Still packs a punch

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Karate may be old news to the box office, but with all the new games coming on to the computer market one has to be the winner - The Way of the Exploding Fist.

The scenario, two men locked in combat presided over by a Buddha and a monk, is simple, but it demands great skill and concentration to reach the goal of 10th Dan by fighting and defeating your opponents.

One or two player modes are available, each with a very different challenge to offer. In a one player game it is best to defeat the computer with the utmost speed and precision within the time of 30 seconds. For each two fights won you progress one Dan.

The keys are well placed at different ends of the keyboard and combinations of keyboard and joystick are available, though there are 18 moves and 10 keys to cope with.

The variety of moves seem endless, with kicks, jabs, blocks, punches and somersaults. This game is definitely the best of the karate simulations.

The backdrop on the proceedings gives one a feeling that the programmer put as much effort into it as with the detail on the two characters.

I was so enthralled by the game that I couldn't bare to switch off and leave it to the next day - the graphics, music and character animation are excellent.

It is so visually absorbing that I feel that it is almost beyond criticism, but for the fact that it has no shadows on the B Plus or Electron.

Rog Frost