As a fish elegantly dives into the blue sea of the harbor, three men stand in the orange glow of the setting sun. A perfect setting for the follow up of Archer MacLean’s 1986 multi format hit International Karate. On first appearances the game may look like just another attempt by a publisher to cash in on the hype of the original. However, that would be very unfair on a game that deserves much higher praise then that. International Karate + ( IK+) is brutal, but at the same time fair and fast paced action is guaranteed - yet at its core is sheer simplicity which adds to its appeal.
As a fish elegantly dives into the blue sea of the harbor, three men stand in the orange glow of the setting sun. A perfect setting for the follow up of Archer MacLean’s 1986 multi format hit International Karate. On first appearances the game may look like just another attempt by a publisher to cash in on the hype of the original. However, that would be very unfair on a game that deserves much higher praise then that. International Karate + ( IK+) is brutal, but at the same time fair and fast paced action is guaranteed - yet at its core is sheer simplicity which adds to its appeal.
Three fighters dressed in their individual colors of red, white and blue face off simultaneously. Points
are rewarded for successful hits. If a player (or computer controlled character) `hits` a fancy strike e.g. a round house kick to the head then more points are given. The player to reach six points wins the round.
An interesting addition to this title is the ability for two human controlled characters to fight whilst still retaining the third (computer controlled) fighter. This helps to add a little uncertainty to a bout. Although initially the A.I of this fighter is very limited and serves no further purpose then to help develop your martial art ability. You will soon find that as the rounds progress the computer controlled character becomes much more aggressive and potent in his attacks proving to be a much more worthy opponent.
To brake up any monotony that a player may feel - every three rounds the current winner is forced to stand alone in the centre of the screen armed with little more then a black board with which to repel the forthcoming assault. The `attack` which you patiently expect does not come in the usual manner of fists or kicks but in the form of varying colored bouncing balls. Sounds easy. Starts easy. Then the speed of the balls or their frequency increases dramatically and as such your concentration level needs to increase similarly. All this combines to produce a truly memorable experience.
However, since this game was made the beat-em up genre has moved on quite considerably. But despite this if, like me, you are not a great fan of the new `four thousand` combination character moves of the new next generation fighters, then I recommend you at least try this game.
