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In Death Wish he killed a few punks, in Death Wish 2 he killed a few more... but in this Death Wish 3 film licence, street vigilante Paul Kersey is out to slaughter the world. Well, perhaps not the world, but certainly a lot of the bums and street vermin who skulk in the streets of New York.

Kersey patrols a 3-D construction of the Big Apple's streets. Using compass and map, he can pinpoint the punks he's searching for - and find the weapons he needs to wipe them out.

With a Magnum, a pump-action shotgun, a machine gun and a rocket launcher clanking in his bulging pockets, our hero begins his cleanup campaign, using each weapon till its magazine is empty. When he's finally weaponless, Kersey gives a resigned shrug and must go in search of protection.

But he isn't alone in his fight against the forces of evil -the boys in blue are on his side, supplying information on where riots are breaking out in the violent city centre.

As Kersey, you earn points for each piece of New York low life rubbed out. But take care - these gang warriors sure ain't boy scouts, and they're armed with guns and clubs.

And though our vigilante has a heavy bulletproof vest chafing at his chest, it can only take so much. Wear and tear on this protective undergarment is shown by an icon, and a bar indicates how seriously Kersey is injured.

It may be a jungle out there, but our Charles Bronson look-a-like can find a brief respite by hiding in rundown tenement rooms. Once inside he can sneak a peek through windows, and fire shots into that mad, mad world out there. Plugging a creep from this position earns you higher points - but be on guard for surprise attacks from behind.

Points are lost it you mow down one of New York's helpless law-abiding inhabitants, and the cops are bound to get a little irritated if Kersey bumps off too many of their men.

And just so too many corpses don't lie rotting on the pavement, medics dash on to drag the odd cadaver away - and Kersey certainly keeps them busy.

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: well-defined, with colourful backgrounds - colliding characters are messy, though
Sound: a fair tune, not much atmosphere

'The graphics are good, with brilliant characters, but the gameplay and the way Bronson moves are poor. It seems the object is to destroy any moving object - and killing someone with a rocket launcher is a mite barbaric, reducing them to just a pile of dust! There are some neat touches, such as the ladies of the night walking about, tempting you, and the way you can shoot out of windows. Death Wish 3 is graphically attractive, but it won't appeal for long - especially as you can't turn off the irritating tune.'

'There's been too much attention paid to the sicker parts of Death Wish 3 - the gore left by a bazooka blast, the realistic twitching of the characters when they' re hit by a volley of shots - at the expense of the game. Navigating the angular streets and the mazelike interior of the buildings isn't easy, even after an awful lot of practice, and this might put off beginners. And getting duffed up is pretty tedious; if more than one baddie has a go it can take a long time and a huge amount of energy to get away, which often costs you the game. I can't recommend Death Wish 3.'

'Death Wish 3 is dull. The mindless carnage might appeal to real sadists - but it gets tedious. The title tune isn't bad, but though the graphics and characters are quite clear, they're unattractive. Despite its image, this can't be recommended even to fans of the Death Wish films.'