Producer: Ocean
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £5.90
Language: Machine code
Author: Ronald Rhodes

With a hop, skip and a jump, Pogo is what you might call a second generation 'Painter'-type game. Actually it's based on the arcade original 'Q-Bert,' and Ocean's version looks excellent. Last month we reviewed Pi-Balled from Automata, and Pogo is very similar.

Resembling one of the crystal constructs from the opening sequences of Superman 1, the Planet of Steps is the playground on which Pogo must survive. In effect it is a pyramid with 28 steps: hexagonal-shaped steps in 3D. The top surfaces of these steps have to be re-coloured to match the colour shown in a step at the top left of the screen. To do this Pogo must hop from step to step. When he lands on one it changes colour. He loses a life should he hop off the edges of the pyramid.

Unfortunately he has been pursued from his home planet by some enemies. These consist of glass balls, a snake called Hiss and a few scorpions. The glass balls drop on to the steps from the top and roll down, crushing anything in their path. The scorpions fly on from the sides and try to sting Pogo, whereas Hiss actually chases Pogo about. The best way to avoid the snake is to jump on to one of the flying saucers that linger beside the steps. Not only will this transport Pogo to the top of the pyramid again, it will lure the snake off the edge to is death for a while! It comes back soon enough.

Depending on the screen level, Pogo will have to change the colour of the steps once or twice. There are also a varying number of saucers, which may only be used once per screen. For the first four screens there is only one colour to change, and from screen 5 onwards, two. Bonus points are awarded for flying saucers not used. The inlay states that the pyramid contains 27 steps, which must be a misprint as there are actually 28.

COMMENTS

Control keys: 1=up/left, zero=up/right, CAPS SHIFT=down/left and BREAK=down/right
Joystick: good range with Protek, Kempston, ZX 2 on a select menu to which you return after each game
Keyboard play: highly responsive, although keys may be awkward for some
Use of colour: excellent
Graphics: very good
Sound: very good
Skill levels: 1
Lives: 4
Screens: 16

A well-presented game with a very colourful loading screen and clear instructions. Pogo has the best 3D effect that I have seen on the Spectrum for this type of game. The graphics are excellent and very much like the arcade version - they are fast, smooth, well detailed and responsive, with superb use of colour. The sound, too, is exceptional. It's a well thought out game which is very addictive and which I can certainly recommend.

The characterful drawing of Pogo himself is quite enjoyable, and the detail of the others is well done. Pogo as a game is strongly coloured and the graphics are fast and smooth. It's a simple game idea, and one that works well, is playable and addictive. My one complaint is that the keys are a bit of a stretch. The four directions are actually diagonals and Ocean have placed them at the extremities of the keyboard. I would have thought the end keys on the two bottom rows would have been a much better solution.

Pogo is an extremely playable version of the arcade original with high-quality sound and graphics. It's better than Pi-Balled on control with its excellent responses, but I think Pi-Balled has better looking flying saucers. Good control helps to make Pogo very playable and addictive and, all round, this is the best version I have seen.

PIMAN GETS PAC-MAN TREATMENT

Q*bert copies are beginning to proliferate on the Spectrum in the same way as rip-offs of Pac-Man did twelve months ago.

With no less than three versions to choose from, we thought it was time C&VG told you which one to spend money on.

The original was an arcade game by Gottlieb which introduced the cute but foul-mouthed little character who had to hop from tile to tile on a triangular shaped play area to change the colour of every square. Nasties like Coily, the snake, and a big red bouncing ball tried to stop our long-nosed friend from completing his task.

Ocean's Pogo is the closest to the arcade original with the snake and bouncing ball - though in this version Coily is operating under the assumed name of Hiss.

The slow, looping hop of Q*bert has been faithfully recreated in Pogo and this is also the only version which makes our friend jump off the side of the pyramid when you press the wrong key.

Also hopping onto the bandwagon are Automata with their PiMan Q*bert game - Pi-Balled.

PiMan and Q*bert could almost be brothers with those unmistakable long snouts - a similarity that has not escaped Automata's attention as they include a bar-room scene in the game where the two share a drink.

If you like fast games, then this is the one for you. The PiMan can be made to move very quickly from square to square as he performs his Q*bert impersonation.

Like Pogo, this game features the spinning escape plates at the side of the pyramid which you can jump onto when the going gets really tough.

Spellbound from Beyond is the most original adaptation of the Q*bert theme introducing witches, spells and devils.

Despite the pretty graphics, this is the least playable version of the game. The little yellow devils are difficult to see and the tiles only partially change colour when landed on - making the whole effect less colourful. Spellbound also lacks the escape plates which are an integral part of the original idea.

Best buy. For my money Pogo is the best Q*bert-type game available for the Spectrum - and marks another success for Ocean who are really beginning to make their mark on the games business.

Pogo £5.90 from Boots, Menzies, Woolworth, Pi-Balled from Automata of Portsmouth at £6 and Spellbound from most software shops at £5.95.

MAKER: Ocean
MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
FORMAT: cassette
PRICE: £5.90

Decidedly lacklustre Q*Bert clone from a software house that really should know better. The graphics are scratchy, the colours are garish and the gameplay is decidedly routine. It comes as a definite downer after the excellence of other Ocean conversions like Mr Wimpy and Eskimo Eddie.

On paper (at least) Pogo looks fairly successful. The fat fellow hops around that familiar paint-splattered pyramid, much as you'd expect him to do, and there's the obligatory crystal ball and pig-tailed snake to avoid. In latter screens you merit extra flying discs and, what the inlay card assures me are 'aggressive scorpions - frankly I'd never have guessed it from looking. It's the only Spectrum Q*Bert I've come across that retains the cuss balloon which Pogo emits when he's stomped upon. I played it with little enthusiasm.

Owners of Currah speech synthesizers (with which Pogo is compatible) may derive a little more pleasure from the sound, which is good. The snake hisses convincingly but it is difficult to make out whether he is saying "slither, slither" - or "sniffer, sniffer"! Taunting remarks such as "last life, Pogo", or "pathetic", serve only to stiffen your resolve to beat the game into dust.

Q*Bert groupies are advised to look elsewhere for more authentic thrills.