Q*Bert

Playing Q*Bert is definitely a unique experience. Although it looks a little bit like Pac-Man and Dig Dug had a weird soul-baby, the gameplay is a very fresh experience. My introduction to this gibberish-spewing, orange bouncy-ball was actually Disney's Wreck it Ralph, in which Q*Bert was an adorable supporting character easing his way back into the limelight he held back in 1982. Unfortunately, his appearance in Pixels was a little bit bigger, and a whole lot worse. However, it was enough to get me intrigued.

I took on the arcade classic version of this game through the Internet Archive's "Internet Arcade," which took a little getting used as I was forced to use arrow keys on an isometric field. However, once I understood the controls, I had a pretty good time hopping on color changing cubes and avoiding springy snakes! As the game progressed, the difficulty followed suit, and I had a little bit of trouble keeping up with all the additional enemies, but I was enjoying myself enough to play over and over again. I even went so far as to download the mobile game so that I could play a little more.

Ultimately, like any arcade game, the repetition got a little stale. I didn't find myself seeking out the arcade version or even the mobile "reboot" after a few days of solid play, but I know that after a grace period of sorts, I'll be excited to dive back into the world of spinny disks and surprisingly foul-mouthed tangerines.
The original classic is preserved for play on the Internet Archive at this link (as of 9/28/18): https://archive.org/details/arcade_qbert
The arcade version is available with Q*Bert Rebooted on PS3, PS4, and PSVita here (as of 9/28/18): https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/qbert-rebooted-ps4/
The arcade version is available with Q*Bert Rebooted on iOS here (as of 9/28/18): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/q-bert-rebooted/id1010883120?mt=8
The arcade version is available with Q*Bert Rebooted on Android here (as of 9/28/18): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gpcgames.qbertfree&hl=en_US

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