Reviews

Ultimate's fifth game finally saw them move away from the limitations of 16K to make a much larger game that used the full capabilities of the 48K machine.

Where Jetpac was essentially a one screen affair, Lunar Jetman has a massive scrolling play area. There's the buggy, a bomb, a teleport system, and an alien missile base that you need to destroy within a strict time limit. The buggy can also be augmented with a gun, although the trailer on the cover art is purely mythical.

The game also has more realistic physics with added inertia to the controls as well as the gravity effect of Jetpac. This does rather serve to steepen the learning curve though, and this is exacerbated by the limited fuel and the rapid reactions required to avoid aliens appearing at the edges of the screen.

All in all, despite the additions, it doesn't quite come together as nicely as the original Jetpac and where the earlier game held up nicely, the sequel has rather faded over time making it something of a flawed gem.

I die every two seconds.

See WhenIwasCruel review and lesser 1 second.

Dreadful, just dreadful. I remember buying this after loving the fantastic Jetpac, expecting something similar. Wrong! The game is far too hard from the outset. One of Ultimates failures in my opinion.

It was difficult; but the graphics were mesmerising for Sinclair Spectrum. As missiles were stopped, the "aliens" got weirder & more colourful,, wapring their way around the screen. I first played Jetpac after this, which seemed such a deadend game in comparison to the endless tracks of Lunar. Side missions included laying track across the entire landscape, and trying to find the (non existent) trailer, which could have been so useful.

JETMAN has to destroy all of the enemy bases before the imminent destruction of the strange planet he landed on after the malfunction of his spaceship. Using only
his Hyperglide Moon Rover to collect and assemble the needed equipment.

Great graphics, great sound, great keyboard response, hard but possible to complete.
What more can you ask for ?
Well probably more than just five lives.
Would twenty do the trick??

An absolute classic, this ideal follow-up to Jet-Pac is quite taxing and definitely not recommended for easily discouraged players.

Polished graphics and sound in pure Ultimate style are just the most superficial aspect of an absorbing game which will have you always on the lookout for the next batch of aliens.

A true milestone in 8-bit generation videogaming.

The follow up to Jet Pac was Ultimates first foray into the 48k market , released almost simulaneously with atic atac .

Boy did they use the extra memory well , the gameplay took place on our moon and had you in charge of the lunar rover with a rock hard mission to destroy the alien bases that had taken root on the surface ,this had to be done before the timer ran down and the alien missile was directly launched at the rover - ending the game - no matter how many lives were left.

To do this you had various implements and items to help you , the main one being your character jetman , armed with a laser to blast the enemies and a jetpac to help dodge and avoid them (and fight the moons gravity).

The precise object of the game was to load up the rover with a bomb , drive it to the alien base and with a bit of effort and luck ! Drop it on the central tower of the base , its harder than it sounds though as meteors and aliens bombard you throughout each level to make the game just a touch difficult (some say too difficult).

Whilst driving the rover , craters would appear before you , these could be fixed with girders that you could grab out of the vehicle , again providing another challenge. You could also teleport via the phone boz looking items on the surface or even turn your rover into a battletank by attaching a gun turret.

Some dismiss the game quite quickly as it is quite frustrating at first , but as soon as you pick up and destroy the 1st few bases you will have a game for life ! It is amazing !

Huge step backwards from the classic Jetpac. Graphics are as nice but the gameplay is well below the standards Jetpac set. A hugely disappointing sequel.

The first time you play Lunar Jetman is really shocking: another Ultimate excellent work with superb graphics, sounds and the beginning of what it seems a cool adventure on the surface of the moon.

But once you start the game, first you need to know the keys to control the astronaut (there were many like me who got the game but not the instructions *cough*cough*) otherwise you face an impossible mission to accomplish.

After some attempts you get what the game is about and then you discover a different one. Try to destroy alien facilities with a bomb you must collect and put in a rover you must drive to your objective while avoiding annoying flying aliens.

What it seems easy is just a frustrating and exasperating mission.