Jupiter Lander

The Good
Of course, game is an unlicensed clone of Lunar Lander. You get a closeup as you near the landing pad, just like the arcade. A nice touch.

The Bad
Oh heavens, they stole the Galaxian jingle!

The Bottom Line
Originally for Vic 20, basic difference is one is red and one is green. Graphics are plain, but the gameplay is great!

The Good
This game is pure and simple. It's still also pretty fun in small doses.

Also, I think the game music is pretty funny. The start music is quite dramatic, and the musical numbers accompanying a successful landing - or a landing that ends up successfully on the pad, but too fast - is quite jolly and cheerful. And it has nothing at all to do with landing on Jupiter. NASA should use this space age music in their public broadcasts.

Also, the viewpoint changes when you get close to the launch pad. This is was, back in the day, a pretty jaw-dropping feature.

Also, I suppose the physics are pretty well simulated. That's got to count.

The Bad
Um... I can't come up with a lot of stuff to say about this game, actually. It just does what it says. You land. On the Jupiter. Apparently. This game is probably being accused when people point and laugh and say "we have more interesting games these days". In other words, I couldn't play this game all day through then, and as sure as heck I can't play it all day through now.

The Bottom Line
Basically this is a "Lunar Lander clone". Which means you've got a ship. You land it on the surface while minding the controls. You can only land on pads. You've got to mind the direction, velocity, and fuel, and can control the direction and thruster throttle. Good landing gets you scored according to which pad you land on. Bad landing means you get killed.

And that's the whole game. Fun in small doses, perhaps, and certainly fun for its amusing music and, generally speaking, competent execution. Not fun after longer periods of exposure. I've heard Jupiter radiates mysterious particles.