Irem's seminal 1984 beat-'em-up Kung Fu Master made no reference to Lee – indeed, its Japanese title is Spartan X, which is exactly what Jackie Chan's movie Wheels on Meals was known as in Japan. In that game, the fighting was restricted to punches and flying kicks, but in Japan a new genre of fighting sims was emerging that would explore martial arts in much more depth. And already there was an obvious synergy between Lee's highly choreographed, hyper-kinetic approach to action sequences and the potential of video games to explore and simulate combat.
The plot, which had the eponymous hero fighting through a wizard's temple to secure the secret of immortality, had little to do with Lee or his movies, but it was released at a time in which home video was making the actor's films easily available to a new generation of fans. Arguably, it started in 1984, with the launch of Datasoft's platform adventure, Bruce Lee, on 8bit machines like the Apple II, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. Despite the fact that this complex icon of action cinema died over 40 years ago, his legacy lives on in games. Playable across four weight classes, gamers will be able to test Lee's formative mixed martial arts approach against contemporary UFC stars.ĮA's marketeers knew that gaming news sites would go nuts for this and they was right – the announcement was everywhere this week. The star of Enter the Dragon will be available immediately to those who pre-order the title, or he can be unlocked by completing the game at Pro difficulty. This is Bruce Lee, the martial arts legend, appearing in the forthcoming fighting sim, EA Sports UFC. There he is on screen, in that familiar jumping stance, his face beneath a bowl of black hair, his shorts in that classic combination of yellow and black.
The image, of course, is instantly recognisable.