Chuck Norris Superkicks
At first glance, Chuck Norris Superkicks is a frustrating joystick contorting click fest. This of course all changes when you pick up the manual and realize that Xonox had put together a complex combat game with moves based on joystick movement and button timing. In the early 1980s, similar games were already starting to sprout up in Video Arcade Machines, but it had not yet made a full migration to early consoles. This makes Chuck Norris Superkicks a unique and interesting page in early console gaming history.
The gameplay is pretty straightforward. You start off as Chuck on a pixelated road and make your way towards a distant monastery. Along the way, you will be interrupted by thugs, who you will need to defeat on a separate combat screen. At first, it is pretty easy to defeat them. A simple punch or kick will do the job, but as you move along the road it will get more and more complicated. Often requiring you to string together combinations to defeat your enemies. Now if you are a gaming genius, you might be able to work those combos out, but take it from me, save yourself the frustrations and read the manual.
Once you learn how to play the game and have worked through it a few times, the game loses its replay value pretty quickly. But the practice you will need to master all the moves, makes the game a great time investment and if you have a great imagination, all the better. I can remember playing this game as a kid, picturing myself as a Kung-Fu monk moving across the video landscape kicking byte (oh yes I did) (oh dear god – Ed). When the Chuck Norris license expired, this game would still be released, but under the much more generic, Kung Fu Superkicks. Chuck Norris Superkicks is a fun and novel game that will entertain those patient enough to engage it and learn it. That is why I give it 3 out 5 stars (You don’t rate Chuck Norris, Chuck Norris rates you – Ed).
