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After spending several years in retirement, Jetman has decided to face the universe again, this time with another get-rich-quick scheme with which to make his fortune. Jetman joins up with the Federation of Space Loonies and uses up his last remaining credits on a new fleet of space garbage collectors. With these worthy star vessels he can visit any planet he desires, collect all the rubbish and make a fat pile of cash out of it.

But when Jetman arrives at his first destination, among the rubbish he finds a piece of the once great Golden Warship. With dollar-signs in his eyes, Jetman realises he could make a huge amount of wonga if he could and the other pieces of this ship and then sell it. The only problem is that there's only one piece of the ship or each of the planets in this solar system, so in order to succeed, Jetman needs to undertake a long and danger-fraught journey.

On all of the planets not only are stacks of enemy gun emplacements and alien craft out to get our hero, but Jetman has to battle against the laws of gravity itself in order to be victorious!

Jetman started out life in the classic Spectrum game: Jetpac. This single screen frolic involved Jetman building a rocket and then fueling it up before making his escape to another screen. The follow-up, Lunar Jetman, took our brain-dead pal with the jet pack into a horizontally scrolling playfield, where he blasted aliens Defender-style or climbed into his moon buggy and collected various weaponry to bolt onto his craft. After that, nothing was seen or heard from Jetman... Until now when Rare (the original programmers) dusted him down and gave him his own new game on the Nintendo!

The main gist of the gameplay involves Jetman getting into his spaceship and leaving base to collect the various garbage on the planet. His ship is controlled in a style familiar to anyone who has played Gravitar in the arcade.

Gravity has an effect on the ship and thrusters must be engaged in order to stay aloft. Jetman has to collect all of the goodies from the planet and deposit them back in his base in order to progress. If his control of the ship isn't very good there's a good chance it'll be lost as it collides with the landscape, leaving Jetman with just his suit and jet pack for protection. However, new ships can be collected from base. Beware though, because ships are in short supply.

As Jetman travels from planet to planet, he finds loads of extra goodies to bolt onto his craft. Amongst the planet's rubbish, Jetman finds equipment like a powerful shield generator - just the business for making those near-fatal collisioons with the landscape slightly less risky.

Also, at the end of the level when the Warpship segment has been collected, Jetman flies into an intergalactic shop to tool up with the latest goodies. Here, he finds the likes of more efficient engines, homing missiles, time bombs and titanium bullet packs!

Wow! The old Spectrum Jetman classics were good, but for sheer excitement, Solar Jetman really stomps on them! The prospect of Gravitar-style gameplay with plenty of bolt-on weaponry makes for a totally fantastic game!

The gravity alters for each world, and on some of the levels simply keeping control of your ships is the greatest challenge. With a depth of gameplay second to none and amazing graphics and sound, Solar Jetman ranks as the greatest NES cartridge released this year!

Jetpac and Jetman were amongst the first computer games I ever played, and it's great to see that great space loony, Jetman, back in action.

The action is very similar to the old coin-op Gravitar, and also like the brilliant computer game Thrust, but there's much more to it. The gameplay is very tough, and it takes quite a while to get used to the gravity - especially when you've got a great hunk of space garbage in tow - and the actual planets themselves are absolutely huge.

It certainly helps to draw a map as you fly around so you don't get completely lost. The graphics are great, with lots of neat little effects, and the sound is similarly excellent. Put all those factors together and you've got a simply brilliant Nintendo title which is an essential part of your collection.

Presentation 95%
Brilliant! Solar Jetman has plenty of comic strip-style presentation screens and a password system.

Graphics 95%
For artistic accomplishment, smoothness and variety, Solar Jetman is second to none!

Sound 91%
More than accomplished tunes and effects.

Playability 94%
Even controlling your ship is a worthy challenge, and collecting all the objects has you hooked immediately!

Lastability 92%
Loads of levels to conquer, add to that the brilliant gameplay and you've got a game that'll last for months!

Overall 94%
One of the greatest NES titles we've seen this year. For sheer enjoyment, buy it - you won't regret it!