The improved International Karate Ultimate from Excess relied on the Easy Flash cartridge to rapidly load new backgrounds. The end result was a competition on the Commodore Scene Database for artists to create new backgrounds, resulting in this new Competition Edition.

The eight new backgrounds are linked together in a story, told in the documentation during the start-up. This is one element of the presentation that can be controlled from the menu; the intro, documentation and menu itself can all be suppressed for faster loading. These preferences can then be saved to the cartridge for the next session and quickly restored. The game effectively has six sets of backgrounds to choose from. There is the original IK set, the new Ultimate set and the Competition set. Holding the Commodore key before the menu appears unlocks an additional three hidden sets, the backgrounds from rival fighting game series Way of the Exploding Fist.

The menu also lets the player choose which screens from the chosen set are shown during the game. The trainer menu adds extra keys, such as skipping to the next level, as well as gameplay changes including a handicap system for player 2. There are also three music tracks to choose from, with the classic Rob Hubbard tune always an option (plus the Fist tunes when playing that set). For those with the relevant hardware, a second SID can be allocated to play sound FX at the same time as the music. The colour of the fighter's tunics can be customised along with the game speed.

The new competition backgrounds are superb, and the "story" they tell is a clever addition. The graphics of the judge have also been subtly altered, which is cool. The new loading screen from Jon Egg is very impressive, and the new music really fits the game so well.

At first glance the menu system is quite complex with so many options. There is also some flicker at the "join" between the new backgrounds and the original fighting graphics, but this is a minor concern.

This is a superb update of a brilliant fighting game, adding more than just new backgrounds. So much has been packed into it that it feels like a new game, and the many options prove to be fascinating.