GDC 07: Jetpac Refuelled Impressions

Earlier today, during a meeting with Microsoft Casual Games' Chris Early, we were afforded our first look at Jetpac Refuelled for the Xbox Live Arcade. The game, which doesn't currently have a confirmed release date or points price, is a remake of the original Jetpac--which was released for the ZX Spectrum back in 1983. A port of the original game will also be included.

In case you're not familiar with the original Jetpac, the game sees you assuming the role of Jetman--an interplanetary traveler who, for some reason, always arrives at planets without enough fuel to get to the next one. Your mission on each level, then, is to collect fuel pick-ups for your rocket while avoiding the unwanted attentions of various aliens or using your raygun to eliminate them. On some levels you have to rebuild your rocket before you refuel it, which entails picking up the pieces and dropping them on top of each other in the correct order.

With its limited color palette, the 1983 game is sure to bring back memories for any of you who ever owned a ZX Spectrum--even if you never played Jetpac before. The original 4:3 gameplay window is bordered with high-definition artwork now, of course, but the in-game action and visuals are no different to those that graced the Spectrum more than 20 years ago.

The Refuelled version of Jetpac takes full advantage of the Xbox 360's high-definition capabilities and also features a larger, widescreen playing area. The original game's black background has been replaced with images that look like something from the Hubble telescope, and while all of the visuals are still 2D, they have a stylized cartoon-like look about them that's light years ahead of anything in the original game. The gameplay is largely unchanged as far as we can tell, although power-ups such as smart bombs and multidirectional fire have been added.

We look forward to bringing you more information on Jetpac Refuelled just as soon as we can get hands-on time with it.