Unintentionally hilarious fighting action
While it might earn some points for its classic title, which sounds like some cult movie from the 1970s, unfortunately Kung Fu Louie turns out to be a less than stellar game which is best avoided unless you really enjoy bad games. As you might expect, this is a fighting game which sees the titular kung fu master heading out onto the streets of an unnamed city to do battle with the vicious gang of punks who are bringing chaos to the good people. You must venture through various gritty and downtrodden environments, punching and kicking your way through a set of vile gang members, taking them down with extreme prejudice. If you're skilled enough to get rid of them all, you face off against the boss and if you can take him down, then there's probably a grateful woman somewhere who want to reward you for saving the city. As far as fighters go, this is pretty poor stuff and although it does offer plenty of unintentional hilarity, it's not really enough to save the game from being a near total disaster. The visuals are poor, with crude animation and sprites that are chunky but lacking in the personality that makes Renegade a classic example of the genre. The sound is equally poor but it's the controls and moves which bring things down to a level where it's impossible to get back up, and the game quickly descends into a futile exercise in twiddling, spinning and jabbing away at the fire button, while laughing inanely at your avatar's general ineptitude. If you want a one-on-one fighter, stick to Street Fighter 2, but also check out Target: Renegade, River City Ransom or Barbarian 2 for some serious scrolling action.
