HUMAN Killing Machine is the meanest son of a snake you've ever seen, as the blurb goes. You could be forgiven for wondering whether this description refers to the character or to the person responsible for foisting this game on an unsuspecting consumerate.
It begins in the fabled Temples of Moscow with our hero, Kwon, being set upon by a nasty Red guard. So much for glasnost. Fortunately, Kwon is not only a notable miser of reptilian extraction but is also tough and mean.
This would be more believable if not for the fact that on the second level he is easily dispatched by a dancing border collie.
Kwon goes on to face a selection of unusual adversaries including the horribly bemuscled Maria, a drunken German, Arab terrorists and the cunning master bullfighter Miguel and his pet fighting bull, Brutus.
If Kwon manages to defeat his opponent with ease he will be able to take a greater deal of punishment in the next round. Exactly why he is travelling around notable trouble spots like Spanish bullrings and German bierkellers is never explained. Pity.
The gameplay is similar to the karate games of which there was a spate a few years back on the Spectrum and C64. Kwon wouldn't look out of place in Way of the Expoding First.
The strengths of the combatants are represented by the time-
The graphics, particularly the backdrops, are very well done but the animation flickers, jerks, and, in a word, is terrible. One of the best features of the karate games of years gone by was the wonderfully smooth animation as the player executed a well timed roundhouse kick or reverse punch.
To its credit, when one side or other scores a hit a small explosion caption is overlaid containing the word "pow" or "zap" or some other Batman
Sound is not very well supported. The tune gets very boring in record time and there are no interesting or novel effects in the game itself. It really is incredible the number of software houses that think they can get away with mediocre bang and splat noises or, as in this case, no effects at all.
This game just doesn't compel you to play it. With nothing else but gameplay going for it, the Human Killing Machine looks in dire need of an overhaul.