Karateka--a remake of the 8-bit Apple 2 classic made by Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner--has just arrived on the Xbox 360, along with this hilarious new launch trailer.

Karateka's premise is interesting: much like its original version, players take control of a fighter who has to save a beautiful princess from an evil lord. In the modern remake, players have three chances to defeat their foe. Should the princess' True Love meet defeat, players will take control of a Monk. Should he perish, a brutish but earnest Warrior will take his place. With each defeat, the difficulty will lighten, in that each following hero has more life. But the only real happy ending for our princess is if she's saved by the True Love.

Karateka has been developed by Jordan Mechner and his small independent team, Liquid Entertainment. Mechner has said that the game is a compact, pick-up-and-play game that "is fluid, atmospheric and beautiful". Karateka plays as a rhythm-based fighter, where matching the rhythm of an opponent's attack eventually earns a counter attack.

Mechner has also mentioned leaving interesting and comic twists to encourage replayability, much like his original game, in which saving the princess in a fighting stance made her kill the protagonist, under the assumption that the hero was yet another enemy.

Harsh.

Karateka will also be coming to the PSN, PC (via Steam) and iOS later this month.

And don't forget:

ALWAYS PUNCH THE HAWK!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/YMx-_aFP1lQ