Karateka kickin’ it onto XBLA, PSN, Steam, iOS beginning this week

Jordan Mechner’s interesting looking Karateka reboot is coming soon… very soon. Especially if you’re an XBLA player, since it has been confirmed to go live this Wednesday, November 7th. The PSN, Steam and iOS versions are also scheduled for a release this month sometime, so it’s doubtful that everyone else will have to wait all that long.

As for pricing, the rhythm-based combat game is set to kick-ass at $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points.

Read on for some media, and even more information regarding the release, features, pricing and whatnot.

Karateka screens:

Best known as the creator of Prince of Persia, Jordan was one of the original garage game makers building the first Karateka in the Apple II at Yale more than 30 years ago. The original Karateka became a #1 bestseller when it was released in 1984, and influenced a generation of gamers with its groundbreaking rotoscoped animation and cinematic cutscenes, (It?s not uncommon to hear old school gamers mention Karateka as a defining game in their game playing history?ask them what happened when they finally approached the princess)  Karateka pioneered many of the elements Jordan brought to his next game, Prince of Persia.  Jordan is Creative Director of the new Karateka and can be followed at jordanmechner.com and @jmechner.

Release Details:
· Genre: Rhythm-Based Story Fighter
· Rating: Teen (US), 12 (Europe/Brazil)
· Developer: Liquid Entertainment
· Publisher (PSN/Steam/iOS): Karateka LLC   (XBLA): D3Publishing
· XBLA Release Date: 11/7? Price: 800 Microsoft Points, free trial version available at launch.
· PSN Release Date: NOVEMBER 2012 – ?Price: $9.99 (US), free trial version available at launch.
· Steam Release Date: NOVEMBER 2012 –  ?Price: $9.99 (US), free trial version available at launch.
· iOS Release Date: NOVEMBER 2012 – Price: COMING SOON Supported Devices: iPhone 4S/5, iPad 2/3?

Game Features:

  • Rhythm-based combat mechanic.  Easy to grasp ?yet challenging to master, the cinematic gameplay seamlessly blends a series of escalating karate battles with a simple, human story.
  • Three playable characters. Three endings. Three suitors vie for Mariko?s love: A fearsome Brute, a noble Monk, and her brave True Love. Rescuing Mariko as the Brute is within the grasp of beginning players, but the most satisfying and romantic ending can only be unlocked by winning as the True Love.
  • Highly replayable. Innovative ?three suitors? system offers a compact 40-minute single-playthrough experience ? yet it challenges players to keep trying again, unlocking more difficult achievements and endings as their skill improves.
  • Unique real-time score by Christopher Tin tells the story of each fight through the music. Authentic Japanese instruments and lthemes associated with each character let you ?hear? the onscreen action.