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First impressions of this game are awe-inspiring. A superb musical score to accompany scrolling on-screen instructions, followed (after some more loading) by a magnificently animated karate warrior (that's you, by the way) climbing onto the top of a cliff in preparation for deadly combat.

He moves forward stealthily, and oh-so-smoothly. To compensate for his advance, the scenery scrolls backwards (at two different speeds for perspective sake). Suddenly, an enemy warrior appears on screen and fists and feet begin to fly in spectacular fashion.

Karateka is the latest program to capitalise on the current fad for combat action, most successfully exploited by Exploding Fist, the program with which this is most likely to be compared. In its favour, Karateka has a stronger atmosphere and storyline. You're on a mission to rescue Princess Mariko from the palace of the evil warlord Akuma. As well as trying to outfight the palace guards, you're also trying to make progress further and further into the palace.

The storyline is strengthened by techniques lifted from the cinema. After you've killed your first guard, the picture cuts to a shot of Akuna sending out reinforcements, then it cuts back to you as you run towards the palace, then back to one of the advancing guards.

What is less convincing is the combat itself. There are far fewer moves than in Fist - just six main ones (three punches and three kicks of different heights).

Also, the action is much slower - the computer takes quite a while to execute each move, with the result that you often appear to lack direct control over your character. More frustrating still is the lack of a two-player option. It's just you versus your C64.

One good feature is that hits are clearly shown on-screen by means of cartoon-type flashes. Also on screen are lines of arrows revealing the remaining strength of you and your opponent. Whoever runs out of arrows first dies, and that brings me to the worst feature of Karateka. Every time you die you have to reload the game's start position from side two of the cassette - a good two minutes' wait! Ariolasoft point out this is an incentive to improve, but it's also a disincentive against buying the game in the first place.

All in all, a game which is flawed, but which nonetheless includes some classy programming and is different enough from Fist to be worth checking out.