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Jet Pac, already a firm favourite amongst Spectrum and Vic owners, has now been converted to run on the Beeb and what a good game it is!

The game starts with a rocket ship in three parts. This has to be assembled by picking up each piece in order and dropping it onto the base segment which is already in position. Once it is assembled, you need to fill it with fuel pods as they appear randomly. When fully fueled, you need to board it and take off to another planet. To make things desperately difficult, on each planet, there are aliens "in need of blowing up". Luckily, you are equipped with the latest Jet Pack and a Quad Photon Laser Phaser. If you are hit by one of the aliens, you lose one of your lives. Extra points may be notched up by collecting various goodies that fall from the sky.

On the first screen the aliens are not too difficult to avoid but on subsequent screens they become more intelligent and track you with ever-increasing accuracy.

The characters are detailed and the animation is very well done. The way Jet man walks and the explosions are simply brilliant. The sound is good and all the usual features such as freeze, sound on/off option, one/two player option and the obligatory hall of fame are there. To top it all, Jet Pac is original and highly addictive. Highly recommended.

Shingo Sugiura