles Galore, the self-appointed Queen of Cosmetics and Pushpin's ex-employer. After disguising as one of Poodles' bowlers, Spy Fox rescues Pushpin, who gives him a list of items needed to create the congeal pill (which includes an unchewed wad of chicle, the Aerosol Particle Diameter Number (or A.P.D. for short), and a couple other ingredients) to disarm Poodles' hairspray can, which Poodles plans to use to deplete the ozone layer so everyone will buy her SPF 2001 Sunscreen.

When Spy Fox gives Pushpin all the vital ingredients, the latter finishes the congeal pill and gives it to Fox. At the same time, Professor Quack gives Fox a "Swiss Spy Knife" gadget, which contains wire cutters that are able to cut through solid steel. Spy Fox enters the spray can, but Poodles stops Fox right before the pill can touch the aerosol and traps him in a steel net. After using the wire cutters that Quack gave him, Fox is able to free himself, take back the congeal pill (without Poodles noticing) and successfully throw the pill into the aerosol. The can becomes unstable but gives just enough time for Poodles and Fox to escape before it explodes. Poodles then retreats to her moonbase; if Spy Fox follows her, a bonus ending will be unlocked.

In the bonus ending, Poodles uses an impenetrable force field to protect her moonbase from intruders while she plots revenge, but not before Spy Fox sneaks in. Monkey Penny calls to inform Spy Fox that she is in Professor Quack's M.E.S.S. ship and is right outside the moonbase, but is unable to get past the force field. He infiltrates a room with a surveillance monitor (after deactivating a booby trap), which shows a close-up of Poodles Galore's fingernails, so he can paint his fingernails exactly like hers to complete the fingernail code and turn the force field off. Afterwards, the Spy Corps. agents are able to come right in and capture Poodles' goons. Having had enough of Spy Fox, Poodles decides to get rid of him herself and easily overtakes him, but Monkey Penny comes in and breaks Poodles' fingernail with a karate move, finally defeating the villain and arresting her. In the end, Spy Fox talks to the Chief about getting a vacation saying that he's "dog tired".

Gameplay

The game features most of the same mechanics from the first two games, but the several pockets in Spy Fox's tuxedo used to carry items are replaced by a single pocket called the "Super-Deep Spy Pocket", which is able to carry an unlimited amount of items in it. The gameplay is simplified compared to the previous Spy Fox games, in which the main objective merely involves collecting four ingredients for the congeal pill; unlike the previous games, all of those tasks are available to do simultaneously, meaning you don't have to complete one task to do another one.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings95% (Windows)[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
PCMagStarStarStarStar[4]
Review CornerStarStarStarStarHalf star[5]
Awards
PublicationAward
Review CornerAward of Excellence[5]
Children's Software RevueAll Star Award[6]
Choosing Children's Software"Best Pick" Award[6]

The game was the fifth Top Selling Home Education Software for the week of 5/06/2001-5/12/2001,[7] third for 5/13/2001-5/19/2001,[7] fourth for 5/27/2001-6/2/2001,[8] and third for 6/3/2001-6/9/2001,[8] according to PC Data. In North America alone, Spy Fox 3 sold 77,133 copies during the year 2001.[9]

Review Corner gave the game a score of 4.5 stars in addition an Award of Excellence.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Infogrames Press Release". 2001-08-03. http://www.infogrames.net/corporate/press/050101_spyfox.asp. 
  2. ↑ "Spy Fox 3: "Operation Ozone"". Steam. http://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Humongous%20Entertainment. 
  3. ↑ "Spy Fox 3: "Operation Ozone" for PC - GameRankings". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/582591-spy-fox-3-operation-ozone/index.html. 
  4. ↑ "Spy Fox 3". http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,32968,00.asp. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Spy Fox 3 - Review Corner". May 2001. http://www.reviewcorner.com/games/spyfoxoperationozone.html. ""As a nonviolent game the whole family will love, this program is hard to beat."" 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Infogrames Awards - Spy Fox 3". http://funkidsgames.com:80/games/?awards=208. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Hits List Results". 2001-06-01. http://reston.intelectmt.com/hitslists/pickhits_submit.asp?list=ws. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Hits List Results". 2001-06-26. http://reston.intelectmt.com/hitslists/pickhits_submit.asp?list=ws. 
  9. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (March 2002). "State of Adventure Gaming - March 2002 - 2001 Sales Table". Just Adventure. http://www.justadventure.com:80/articles/State_of_Adventure_Gaming/Mar-02/sales2001.shtm. 
  1. ↑ The Steam release was co-published by Tommo and Night Dive Studios.
    The iOS version was published by Tommo.
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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