Yes, he's back again and this time to haunt the Philips G7000, together with his pals Coily, Wrongway and the Balls.
With three different coloured balls and Slick, the colour-changer, in hot pursuit, Q*Bert has to keep his wits about him as he hops round the pyramid changing the coloured squares by jumping on them. Coily and Wrongway are the ones to watch - they're out for Q*Bert's blood. Luckily for Q*Bert, there are two escape discs he can use when in dire straits. If he jumps on to these at an opportune moment, Coily will leap after him straight into the void.
Slick, who's jusdt plain obstuctive, makes life harder for the long-suffering Q*Bert as, every time he jumps on a square, it changes colour and Q*Bert has to keep backtracking to change them back again.
As you get further into the game, Q*Bert will have to jump on each square twice to go through two colour changes in one level.
Unfortunately, the graphics capabilities of the G7000 portray Q*Bert and his pals in block graphics - rather like little Lego creatures. There are no rounded edges and he loses that rather cute look he has when portrayed on machines like the Atari VCS.
However, the game has been faithfully reproduced from the original arcade version and it's one of the better arcade-style games I've seen on the G7000. It's a shame more game manufacturers don't make decent cartridges for this machine!
Licensed by Parker Brothers for the Philips G7000, Q*Bert is available at around £30.00.
If you like cute games, then this one is for you. However, if you have an itchy trigger finger, then I'd go for something with a bit more action.
1st April 1984