Q*Bert's Quest
I am sure you have heard, if not played
Mr. and Mrs. Pacman and Baby Pacman, but did you know there was also a pinball
game made about Q*Bert? Yes, this was a real pinball game and was released back
in 1983 from Gottlieb. I was stunned when I found this out and it was one of
the reasons that I tried so hard to find a way to get Pinmame to work with
Visual Pinball as this program needs both to work correctly. Was it worth all
the effort? Well, yes and no. Read on to find out why.
The first thing that you will notice about this pinball game is the odd flipper configuration. Yes, that is four flippers. You will also notice that it takes you a few tries to get used to them as each set moves in different directions (one flipper goes to the left and one to the right, yet they are controlled by the same button). But you will also soon realize that these two sets of flippers are one of the Achilles' heels of the game. While it is different and a nice gimmick, it makes the game a bit too easy. The only way to lose your ball (outside of tilting it) is for the ball to go down the middle. This is not too often and the game can get to be too easy.
The second problem that I encountered is the sound. Not sure if I am doing something wrong or not, but the sound is awful. The effects are for the most part pretty good, but some border on annoying and can ruin the fun of the game. I found that turning off the samples improved the game, but it still had some problems. Hopefully this will get improved in a future version of VPinmame or someone can point out what I am doing wrong.
On a positive note, the pinball game does retain some of the elements of the arcade game. By hitting and running over certain targets, you can fill the pyramid, just like the arcade game. It even has the same sound and the lights on the pyramid flash just like the arcade. A very nice touch. It also shows most of the characters from the game including Coiley, Ugg and Wrongway. Not sure why Sam and Slick got left off, but my guess is they did not have as good an agent.
The pinball game is a neat little game and I do find myself playing it from time to time. But with the game being a bit easy, it is not one of my favorites. I was glad to see that Q*Bert received a pinball game and maybe someone will come up with a new version for Visual Pinball.
This is just a review of the pinball machine. If you are looking for the actual pinball machine, you may want to check out ebay. Click below to see if you can find this game.