Yet another surprise for Beeb gamers; this, the sequel obviously to Yie Ar Kung Fu was not expected to be converted for the BBC. However, ubiquitous converter Peter Johnson has again done an excellent job of squeezing this Konami coin-op hit into our beloved 32K machine.
The original Yie Ar Kung Fu was not my favourite of the rush of kung fu games that we saw last year (My vote goes to Melbourne House's Way Of The Exploding Fist), but the sequel is very playable.
Once again each level contains an opponent with a different fighting style requiring different tactics on your behalf; eight levels in all.
New twists include a sequence of midget attackers (!), a cup of OoLong Tea for added energy and the power of Chow Mein Noodle Powder. Ahem!
Leaving aside these bizarre moments, we have a game that is excellent planned, intelligently programmed and very compulsive. It is let down solely by being for keyboard only and it its choice of awkward keys. The right hand, for example, has to copy with *, ?, RETURN, DELETE, COPY and SHIFT.
With a joystick option this would have been a close contender for Game of the Month; as it is, I can only recommend it highly for kung fu compulsives - of whom, of course, there are a vast number. A worthy sequel; pity just a touch more thought wasn't put into it!