INTRODUCTION International Karate+ TM is a development of the original IK game, the main extra feature being that there are three fighting men on the screen at once (and five in pause mode!). There are 17 different moves that can be made, all controlled by the joystick, and with practice all these moves can be executed smoothly in a flowing fight sequence without the man pausing momentarily in the standing stance. The joystick system is simple enough for players to learn quickly, but after some experience of how the moves behave, much more sophisticated control can be achieved. Opponents can be hit in the head, chest, stomach, shins and feet from in front or behind, although an attacker receives only half the score for attacking behind. The game gets progressively harder until about level 25, and players are awarded one of six belt colours depending on their score. The computer-controlled men adopt a variety of play strategies. For example, they may fight each other, not the human; they may not fight, just avoid attacks; both may fight the human, not bothering to dodge attacks; and so on. All behaviour varies in "viciousness" as the game gets more advanced. An animted judge appears at the end of each 30-second round to instruct the players and announce the rankings. If a human player is in third place, he is out of the game. As long as a human can stay first or second, he stays in the match. Every 3rd round there is a bonus round, where the player has to use a small hand-held shield to deflect balls bouncing towards him from all angles. OPTION SELECTION Fire button, joystick port two: If in demo mode, start a 1-plater game. Fire button, joystick port one: If in demo mode, start a 2-player game. [F1] - One player against two computer men. [F3] - Two players against one computer man. [F5] - Turn music off/on. [F7] - Turn sound effects off/on. [1-5] - Vary speed of play. (1 is fast, 3 normal, 5 slow. [RUN/STOP] - Pause mode. (during a fight round only) Press [RUN/STOP] ' a sceond time to continue the fight. [T+G+C+V+B] - Change the colours of the reflected sunset. [E+S] - Strip down players' pants. GAME DISPLAY The score and game information is displayed at the top of the screen, and comprises three sets of combat points and accumulative score displays. Human-controlled fighters are indicated by a coloured fist to the right of the fighteräs score. The white-jacketed fighter is controlled by joystick port two, while in two-player games, the red-jacketed fighter is controlled by joystick port one. MOVEMENT CONTROLS The game may only be controlled using joysticks. It is recommended that sticks with a firm tactile feel (such as the original Atari ones) are used - large, wobbly sticks are not as manageable since they move too far and provide less feedback when their swtiches have closed. Auto-fire joysticks are useless. Each of the eight joystick positions selects a type of move, and pressing the button gives a further eight. In special cases, a further defensive move is available, as detailed later. For a man facing right, the joystick controls the character's movements as follows: Note that some movements end with your man facing the opposite direction. If a fighter is facing left, the following movements are reversed left/right. For example, when facing right, a front face punch si made by pressing up and right, but when facing left, the same attacj is made by pressing up and left. Fire button not pressed, facing right: [UP] - Jump Up [UP + RIGHT] - Front Face Punch [RIGHT] - Walk Forwards [DOWN + RIGHT] - Shin Kick [DOWN] - Footsweep Kick [DOWN + LEFT] - Crouching Stomach Punch [LEFT] - Walk Backwards (or block) [LEFT + UP] - Reverse Face Punch and Turn Around Fire button pressed, facing right: [UP] - Flying Leap Kick [UP + RIGHT] - Head Butt [RIGHT] - Stomach Kick [DOWN + RIGHT] - Face Kick [DOWN] - Reverse Footsweep Kick and Turn Around [DOWN + LEFT] - Back Step Face Kick and Turn Around [LEFT] - Back Flip [LEFT + UP] - Double Face Kick HOLDING AND CANCELLING A MOVE When making an attackinh move, you must hold the joystick in position until your man has made the attack. Releasing the joystick any sooner will cause your man to return to the standing stance. If the selection is retained then the stance is held until the joystick is released or another move selected. However, the actual hitting action is only effective on the initial movement - after all, seasoned opponents are unlikely to run onto your first! SEQUENCES OF MOVES It is possible to make moves in quick succession without the fighter first pausing in the standing stance, thus allowing a smooth, free-flowing sequence. This is done by selecting the first move, holding it until the attack has occurred, then quickly selecting the next move before the man returns to the standing position. This will allow such actions as a series of back flips across the screen (select back flip, wait for move to commence, then select it again and again for dance-free motion). BLOCKING MOVE A blocking move is also availablr for defensive purposes. If you are being attacked at close range from in front, and you select the 'walk backwards' action, your man will stand in a blocking posture for the duration of the attack and deflect all kicks to the head, chest and stomach. However, it is not possible to block shin kicks and footsweeps - the only way to avoid them is to jump out of the way, or return the attack with a move like the flying kick. ATTACKABLE AREAS Face/Head, Chest, Stomach, Shins/Knees and Feet. GAME OBJECT A match consists of a sequence of two fight rounds and a bonus round. In the one-player game, there are two computer-controlled opponents. The match ends when the human comes third in a fight round. The two-player game starts with two humans fighting each other and one computer-controlled opponent. A player who comes last in a fight round goes out of the game, leaving one player against two computer men as in the one-player game. The object is to fight on for as long as possible. As the score builds up, you are awarded one of siz belt colours, the highest being the black belt. At the end of the match, you have the chance of entering your initials, score and belt colour in the hall of fame. SCORING During a fight round, if a man successfully hits an opponent while facing him, he gets two 'combat points' (displayed as coloured discs) and a numerical score. Attacking from behind earns one combat point and half the score. A fight round lasts either for 30 seconds, or until one of the fighters gains six combat points. In the latter case, the player who scored six points is awarded a time bonus of 100 points for each second left in the round. At the end of each fight round, the judge decides who is first, second and third (or equal), initially on the basis of the combat points, and then, in the case of a tie, on the numerical score obtained during that round (Not the accumulated score). When a player is hit he falls down and is momentarily dazec, as shown by the stars above his head. When these disappear, he has a few seconds to wait or make an instant move. Otherwise, after a short waiting period he is forced to stand up anyway. The length of time a fighter is knocked out depends on the type of blow, and as the game speeds up, the wait allowed decreases - but you can't get hit until you are actually up and fighting again. Move - Full Hit - Half Hit Front Face Punch - 800 - 400 Shin Kick - 400 - 200 Footsweep Kick - 400 - 200 Crouching Stomach Punch - 400 - 200 Reverse Face Punch - 800 - 400 Flying Leap Kick - 800 - 400 Head Butt - 1000 - 500 Stomach Kick - 200 - 100 Face Kick - 800 - 400 Reverse Footsweep Kick - 400 - 200 Back Step Face Kick - 800 - 400 Double Face Kick - 1000 - 500 BONUS ROUND If a player stays in for two consecutive fight round, he is able to go through a bonus stage. Here, you are shown holding a small shield, with which you must deflect the balls that come bouncing towards you. At any one time you only have one ball to deflect (otherwise the round would be impossible!). You may also duck under some of the high balls. As the game gets more difficult, the maximum speed of the balls increases. There are also flashing balls whose bounce height alternates. For each deflection you score 100 points, and if you survive all the balls you get a 5000 points score bonus. Since there may be up to 64 balls, highly skilled players can add 11.400 points to their score in a single bonus round and get to black belt status more quickly. HALL OF FAME At the end of the match, players whose accumulative score is high enough are given the opportunity to add their initials, score and belt colour to the hall of fame. Up to three initials are permitted; for each one, move the joystick left or right to select the required letter, then press the fire button to enter the letter.