In the 1995 Union Logic Software Publishing game, Vinyl Goddess from Mars, the protagonist is Vinyl, a sultry maid clad in red leather. While Vinyl is on her way to a B Movie convention, a meteor shower engulfs her little spaceship and Vinyl is knocked off course. Knowing that the ship is going to crash and there is nothing she can do to prevent it, Vinyl ejects and parachutes to pseudo safety on the strange planet below. The quest is to guide Vinyl back to her ruined vessel so she may repair it and get back on course.
Along the way, she must collect her scattered belongings. One would hate to be poorly outfitted for a B movie convention!
Vinyl Goddess from Mars is a standard platform game, but it features very easy-to-use controls. Everything is geared for the right-handed person, with the arrow keys, Ctrl and Alt combinations for all of the moves Vinyl requires. While the concept of a sexy feminine warrior laying waste to a variety of enemies is a concept originally done in a similar game (Jill of the Jungle), the storyline is fresh, albeit far-fetched and ridiculous. For the most part, gamers need not be concerned with the plot line. It has little to no bearing on the game play, anyway.
The actual game is not terribly difficult.
When a problem does arise with a particularly tough enemy or series of enemies, pots of life-restoring juice seem to be ample. The weaponry is a little difficult to aim at first, but it gets much easier with practice. The same is true of timing jumps. After a minor amount of practice, however, performing such feats becomes almost routinely easy. Still, there are plenty of other things to stimulate the gamer. The graphics are quite good for the time and the backdrops are very colourful. There are plenty of secret rooms and puzzles that can be located in various levels and the levels do increase in difficulty as play continues.
Overall, this is a solid platform game and is worth wiling away a few hours to play. Vinyl has a very good scrolling engine, which helps to improve game play and offset the bad music, silly plot and frustratingly similar enemies. It is certainly worth a look, but mind your manners and don’t stare. Vinyl might just kick your bottom!
