1983 · Stamper brothers · Arcade · Science

Lunar Jetman

Lunar Jetman is a shooter video game developed and published by Ultimate Play The Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983 and the BBC Micro in 1984.[1] The game is the second instalment of the Jetman series and one of the few games released to support the Currah Microspeech peripheral. In the game, Jetman has to destroy alien bases whilst simultaneously defending himself, along with Earth, from a hostile alien race.

Released: 1983
Platforms: BBC Microcomputer System ZX Spectrum
Genres: Arcade Science Shooter
Developers: Stamper brothers
Publishers: Ultimate Play the Game
Series: Jetman
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action Science fiction
Country: United Kingdom
Languages: English

About

Lunar Jetman is a horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983 and later on the BBC Micro. In this sequel to Jetpac, the second instalment of the Jetman series, Jetman has to destroy alien bases whilst simultaneously defending himself, along with Earth, from a hostile alien race.

It was met with critical acclaim upon release for its addictive gameplay and range of colours. The game was followed by a sequel, Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship, developed by Rare and released by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. It was later included in Rare's 2015 Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay.

Keywords

melee
upgradeable vehicles

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Once again taking on the role of Jetman, players find themselves on the surface of a small purple planet. Similarly to its predecessor, the player can move around slowly on foot, or use a jetpack to leave the ground and navigate the planet faster. However, unlike Jetpac, Jetman's jetpack has limited fuel and must be topped up regularly. In addition to the jetpack, the player has a lunar rover for ground travel, inside of which they are invulnerable to damage.

However, the rover can only negotiate smooth terrain, and Jetman may need to use bridging kits obtained from the rover to fill in craters on the planet's surface. The rover doubles as a refuelling point for Jetman's jetpack.

Reception

Similar to its predecessor, the game was critically acclaimed upon release. Crash praised the graphics and wide spectrum of colours, noting that whilst the presentation did not differ much from its predecessor, the graphics were "every bit as good" as superior arcade machines. Home Computing Weekly also praised the presentation, stating that the colour and animation were "superb", whilst expressing the gameplay as "disgustingly addictive".

When Crash revisited the game in their "Crashback" section of a 1984 issue, the game was still praised, with one reviewer stating that he would not change any of the original scores. Brian Buckley of ZX Computing praised the game's advanced graphics and effects, stating that extraordinary attention had been paid to detail and that every usage of sound and colour was "excellent". Buckley also asserted that Lunar Jetman was "the best computer game of all time".