DESCRIPTION

Based on the 1981 Taito coin-op of the same name, Qix, as the storyline goes in the NES version of the game, has you trying to eliminate a mysterious virus from your computer. Just like in the arcade game, you control a marker, and it is your job to fill in the (initially blank) screen with boxes, rectangles, and any other shape that can be made by drawing straight line segments. As you draw, you must not let a Qix (a fan-shaped computer virus) or a Spritz touch your marker or your Stix. A Stix is any line of a square or other shape you are drawing prior to its becoming a filled-in section of the screen. If you stop moving while in the middle of drawing a Stix, a Fuse will burn up your Stix and try to destroy your marker.

In addition to avoiding the Spritz and the Qix, you must also avoid creating a Spiral Deathtrap, which, as the name suggests, happens when you draw yourself into a spiral shape from which you cannot return. Also, you must not let your marker collide with a Sparx. A level is complete only after you have filled in a certain percentage of the screen. You can draw quickly or slowly: drawing slowly nets you more points for filling in sections of the screen, but drawing quickly gives you the advantage when trying to avoid enemies.

Qix, which is also available for the Atari 5200 and the Nintendo Game Boy, has a graphically simplistic playfield, comprised mostly of blocky, texture-filled 2D shapes. The enemies consist of simple lines and sprites. ~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide