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 ZX Spectrum version looks good with nice visuals and smooth enough sprite animation. All Karatekas move and act nicely and the background is cool, although it has a single scene (a sunset over the sea) with occasionally some animated extra sprites (like birds flying)! Some details from the 16bit versions are clipped on the ZX (and CPC), such as the tree standing at the very right side of the screen! Sound-wise the game is great when running on a 128k Spectrum and includes a great tune during gameplay but no sound effects at all (whilst the 48k version has sound effects and no music).

GAMEPLAY SAMPLE VIDEO
On our video below you may watch the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 versions.