JetBoy on Atari 400/800 XL/XE vintage home computer

[TheBladeJunker]

Oh no I'm stranded, hey there's an Ethernet cable coming out of that palm tree.^_^ Man look at all that stuff coming at him, the hardships of jetpack ownership. It looks alright but I'm not as intimately familiar with the original as you are.

Funny to read that you call this not retro which I guess makes sense it was made in 2007 but I tend to only drop the retro moniker for flash based games pretending to be retro. :)

[RetroGamerVX]

Oooh, I like this one, I shall have to get it for my Atari :o)

[EgoShredder]

Jetpac - ZX Spectrum = The BEST version graphically, sonically and for gameplay feel and authenticity.

Jetpac - Atari 800 = Too fast, awful colour, music that rattles on in an over busy manner with no personality or tune, the space rocket launches & returns way too fast. The original atmosphere of the Spectrum original is not there, i.e. the magic feel and look etc.

It sounds like I am slamming the Atari but I am not; just pointing out the immediate differences I can see and hear.

[EgoShredder]

Oooh using a joystick with Jetpac is a complete no no!

[Squiddy200]

My favourite as well. My parents bought the pectrum in 1983 and the first to games I had were this and manic miner

[russell56443]

That Was Awesome!!!!!!

[TheSegaStoner]

The music was bad ass!

[gabbogabbo]

I have a vage feeling that I have either played this or have seen someone play this game before but either way it really does look fun.

[pocketmego]

Looks great! But, NO, not thrilled with the added game mechanic. But, its great otherwise.

[ForViewingOnly]

Hi Steve, here's a question: How do you feel about recently coded games (like this one) for retro systems? Do you still consider them to be 'retro', and is it fair to compare a recently coded game with an original game from back in the day?

Some of the coding on more recent games for the ZX80 and ZX81 is breathtaking, and would have made people cry back in the 80's.

[SteveBenway]

@ForViewingOnly Good question. I like looking at such programs, as a way of seeing what the hardware is capable when pushed by someone who really knows what they're doing. There's no nostalgia, obviously, and I wouldn't say they're retro in themselves, but they have value to those who're interested in retro systems.

[lvpepe38]

Nice

[electricadventures]

That music is awesome, some of the best I have heard on the Atari 8-bit.

The game play looks good, but I think they could have done more with the character colours etc as the platform is perfectly capable.

Will definitely look out for this one though.

[Ensor42]

I'd have to go with the original. Gameplay wise, it seems to be there, but the speccy version was so vibrant and colourful, both in the laser fire and and the enemies. Music's nice, but I'd take the classic spectrum feel over this any day. Not a terrible adaptation though.

[Otouto72K]

Jetpac is a brilliant game, definately one of the best ever made on any system, such a joy to play. This is a very amusing clone/remake/whatever you may call it. I totally agree with you on the music, it's awesome.

[JakalairVG]

Once again, you bring us a game that is just great to watch and I want to play it. This was just great to see and I never saw the original so it is nice to know that this version would be a good one to pick up and not stray too far from the original experience.

[HiroGaems]

If I were stranded on a desert island and could have one computer (solar powered of course) I'd probably choose the 800XL.

I really really REALLY want a ZX Spectrum, but they're absolutely impossible to come by here in the states. I haven't even managed to track down a Timex Sinclair 2068. :(

[laffer35]

Game over, man! Game over! :D

[Fawltykog]

ZX Spectrum ( Best Compuker Ever (TM) ) version is far superior to this imo of course.

Kog Fawlty.

[kmment]

jetpac is a long time favorite on the spectrum and this looks like a good remake, though i think I'd still go with the remake overall

[segagenesis1989]

Hey Stevey, I believe that the opening song is by Depeche Mode. The title is "Strange Love"! It is one of my favorite bands from the 80s and I recognized that track instantly!

I can see why this game is one of your favorites. It is a very nice looking game and the game music is very catchy! That is a really nice title!

[Alphasys]

Nice! Actually an Atari XL game I've never seen before!

[potty127]

Wow! Jetpac! What a great game!

Apparently this is not the only version with limited ammo. I hear the BBC Micro version has limited ammo too.

Have you played the VIC-20 version? Out of all the versions I've played, it's one of the best.

[mroakley1234]

Oof, that limited laser energy is harsh!

The colour clash thing is a bit weird, otherwise that looks like a pretty solid game, I do like the music in the background too.

[ReplayRetro]

really like this game, don't think i've even played the original jetpac (apart from the minigame in lazy jones) awesome looking clone, i may try and get hold of it on a system i have

[TeamRocketReviews]

I always thought you didn't really like the Spectrum... Still, nice to see an awesome Spectrum game on an even more awesome computer, the Atari.

[CaseofGlass]

Atari 8bit music is quite underrated compared to c64, but I think at the times it is on the same level. POKEY was a quite nice little chip.

This is classic game, nothing much to say about it, except highest praise. like so many of you it was a Jetpac on Spectrum that I played first and absolutely loved it!!!

[CptNeeda]

Yeah, the Bill Paxton quote "Game over, Man! Game Over!" is from Aliens.

[TheWeepingCorpse]

Another good video but may I ask why you think the graphics are improved? The pixel art is the same but the speccy version is full of colour, this version is dull, almost monochrome.

[GROUCHYDEVIL]

i like your videos . its nice to see all the old games from past

[killbotkillbotkill]

Ha ha I liked the aliens quote for the game over screen loved this game on the speccy back in the day.

[mdmax09]

Awesome review! I wish I could be as quick and say as clever shit as you!

[OwtDaftUK]

It's nas colour full it looks kinda dull in the colour sense.

[Polaventris]

Looks and sounds great. I like the music and that defender style lazerbeam looks sweet as ever!

[TheInfinitea]

Musics great but this lacks the colour that the speccy version has.

Great vid.