''Jet-Boot Jack'' (also called ''The Music Machine starring Jet-Boot Jack'') is a

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

written by Jon Williams for the

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

and published by

English Software The English Software Company, later shortened to English Software, was a Manchester, UK-based video game developer and publisher that operated from 1982 until 1987. Starting with its first release, the horizontally scrolling shooter ''Airstrike ...

in 1983. It was ported to the

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

, and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

. A C64-only sequel, ''Legend of the Knucker-Hole'', was released in 1984.

Plot

The player controls Jack, a “space-age jogger,” in a record production plant who must build up the ultimate music collection.

Gameplay

The production plant is set out as a series of platforms connected by lifts. To complete each level, the player must collect all the musical notes while avoiding monsters, moving lifts and

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

s. Jack can be moved left or right using his jet boots to hover or by ducking and sliding under fatal stalactites or monsters. By hovering, Jack can clear lift shafts but if he stops over the shaft, it is fatal. Jack's jet energy runs down, particularly if he stands still for a while, and must be replenished by collecting

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

from overhanging pods. Two types of monsters can be killed for bonus points by jumping on the platform above them. A third type of monster is invincible. Bonus points are awarded when a screen is completed based on the vinyl refills unused. There are ten screens which then repeat at a higher difficulty level e.g. with more monsters and fewer refills per vinyl pod.

Ports

The game was one of English's first games to be converted to other platforms beginning with the

, also in 1983, and the

, and

in 1984. The Amstrad version was also later published by Amsoft (1985). In the US, the game was released by

Datamost Datamost was a computer book publisher and computer game company founded by David Gordon and based in Chatsworth, California. Datamost operated in the early 1980s producing games and other software mainly for the Apple II, Commodore 64 and Atari ...

with the subtitle "Adventures in the Music Machine" on the cover and billed as ''The Music Machine starring Jet-Boot Jack'' on the title screen.Jet-Boot Jack (US version)
at Atari Mania

Reception

Atari magazine ''

Page 6 ''Page 6'' (subtitled ''Atari Users Magazine'' and later known as ''Page 6 Atari User'', then ''New Atari User'') was an independent British publication aimed at users of Atari home computers. It was published between 1982 and 1998. The magazi ...

'' gave a positive review concluding "Although on a now familiar theme the unique story line and good programming makes ''Jet Boot Jack'' well worth getting. The music is good and the scrolled opening credits are superb"."The Software Reviews"
Les Ellingham, Page 6, Page 6 Publications, Issue 8, Mar/Apr 1984 The game was given "Hall of Fame" status by ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' magazine. The Amstrad CPC version was given a score of 70% by ''

Amstrad Action ''Amstrad Action'' was a monthly magazine, published in the United Kingdom, which catered to owners of home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console. It was the first magazine published by Chris Anderson's Future Publishin ...

''"Jet-Boot Jack"
Amstrad Action, Future Publishing, Issue 1, October 1985 and 72% by ''

Amtix ''Amtix'' (stylized as ''AMTIX!'') is a magazine that originally reviewed Amstrad computer software in the mid-1980s, published monthly by Newsfield Publications Ltd. Unlike ''Zzap!64'' and ''CRASH'' (its more successful sister publications from ...

''."Jet-Boot Jack"
Amtix!, Future Publishing, Issue 2, December 1985

Legacy

The game was later lead game on the first three ''Atari Smash Hits'' compilations released by English Software. A sequel, ''Legend of the Knucker-Hole starring Jet-Boot Jack'', was published in 1984.Legend of the Knucker-Hole
at Lemon 64 Jon Williams developed that game on the Commodore 64, and it was not ported to any other systems.

References

{{Reflist

External links

at ''Atari Mania''
''Jet-Boot Jack''
at ''Lemon 64''

at ''Acorn Electron World'' 1983 video games Amstrad CPC games Atari 8-bit family games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Commodore 64 games Datamost games Platform games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Amsoft games English Software games