International Karate +

International Karate +
A screenshot of the Commodore 64 version of International Karate +
Developer(s)	System 3
Publisher(s)	System 3 (Europe) Epyx (U.S.) Ignition Entertainment (PS1/GBA)
Designer(s)	Archer MacLean
Composer(s)	Rob Hubbard
Platform(s)	Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, Amiga, Amiga CD32, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation, Virtual Console
Release	October 1987 Virtual Console (C64) EU: July 25, 2008
Genre(s)	Versus fighting game
Mode(s)	Singleplayer, Two player

International Karate +, often abbreviated as IK+, is a karate fighting video game published in 1987 by System 3, originally for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. It has since been ported to a number of other platforms. The Commodore 64 version was released in the U.S. under the title Chop N' Drop.

In the game, three karateka fight against each other on a beach, trying to be the first to score six points. After every two rounds, there is a bonus game which is either deflecting bouncing balls or kicking away bombs. The C64 version of the game only has the ball bouncing bonus game, and not the bomb bonus game. The game can be played by one or two human players, at least one fighter is always controlled by the computer. Unlike its predecessor, International Karate, there is only one backdrop. However, different parts of the backdrop can be recoloured to several different themes by the players using specific keystrokes. The Amiga and Atari versions of the game (and possibly other versions, unconfirmed) had a number of "background antics", a Pac-Man would appear, a spider would descend, and a U-boat's periscope would occasionally be seen in the harbour. In addition, pressing the "T" key would cause the trousers of all three protagonists to fall down, after which they would do a double-take. Additionally, it was possible (on the Amiga version, at least) to type in four-letter curse words; the game would respond first by rebuking the player for their use of such language, and upon the second offence would reset the game.

Archer Maclean did most of the work on developing the game, and the music was written by Rob Hubbard. Music for the Amiga version was arranged by Dave Lowe. The game was voted Best 16-bit Soundtrack of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. In August 2005, the music from the game was performed at the third Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany.