In the beginning there was Pac-Man. He was a little round character that starred in a smash-hit arcade video game. He was considered so cute that he spawned a rash of spin-off products and even got his own TV show. Then came Q*Bert, another little round character, with a big nose and little legs. He too starred in a smash-hit video game, was considered unbearably cute and is about to get his own TV show. Moral: cute, round characters sell video games. See if you agree with this home Intellivision version of Q*Bert.

Like most good video games, the idea is deceptively simple. Hop Q*Bert up and down a pyramid of 3D cubes changing their colour as he lands on each. When the entire pyramid has been changed, it all starts again, this time with a different colour. But, of course, it ain't that easy! There are 'nasties' about. They chase Q*Bert all over the pyramid; red and purple balls to squash him, creatures called Ugg and Slick who jump on him and change cube colours back again, and Coily the snake. The only way Q*Bert can escape his deadly coils is to hop on one of two flying discs which whisk him to safety while Coily plunges to his doom.

Compared to the original arcade game, the Intellivision graphics are, naturally, a bit coarse but otherwise this version remains remarkably faithful to the original.

The flying discs spin colourfully, the sound is good - Q*Bert even manages to swear convincingly whenever he is caught. From the outset, control on this game is not simple as Q*Bert can only hop in diagonal directions but Intellivisions infamous control discs compound this problem and make a lot of practice necessary. Once mastered though, you'll find Q*Bert more of a challenge than you think. Looks like another cute, round, lovable figure is about to become a home video game superstar!