Qix

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Here's a Quirky Title for the Portable Atari
by Dan Loosen

April 3, 2003

Telegames has long been regarded by Atari users as one of the best publishers. Telegames has stuck with both the Lynx and the Jaguar after they were abandoned, but they also publish some very influential games for these platforms while they are viable.

One of such games is a game called Qix. Qix is a sort of puzzler/strategy game in which you have to trap Qix, a moving, pulsating bunch of lines, without it running into you or the traps you are setting. It's a classic game that even spawned an ill fated arcade sequel, and it's done almost as well as any other version on the Lynx.

Qix is an average arcade port of the original average game.  There is little different between it and it's average arcade counterpart, just like every other time that it has been ported to a different system. Qix has always been a game that has just sort of been there.  It wasn't a game you went to the arcade to play, it was a game that if it was there and you had an extra quarter, you might think about playing it.  The Lynx version tends to be the same way.  If you own it and if you had some extra time, you might sit down and play it once or twice.

The control on Qix is just what I'd expect from Qix.  Your cursor can move in the usual four directions and can decide to draw box's either fast or slow, just like every other version of Qix that there ever has been.  In fact, there isn't  much that this cartridge does differently then any of the other versions, except it seems to me that this version is frustratingly hard.  The Qix's seem to be smarter and the Sparx move too fast.  The game promises that it has 256 levels of increasing difficulty, but any normal person won't be able to make it past level 15.

Admittedly the graphics on the Lynx's version are much better then it's Game Boy counterpart, but then again all that the Game Boy has to work with is shades of grey, while the Lynx can display any number of colors.  The sound is something that I can never remember hearing after I play the Game Boy version, but the Lynx's version really sticks in my head.  It's too bad that the reason why it sticks in my head is because I don't like it.  Not at all.  The sound is the usual Qix noises, just like the arcade machine, but I didn't much care for those either.  I guess that all Qix noises are extremely repetitive, dull bursts of distortion.

Qix is an average old arcade game and nothing more.  While the gameplay and the game itself make it a solid title, nothing about it really stands out in my mind the way that Robotron 2084 and Joust do.  If you're looking for a decent title at a good price, check out Qix.  If you're really looking for an addicting game of Qix, try the Game Boy's version instead.