Reviews

This is another of those early unofficial arcade conversions from Ocean, this time based on Q*bert from Gottleib. You need to step on each hexagon in a pyramid whilst avoiding an assortment of nasties with only the help of a few floating platforms to allow you to escape when necessary.

As far as Q*bert clones go, it's a very good one; far better than the likes of Spellbound and Pi-balled which came out around the same time. The sprites are cute and move smoothly and there's excellent use of colour strategically employed to avoid clash. More importantly the gameplay strikes the perfect balance between fast enough to keep you on your toes and giving just enough reaction time to avoid being unfair.

It was something of a hit back then and hasn't aged badly at all. It wouldn't have won any awards for originality, and might well have attracted a lawsuit had Gottleib been inclined that way, but it's a very playable game indeed.

1983 Ocean Software (UK)
by Ronald Rhodes, F.D. Thorpe (loading screen)

After all this years I still find it hard to believe this was released in 1983!
Its almost impossible to make a better version of Q*bert than this one. Everything works great. Gameplay is awesome and absolutely engaging. The graphics are funny and well presented. And just listen to the sound fx's, they couldn't be better chosen to keep you pumping.
This game for me is an absolute classic in every way, even better than the original arcade game.

Pogo is a different-class video-game .

Very simple in its conception and quite brilliant in its execution .

The sound fxs are incredible for 1983 !!!

Pogo hits the right key in the right moment , although the controls are a pain in the arse .

4,5 out of 5 for this little master-piece .

Hard to add anything to the Dean's review. There is a great sense of fun in this playable, fluid and well-presented Q*Bert clone.

It's Q*Bert. On the Spectrum.

I have to say, for a Q*Bert clone this is among the best I've ever seen. As The Dean put it, it's hard to believe that this was released in 1983 because it is leaps and bounds ahead of most other games released that year and feels way ahead of its time. It looks superb, it's brilliantly programmed and it's incredibly responsive. The keyboard layout however is dreadful. You have to use 1 and 0 for top left and top right, which is fair enough, but then you have to use caps shift for bottom left and break for bottom right which happens to be mapped to the space key and it really doesn't food on your fingers when you use these keys. I often found myself being confused with the controls as a result of this and pressing the wrong key to send him the wrong way or the wrong key which doesn't move him at all. I can't help but think I'd enjoy this more if I had played this in 1983, which i didn't because I never bought this game. It's a shame because it looks like a fantastic clone and certainly favourable to the arcade game itself, but if only it had a better keyboard layout. Yes I know I could play it with the joystick, but I don't have a joypad anymore strangle none of those options worked when I tried mapping them to the keyboard, so I was stuck with the shoddy keyboard layout. Come to think of it though, as i was using the keyboard for my joystick controls it probably would have been even worse anyway.