International Karate +

STORY / GAMEPLAY
Three Karatekas are fighting on the same screen (and the same backdrop), in order to further their belts and skills. After gaining some points there are frequently two bonus games where you must either kick bombs away (before they explode) or you deflect fireballs holding a shield. A second player can join the game and the third is controlled by the CPU. The first of the three players to score six points is the winner and is awarded extra points for every second left. The player with the lowest score at the end of the round is out of the game. One of the most impressive aspects of this game is that punches and kicks are fast and furious, I mean really fast! There are twelve attacking moves and a handful of defensive styles at your disposal. Some details are taken directly from the original International Karate, plus a lot more, such as reverse face kick, double head kick (for hitting both fighters) and so on. IK+ is one of the best and more fun to play fighting games for the 16bits home computers. Win points, get the highest belt and become the new karate master! IK+ is everything a fighting game should be. It is intense, spectacular, loud and great looking!

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The graphics are colorful and the character animation is perfectly done and smooth. Although the background detail does not change during gameplay, there is a wonderful animated sunset near a temple (the sun's rays reflect in the sea as it laps the shore). There are a few nice animations found on the background too (birds flying, leafs falling from a tree, fish jumping! etc). Note that the overall visuals are identical between the Amiga Atari ST, although the Amiga version offers more colors on screen (actually double the amount). The game's sprites move really fast and very smooth and are greatly animated. The most impressive detail are the sounds FX which were produced using high-quality digitized samples from karate/fighting movies and Bruce Lee-style battle cries. More on that, the Amiga version features a great main menu stereo music, composed by Dave Lowe and performed several years later at the Symphonic Game Music Concert III in 2005! IK+ music was voted as the Best 16-bit Soundtrack of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards!