An OK Q*Bert Clone
J-Bird uses the same diagonal moving array of staircases that converge into a pyramid, and the player controlled protagonist is very much alike Q*Bert, the bird blob of the original. The challenging elements, trying to evade predators while activating the stairs to finish the level are all here, so this game plays like the original as well. However, having been released in 1983, the early beginning of DOS gaming, the game manages to look even more poorly than the original game, which while not being very attractive graphically, at least it managed to bring forth a full bodied representation of the pyramid grid with a more vibrant set of colors. Even Q*Bert on the ZX Spectrum seems to have managed a better looking game, so, in all honestly, while functional, J-Bird looks pretty bad. The only enticement to keep playing will come from very hardcore players wanting to see if there are any interesting additions to this game on the later stages that might have not been available in the original. Other than that, unless you have a fetish for recreations, you should go for playing the original on any of the consoles or home computer versions it was released, or even better, the arcade version.
