Previous Next

Following the recent trend in "Kick 'em dead" games, it was only a matter of time before they started to appear on the new 16-bit range of micros.

Karate Kid II is one of the first martial arts games to do so, and it originally made its debut on the Atari ST. Having sold quite a few copies in this format, Microdeal has decided to convert it to the Amiga.

At first glance, the game seems playable, and slightly addictive. But once you've had 19 or 20 rounds, it begins to show its flaws.

The game starts with you, Daniel, standing in front of your first opponent, Toshio. There's no messing about, it's straight into battle.

The first thing you'll notice is that both guys are incredibly small, but the pictures on the box show normal-sized characters. Weird.

Still, that's not really important.

You must defeat your opponent with the same old Karate moves, roundhouse kick, low punch, sweep, flying kick, etc. However, I am told by one of our readers that the flying kick is not included in any style of karate, if this is so then why include it?

All moves, there are sixteen, are executed very fast, and it is this fact which puts Karate Kid II in a slightly higher category than most other "beat 'em ups". The animation is also improved by its speed, and gives a high degree of realism. For example, you see a roundhouse kick go all the way round, not like some other games.

While fighting you are treated to some nice sampled effects, and you really know when you've hit your opponent in a soft spot. With all this digitised screaming it beats the hell out of me why Microdeal made the music so terrible.

Yep, I am telling you that the music on an Amiga game is awful! The Glory of Love, more like The Glory of Earmuffs!

After beating your opponent you progress on to the next scene, of which there are eleven. I say eleven, but after every two screens you get to go for a bonus by either breaking ice or catching flies.

The game is also not without the odd bug or two, and I found it quite amusing when with one kick I sent my opponent whizzing across the screen into the wall, where he disappeared only to re-emerge right behind me.