This is Jupiter Lander for the Commodore 64, a simple lander game from the early days of Commodore. One of the things that’s particularly interesting about it in my opinion is the fact that it includes a basic physics simulation, with the lander interacting with the planet’s gravity and the booster jets also interacting with the lander.

Physics engines in games are something that get talked about quite a lot these days and they can be really fun, so it’s interesting that a game as early as this had some simple physics simulation built into it.

In this game, as you boost your lander a little line moves around on the bar on the right-hand side of the screen. In order to land on a landing pad properly, the line has to be in the yellow section. Then, you get a number of points multiplied by the bonus of whichever pad you’ve landed on, along with a fuel refill. The more points you earn, the more of a fuel refill you get.

There’s also a sequel to this game which has multiple levels.