What a neat little game.
Honestly, an absolute Banger, especially considering it's a 1983 home release. Jetpac never garnered much attention it seems. It's not in any top sellers list from 1983 and with garbage like Atari Pac-Man as competition this is just unfortunate. Being only available on the Commodore VIC-20, BBC Microcomputer System and the ZX Spectrum probably didn't help much.
This is a bummer, because I really think the game's a little gem. Tight controls, simple and rewarding gameplay, very charming visuals and fantastic enemy variety for the time. There are like 6 different enemy types, with different behavioral patterns and individual sprites. That shit must have blown some 1983 minds. You even have four different spaceships to assemble, all looking unique. I know this sounds almost comical today. But back in the day, this was the kind of stuff that kept people hooked. To find out if there is a fifth spaceship to assemble. There isn't, but that's not the point.
My main gripes are the lack of music (which is probably due to hardware limitations, but I can't be sure since I'm not a ZX Spectrum nerd) and the busted scoring system. Scoring in Jetpac is essentially a non factor since any stage can be played indefinitely, there is no time limit. The respawn pattern of some enemies can be easily exploited, and they can be easily killed for an infinite amount of points.
Now I still tried my hand at an honest high score, I reached 168,845 points, in case anybody want to see me in Jetpac.
Give it a go, it's a fun little diversion for a few minutes of free time.
Honestly, an absolute Banger, especially considering it's a 1983 home release. Jetpac never garnered much attention it seems. It's not in any top sellers list from 1983 and with garbage like Atari Pac-Man as competition this is just unfortunate. Being only available on the Commodore VIC-20, BBC Microcomputer System and the ZX Spectrum probably didn't help much.
This is a bummer, because I really think the game's a little gem. Tight controls, simple and rewarding gameplay, very charming visuals and fantastic enemy variety for the time. There are like 6 different enemy types, with different behavioral patterns and individual sprites. That shit must have blown some 1983 minds. You even have four different spaceships to assemble, all looking unique. I know this sounds almost comical today. But back in the day, this was the kind of stuff that kept people hooked. To find out if there is a fifth spaceship to assemble. There isn't, but that's not the point.
My main gripes are the lack of music (which is probably due to hardware limitations, but I can't be sure since I'm not a ZX Spectrum nerd) and the busted scoring system. Scoring in Jetpac is essentially a non factor since any stage can be played indefinitely, there is no time limit. The respawn pattern of some enemies can be easily exploited, and they can be easily killed for an infinite amount of points.
Now I still tried my hand at an honest high score, I reached 168,845 points, in case anybody want to see me in Jetpac.
Give it a go, it's a fun little diversion for a few minutes of free time.