For the sake of our much younger readers, Q*bert was a pretty simple arcade game way back in the day: take control of an armless orange "thing" as you hop up and down a pyramid pattern of block-like stairs. The goal is to change the top of each square to the specific color stated at the beginning of each round. To change the color, just get Q*bert to hop onto the square. Once all the squares have changed color, you move on to the next area. Of course, all sorts of objects and enemies will try to prevent you from this goal; thankfully you have a few tools to help you out (i.e. the rainbow shaped disks that transport back to the top). Mixed with humorous sound effects that resemble farting noises, Q*bert was strangely addicting; it's not too hard to see why Q*bert was a cult arcade classic. The Dreamcast version includes the classic version of this game, and for me, I prefer playing the old-school version rather than the revisions they made for the "new look" of Q*bert.
Story goes that the land of Q*dina has been twisted by Q*bert's evil adversary, Coily. Capturing his friends, Q*bert must travel through new puzzles in order to save all his friends. Yes, the story is as trivial as it gets, so let's concentrate on what's important: gameplay. The game is not too different from the original Q*bert as you hop from square to square, changing the colors in order to progress to the next level. The few additions come in the form of new power-ups like turbo speed and invincibility, as well as new enemies. The most drastic change comes to the stages; no longer content with the same old pyramid form, stages come in all sorts of wacky shapes and sizes. That's fine, but then comes changes in the perspective. Sometimes you see the stages from a overhead view, while other times you see it from weird isometric angles. Occasionally, this causes problems as you have to get used to controlling Q*bert differently for each perspective. Larger flaws emerge when you get to the crazier looking levels and the perspective can "hide" tiles from your view. This makes it a guessing game: is there a square to hop on behind that block or not? Don't be surprised if you try to hop on a square and find yourself falling into the void.
Dreamcast quality visuals aren't the standard here, though Q*bert doesn't look bad ¿ just average. Enemies aren't animated that well, though Q*bert himself sports some cool new style moves as he bounds from square to square. Though there's not a lot of detail to the game, Q*Bert shows off some pretty trippy colors and effects that could probably entertain certain college crowds for hours. Sound effects are in full old-school effect, though I doubt the actual sounds are emulated from the original Q*bert game.
The game does incorporate a nice two-player mode where you go head-to-head against another player in who can change the square colors the fastest. Still, Q*bert runs straight on the road of averageness, neither sucking at the bargain bin pile nor offering anything worth a second look. If you've been waiting for the next Q*bert game or if you're a hardcore follower of the "Snorks", perhaps you might take the plunge.
--Anthony "$@%$!" Chau, IGNDC
