Microsoft-owned developer Rare could be planning a release of an updated version of old-school shooter Jetpac for Xbox 360's Live Arcade service, if a listing on the website of German rating board USK is to be believed.
The listingon the USK's official pageindicates that a game called Jetpac Refueled - defined as a shoot-'em-up - has been rated for release on Xbox 360, will be published by Microsoft and was approved for its rating on Tuesday, February 6th.
For those of you not quite seasoned enough to remember, Jetpac was a fast-paced, space-set 2D shooter, where you zipped around a simple level using your astronaut's jetpack, collecting pieces of a rocket ship before gathering enough fuel to make your escape to the next level. It was one of the first games released by Ultimate Play the Game - the bedroom development studio founded by the same two Stamper brothers who created, and recently left, Rare.
Ultimate's back-catalogue has a host of games ideally suited to Arcade's old-school style attitude besides Jetpac, including such nostalgia-saturated classics as Atic Atac, PSSST, Sabre Wulf and Knight Lore. Both Rare and Microsoft were unavailable for comment at the time of writing but, with the game now apparently cleared for release, we expect to find out if our Jetpac fantasies are for real very soon.
February 8, 2007
