Double Dragon II

STORY / GAMEPLAY
The arcade version of Double Dragon II is essentially a reworked version of the original Double Dragon, using the same engine and redrawing most of the game's graphics. The main change in the game is the replacement of the original game's punch and kick configuration in favor of a two-way attacking system (Left Attack and Right Attack) similar to one of Technos's previous beat 'emup game, Renegade. The objective is to avenge Marian's death (the girl that was kidnapped on the first game). There are four different stages to fight through that include a heliport, a lumber storehouse, a corn-field, and the gang's main hideout. All the enemy characters from the first game are back, with some of them given some makeovers such as different hairstyles or physical features, as well as some new attacks. Although its "great" name, the overall gameplay is nothing special to speak of. It gets a bit frustrating as mostly you will find yourself surrounded by several bad guys, looking to kick or punch you heavily! And more on that, you can only hit, walk or jump either from left to right (which will leave your back uncovered most of the times). Other than that, Double Dragon II (and the whole series actually) is a pretty much decent game and surely you should give it a try, just to remember the good old gaming days.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
Though colorless (mainly based in black and white) the Spectrum conversion features nice visuals with a variety of details coming straight from the original. The sprites move fast and smoothly. The game was converted the same way to the CPC (but in more color). The game offers a few in-game sound effects during gameplay while there is no music theme at the main menu (found only on the Commodore and CPC).