Human Killing Machine

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Human Killing Machine
Composer(s)
Mark Tait
Platform(s)ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST
ReleaseMarch 1989
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Up to 2 players simultaneously

Human Killing Machine (unofficially titled as Street Fighter 2: Human Killing Machine and acronym-titled as H.K.M.) is a 2D

16-bit
home computer formats.

Gameplay

The player must defeat computer controlled characters from around the world in round-based one-on-one combat. The game is based on the engine from each system's Street Fighter port, with the time limit removed, and an energy recovery system.

Characters

The following characters are featured in the game:

South Korea
Kwon (권): A martial artist hailing from Korea. He is the game's protagonist and the only character the player can control. He fights opponents from all over the world to become the world champion.
Soviet Union Igor (Игорь): A uniformed fighter from the Soviet Union. He carries a hunting rifle and uses it as a melee weapon. He fights in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral.
Shepski (Шепски): Igor's black dog.
Netherlands Maria: A blonde prostitute in a bikini from the
red light district of Amsterdam
.
Helga: Similar to Maria, but she is bigger and stronger and wears a dress.
Spain Miguel: A
matador from Spain
.
Brutus: A bull also hailing from Spain.
Germany Franz: A waiter from Germany. He attacks the player by throwing wine bottles at him.
Hans: Also from Germany. He sports a pair of lederhosen.
Lebanon Sagan (سـَجـَن): An
Arab terrorist from Beirut. He wears a keffiyeh
.
Merkeva (ميركافا from Hebrew מרכבה): The
final boss
of the game, also a terrorist from Beirut. He is very tall and muscular and has a missile strapped to his back.

Reception

At the time of release, the

Crash stated "The scenery's really beautiful and the large characters are well drawn and animated",[3]
and thought it was "lacking in originality, but still very addictive".

Other versions did not fare as well. Zzap!64 said of the Commodore versions "repetitive with little skill involved", and gave the game 31%. Maff Evans, a secondary reviewer in the magazine said it was "an incredibly weak program and one of the worst fighting games I've ever seen".[6] Amstrad Action listed HKM and Street Fighter as "some of the most dreadful arcade conversions on the CPC".[9]

The Spanish magazine Microhobby valued the game with the following scores:[10] Originality: 40% Graphics: 90% Motion: 80% Sound: 50% Difficulty: 70% Addiction: 80%

Retrospective reviews of the game were more negative. YouTuber Stuart Ashen featured the Atari ST version of the game on his web series, Terrible Old Games You’ve Probably Never Heard Of, criticizing the shoddy mechanics, jerky control scheme and frame rate, unfair difficulty, poor graphics, lack of sound effects and animation frames, stereotypical characters, and overall lack of improvement from Tiertex's conversion of Street Fighter.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  2. ^ Micro Hobby, issue 187, page 38, https://wos.meulie.net/pub/sinclair/magazines/MicroHobby/Issue187/Pages/MicroHobby18700038.jpg
  3. ^ a b "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  4. ^ a b "Human Killing Machine". Ysrnry.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  5. ^ "Human Killing Machine (US Gold) Review | Amstrad Action - Everygamegoing".
  6. ^ a b "Adverts & Covers". STADIUM 64. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  7. ^ Micro Hobby Magazine meulie.net [dead link]
  8. ^ ACE Magazine meulie.net [dead link]
  9. ^ "Amstrad Action Tribute Magazine". Issuu.com. 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  10. ^ (Spanish) Human Killing Machine - ZX Spectrum (1988) - article on Soloretro
  11. ^ "Human Killing Machine Review". YouTube.