Jetpac Refuelled Rare Retrospective

After more than two decades in the dark (barring a cameo outing in 1999 as a Donkey Kong 64 minigame), March 2007 sees Jetman finally airlifting his much-missed franchise back into the limelight with Jetpac Refuelled.
It marks a milestone in Rare’s history for another reason, as this is the first title to be developed exclusively for the Xbox LIVE Arcade download service. So, what do potential buyers on XBLA get for their hard-earned digital cash?
Quick history lesson: Jetpac was the very first release for Rare precursor Ultimate Play The Game way back in 1983, setting a benchmark for both the quality and the success of subsequent titles. Jetpac Refuelled takes that tried and tested laser-driven arcade gameplay and brings it right up to date, crowbarring in masses of new levels, enemies and weapon upgrades while polishing the visuals and soundtrack to a space-age shine.
Veteran twitch gamers and eager rookies are all well catered for, with over 100 stages challenging allcomers to build and refuel their rockets under heavy pressure from disgruntled locals. The ultimate point of all this? Same as it always was: to stay alive and get rich.
Online components include access to global high score Leaderboards and a good spread of Achievements, while the inclusion of simultaneous multiplayer action marks another first for the franchise. Two players can quickly and easily set up a head-to-head battle on a single Xbox 360 console or over Xbox LIVE.
So if you fancy giving your trigger finger a proper arcade workout for the first time in ages, here’s your opportunity. The full game is available now on Xbox LIVE Arcade for a mere 400 Points, or you can grab the free Trial version first if you’re still not sure. Jetpac Refuelled is much more than a simple nostalgia trip, though to show due reverence we’ve also included a recreation of the classic 1983 original under the heading of Retro mode… we did, however, stop short of making it take five minutes to load.