1983. I was 10, football was pre-Premiership interesting and er, Jetpac was released. I never had a Spectrum - the far superior C64 arrived for me year later - but I remember playing Jetpac with Speccy owning friends. Sure, it was no Ant Attack but it was better than a lot of the garbage available at the time. I think it may have cost £5.50 too, which was the slightly bizarre premium price for computer games at the time.
Anyway, Jetpac Refuelled was released on Xbox Live last week and updates the graphics but retains the rocket building/fuelling action. But the real eye-opener is the inclusion of the original game. Ouch. Nostalgia, aging reflexes, whatever - but the original Jetpac is hard going in 2007. Back in '83 one-hit death was the gaming norm but how many 10 year olds today - pampered by quicksaves, handholding and instance access to cheats - would put up with this? And after a painful session on Jetpac yesterday I'm glad they don't have to. Maybe 30-something gaming vets should get a medal or something? Jetpac Refuelled is still worth downloading though and not just because it is cheap (around 4 quid). But forget the glammed up remake and check out the original. Thankfully they don't make 'em like they used to.
