Q*Bert is an arcade video game that was released in 1982. The game's main character is named Q*Bert, who is an orange character with a large nose. The goal of a player is to have Q*Bert jump on all of the cubes that are on the pyramid to change them to another color. When this is done, the round is finished and they will move on to the next round.Before each level starts, there will be a real short cartoon that will show what needs to be done on the upcoming round to complete it. If a player only has to change the color of the cube one time, the cartoon will show Q*Bert do this. If it needs to changed two times, the cartoon will show it also. The target color will also be displayed on top of the screen while a player is playing should a player need to be reminded.
Enemies
While changing the color of the cubes, there will be enemies that will make the game challenging. The first enemy that a player will encounter is a purple snake named Coily. This purple snake will hop around the pyramid from cube to cube just like Q*Bert. A player will want to stay away from him as one touch and a life is lost. Ugg and Wrong Way are purple enemies that come from the bottom of the pyramid. They sort of float around the screen in slow but awkward angles and are out to get Q*Bert. Slick and Sam are two guys that come from the top of the pyramid hopping down cube by cube. Instead of trying to avoid them, like Coily, Ugg and Wrong Way, a player will want to run into Slick and Sam as fast as they can because they change the color of the cubes back to what they were before a player had changed them to the target color.
 |
| Image of Q*Bert and his enemies |
The levels and rounds of Q*Bert
On level one, there are 4 rounds that a player must complete to move on to level two. In each of these rounds, a player will only have to change the color of the cubes once. On the third round, a player will first meet Ugg and Wrong Way. These purple guys move around the pyramid in awkward directions and can be very frustrating to a player. If they touch Q*Bert, a player will lose a life. On the third round, a player will also see the green ball that comes down the pyramid. Q*Bert will want to get this green ball as it will immobilize all enemies on the screen for a certain amount of time and allow Q*Bert to change some cubes for a while without being threatened.
Once a player completes all four rounds of level one, they will move on to level two. This is when a player will need to change the color of the cubes twice. For example, during level two, round one, The cubes will start out as blue. The first time Q*Bert lands on them, they will change to a beige color. When he lands on them again, they will turn to the targeted color of green. Slick and Sam also appear on level two. These two guys have a mission of changing the cubes back to the color that they were before Q*Bert changed them. They will come down from the top of the pyramid and hop downwards from cube to cube missing up the work that a player has already done. To minimize the damage that they do, a player will want to run into them as soon as possible to minimize the damage they do to the pyramid.When a player reaches level three, they will still have to change the color of the cubes two times, but there will be a catch here that makes it harder than level two. During level two, a player just had to jump on each cube two times to reach the target color. Once that target color was reached, the cube would not change colors again. On level three, the same rule applies, but every single time a player lands on a cube it will change again even if the player has already made the cube into the target color. On round two, once a player reached the target color, he could land on it again and it would not change anymore. On level three, jumping on a cube that is already at the target color will change it back to the beginning color. These levels can make the game very challenging for players. Sometimes, a player will not want to jump on a cube that they have already made into the target color, but enemies may force them to. Level four and level five are like level three but become more challenging. After a player passes level five, the game will continue at level five once again.
Difficulty of Q*Bert and the multiple cube color changes
As the game progresses, the game will become much more difficult. The number of enemies on the screen at one time will increase, and they will get much faster. Slick and Sam will also appear more often than before and mess up the color changes that Q*Bert has already made. Sometimes, a player will think that he is about to finish a round, but then Slick or Sam will come out of nowhere and ruin everything. A player will then have to go change all those cubes back and will ruin some of their other already completed cubes along the way. The game can be quite challenging, but with enough practice, a player should be able to get far. Many beginners will accidentally jump off of the pyramid, resulting in losing a life. When this happens, just as any other time Q*Bert dies, Q*Bert will let out a strange sound that sounds like complaining and swearing.
Getting Coily off your back by using the disc
Red balls will come bouncing down from the top of the pyramid that will kill Q*Bert if they bop him on the head. There are purple balls that will do the same thing, but they are a bit more dangerous because Coily will come out of a purple one once it reaches the bottom of the pyramid. Coily is the one enemy who will always be on the hut to get Q*Bert and will stop at nothing. As a player is going about their business changing the color of the cubes, they will always have to keep an eye on Coily and will constantly have to dodge him. There is a way for a player to get him off of their back for a while. There are multi-colored disc that sit on the side of the pyramid. When a player jumps on this disc, it will fly Q-Bert back to the top cube of the pyramid. If a player jumps on the disc while Coily is close to them, Coily will jump off of the pyramid after them and will die. He will come back later, but a player will at least be relieved of him for awhile.
Strategies
The green ball is basically the only good thing on the screen that will help a player. When it comes down the pyramid, a player will definitely want to get it to freeze all enemies. A player should never make it mandatory to get it as many times there are many enemies that will be in the way. Sometimes, a player is to anxious to get it and will lose a life trying to get it.
A player will also want to change the bottom half of the pyramid to the target color before they work on the top of the pyramid. The disc can be taken back to the top of the pyramid to get the top cubes if a player wants to. Taking care of the bottom cubes first is very important, especially on levels that have Slick and Sam. When they first appear from the top of the pyramid, they may change the color of the first cubes they land on, but a player may be able to stop them before they mess up the bottom cubes.
Another thing a player will always want to remember is that if they are sitting on the very top cube, they will always be safe if there is no Coily around. When the red or purple ball falls, they will always fall starting on the cubes that are below the top cube. Also, Ugg and Wrong way will bypass Q*Bert when he is on the top cube.
My personal experience playing Q*Bert
 |
| Q-Bert Saturday Morning Cartoon |
 |
| Q-Bert Merchandise |
Play Q*Bert online right now
There is a good flash game of Q-Bert available to play online. I tried it, and it is very easy to control. Honestly, some people will probably do better using their computer gadgets than using the actual joystick that was used on the arcade cabinet console. Lot of people had problems controlling Q*Bert with that joystick and would constantly jump off of the pyramid. It was hilarious at times! With this Q*Bert flash game, a player can use either the mouse pad or the arrows on their keyboard to control the game. Any Q*Bert fan will definitely want to give it a try.
Play Q*Bert now!
No comments:
Post a Comment