In the wake of Street Fighter IV hitting the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3, Nintendo has deigned to bring Wii VC fans the C64 Karate Champ "homage" International Karate. While it's probably not the smartest business move, IK is actually still a surprisingly solid, if simplistic, fighting game.

Like Karate Champ, IK pits the player against an computer opponent (or versus another player) in a tournament setting, where you will compete for points, rather than knockouts or fatalities. Get two points on your foe, and you'll move on to the next locale, after doing a short bonus round.

You're not going to be busting out dragon punches or fireballs here. All of the moves are fairly realistic, with stuff like roundhouse kicks being the most flashy moves at your disposal. IK is not a game about spamming quarter-circle motions to get 50-hit combos -- it's knowing when and where to throw a punch or kick to knock the other guy down.

With its' slower gameplay and somewhat lackluster graphics and sound, International Karate isn't for everybody. But, overall, it's still an interesting trip down memory lane for fighting game fans.

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