Was this really from Codemasters?,  Friday, 27 July 2007 I remember buying this game years ago. There was a budget range available for the Amiga and not having much spare cash that week I decided to take a chance and purchased a couple of games from this range. Both were horrible and unplayable games, and this was one of them. I never took such a chance again!

The graphics, while quite colourful, are very basic and look more like a public domain game than something a commercial developer such as Codemasters would produce.

The gameplay was quite horrible. The game was too unforgiving, with the computer controlled opponent not really making mistakes and the collision detection being too fussy, meaning it was too easy to get stuck on a piece of scenery. There were also jumps across water or chasms requiring the use of your nitro boost at exactly the right moment or you would crash and die. This game was not fun to play and just making it through the first stage felt like a monumental task to achieve.

The only positive aspect of the game is the music and special effects which were created by Allister Brimble.

Looking at the credits it is quite mad to consider this game had both a Producer and a team of designers, in addition to the coders and graphics artists. You have to wonder what they were all actually doing during the production of this game.

 Great homebrew Karate game,  Monday, 16 July 2007 I remember this game. I think it was included on a magazine coverdisk which is how I came to play it. I forget which magazine it was, but if I find the coverdisk I will add a mention.

For a homebrew licenceware game it is quite impressive. While the graphics are not quite as polished as a commercial release I still like the artistic style used. And while the sound isn't that great as it contains no music, the sound effects are easily recognised by any fan of the genre and are used to good effect. As Submeg mentions they seem to have been ripped from IK+ and this was quite common when people were coding a game themselves and had limited resources to create or edit some of the required assets.

Where it counts, the gameplay, it delivers and is great fun to play. It is unique in the fact that unlike the usual fighting game that just have an energy bar you need to deplete to win you instead have to approach the fights in a more tactical way which is closer to the real sport.

Worth trying for all fans of Karate and fighting games.

 Great Beat 'Em Up!,  Monday, 16 July 2007 I still remember discovering this game and being blown away by the graphics. Compared to other fighting games I had so far encountered on the Amiga A500 at the time this game looked very polished with very well drawn and detailed graphics, and the overall game was very nicely designed.

Another aspect of the game is the variety of gameplay. In single player mode you have to work your way through a series of opponents joined together via a story. The selection of opponents you encounter along the way are all quite different, in terms of visual look and their style of fighting, and the enemies even include a fight against a guard dog!

As Submeg mentions the controls can sometimes feel like they get delayed or the collision detection isn't always working perfectly, but it is a very small flaw for what was otherwise a great beat 'em up.

If you like fighting games than I highly recommend you give this one a try. You will like it and the graphics will bring a smile to your face, even after all this time.

 A good alternative to Lotus II,  Saturday, 14 July 2007 I was a big fan of this game. As stated in Submeg's review this game does become boring in single player mode after completing the championship, so doesn't really contain any lifespan beyond completing the game. But it has more left to give in the split screen two player mode.

The two player mode game myself and a friend hours of fun. In two player mode you enter a championship where both of you are team mates racing against other teams and against each other. This adds a bit more to the gameplay compared to other similar racing games with a split screen two player option such as Lotus, as you need to think more tactically than just focussing on the win. You also have to consider the teams points in the championship compared to the other teams and think of damage limitations if one of you is doing badly in a race.

This is definitely a great alternative to the Lotus series and adds the extra team element to the two player mode. As Submeg also mentioned the music is really good, as is the graphics (for the time). This is definitely one of the better racing games the Amiga has to offer.

 All over before it began...,  Saturday, 07 July 2007 When this demo runs, the music begins and then the main Bomb logo appears. This then fades to a white credits screen accompanied by a bouncing ball that shakes the screen as it bounces, while the credits continue fading between each screen.

This all feels like it is leading up to a really good production, but you then click the left mouse button and the demo moves on to a star shape zooming out of the screen quickly with the Melon logo inside, and then... the Amiga resets! THE END. Leaving you thinking "Is that it?" Very disappointing.

The best part of this production is the music that taken from the Bitmap Brothers game Magic Pockets, and it's definitely the best part of the demo. I didn't however give the music a higher mark due to it being ripped from the game and not an original work by Melon!