Lunar Jetman is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983 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 third episode, Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship, released for the NES in 1990. It was later included in Rare's 2015 Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay.
Gameplay
thumb|left|250px|Jetman must collect bombs and destroy alien bases to advance to the next level.
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. |width=30em |quoted=1
Ultimate Play the Game was founded by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper, along with Tim's wife, Carol, from their headquarters in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in 1982. They began producing video games for the ZX Spectrum throughout the early 1980s. The company were known for their reluctance to reveal details about their operations and then-upcoming projects. Little was known about their development process except that they used to work in "separate teams": one team would work on development whilst the other would concentrate on other aspects such as sound or graphics. 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".
The game entered the video game charts at number one in November 1983, replacing Ocean Software's Kong. The game was also voted number 31 in the Your Sinclair Official Top 100 Games of All Time. Home Computing Weekly placed Lunar Jetman third in their "Top 10 programs for the ZX Spectrum" in a later 1983 issue.
References
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