Jetbrix is a 1986 release from Gremlin Graphics. It is another gem from the prolific Shaun Southern – the creator of Kikstart (among others).

It looks a bit like a cross between Tetris and Jet Pac, although it’s really not like either.

In Jetbrix the aim is to touch falling bombs (to activate them) in order to destroy the blue blocks at the very bottom of the screen and thus progress on to the next level. The problem is: it’s not very easy to catch the bombs, and all the while coloured bricks are falling, making the play area smaller.

You can shoot these coloured bricks before they hit the ground, but once they’ve landed the only way you can remove them is to catch a falling crowbar and drop it onto them. If a brick hits your man from above he’ll lose a life (which kind of negates the need to actually fly any higher than ground level); lose all your lives and it’s game over.

Jetbrix is a very good idea, and a pretty good game. It does feel like the concept could be taken much further, though, and that the 16K limitation of the Commodore 16 is holding it back. The game could do with a bit more variety, more forgiving collision detection, and a slightly higher top speed on the jet man.

It is at least a decent and (fairly) original game on the C16.

More: Jetbrix on Moby Games