Official 'Q*Bert' Is Jumping onto the iPhone
posted by Blake Patterson on June 26th, 2009 2:45 PM EDT in Action, Exclusives, Platform, Retro, Upcoming Games, iPhone games, iPod touch games
Sony Pictures Television has given Touch Arcade an exclusive preview of their upcoming iPhone remake of the 1982 isometric arcade classic Q*Bert.
Q*bert is back! After more than 25 years, the colorful, lovable, jumpy arcade character of the 80's is now available on iPhone and iPod Touch. And he's got his very own blog too at www.qbert.com!
Kick it old school and play retro Q*bert in Arcade mode with authentic graphics and gameplay through 20 rounds across 5 challenging levels. Or, if you prefer your Q*bert smooooth, choose Modern mode for updated graphics. That's just the beginning. Regular updates will bring really new gameplay!
Q*Bert for the iPhone features two play modes to satisfy whatever level of retro gamer you happen to be. Modern mode features updated graphics with a music track that gives the game a clean, modern feel. Arcade mode features the original graphics and sounds and delivers that pixellized, jaggy fix that hardcore retro fans hunger for. Both modes include the standard five different enemy types and four different friendly objects that carry the player from level to level.
The goal of the game is to traverse every cube in each level's pyramid. Landing on a cube changes its color and once a pyramid has been fully changed, the player moves to the next level. But watch out — roving villains wander the map, trying to squash our orange, tube-nosed hero. And while, in the original, pyramids were the whole deal, Sony will soon be releasing all new kinds of levels with new characters to add variety to the game.
Sony has even given Q*Bert his very own blog for fans to enjoy.
Being an isometric game (the first?), Q*Bert involves diagonal movement across those ziggurats of glowing pixel goodness that is, by default, controlled with directional swipes anywhere on the screen. Alternate accelerometer controls are also offered and work better than one might expect. The controls work very well and anyone who ever fed a stream of quarters to the original stand-up cabinet way back when should thoroughly enjoy the iPhone remake.
See our gameplay video of the pre-release version for a closer look.
[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]
And here are screenshots of the retro/original themed mode of the game:
Sweet…This is a must for me!!!
I haven't played Q Bert in FOREVER. Definitely down to get in on this
haven't played Q'bert since my LCD watch in the first grade! This will be an instant buy for me!
Sony Pictures Television…. hope they don't completely butcher it.
So freaking exciting. But – what if it isn't as cool as we remember?
It almost never is, but the closure is worth the $$
Man this looks good. I hope they do a better job with the control stick than Namco. Their control sticks aren't the most responsive.
FINALLY!!!!
Good, now I can stop playing 'cubert', the unlicensed clone that was predictably yanked from the App Store before too long. It is decent enough, but the original (with the original sounds!!!) would be far preferable.
Oh, glorious Q*Bert! My favorite arcade game ever!
lol, does he really say 'oh Sh*t' at 2'47? I do hope so: )
I think Zaxxon was actually the first game to feature isometric projection, although I believe they came out the same year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaxxon
Btw, does this run horizontally or vertically?
It looks like a lot of wasted screen space in the pictures/video.
~swoon~
I hope they got Warren Davis to program it. Every version of Q*bert not made by Davis has been something of a let down.
The version of Q*Bert already in the App Store (Cu*Bert) is quite faithful and the controls, though they took a few tries to get the hang of, are really beyond satisfactory. I have a funny feeling Sony's 'effort' will not even compare. Time will tell.
It's long been pulled from the App Store…
I know.
yes me also hopefully not botched it has already been out before. i have it on my ipod touch. but it is not as easy as when i was at the acarde.
skamando thank you could not remember who brought it out before
The video looks good, I think they have preserved the timing and AI (such as it was) from the original. Can't wait!
cool beans
I know tis game as "J-Bird" (Orion Software / PC XT). Pure classic, thanks for Sony!
I wonder how much longer before app store says it is ok to come out if it is there. I guess I am getting impatient for my qbert fix.
yeah, i wonder, too!
on june 16th they sais it was already submitted..
They are saying that Q Bert is out in the international store right now 7/21/2009. I hope it will be in the u s store soon.
thats great to hear that it is in international store. i do hope it will come to the us store quickly
I got the fake clone "cubert" long ago, and now after the 3.0 update it doesn't work. WHY!? I want my money back!
How much longer before US gets the qbert app come on already we need the app also.
thank you so much sony if you look at this at all for my birthday present to have qbert again. i have played it for a couple minutes and it is so much easier than that clone just like the good old days for the modern part thank you so much
Sweet. I was searching for Qbert in the app store not long ago. I'm glad it is on its way. Maybe they can ressurect some more of my favorite Atari games.