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Long done are the days when friendly PC Plod used to cycle around cobbled streets singing "A hey nonny no", laughing uncontrollably and only stopping now and again to give thick ears to cheeky kiddies (how generous!).

I can't imagine RoboCop doing that - although he did ride a bike in the Robocop 2 film. This 21st Century cyborg (half-dead copper, half-tin can) goes about his business with calculating precision, giving offenders 20 seconds to comply or die.

Thankfully, Robo's programmed to be a good guy and all his actions are governed by the famous prime directives:

1. Always let royalty off speeding offences
2. Fit up Irish labourers on dodgy forensic evidence
3. Stop innocent motorists with no car tax (It was in the post, honest! - Claire)

Erm... whoops, those are the West Mercia police's orders! Their 21st century counterparts in Old Detroit are far more sinister - even if they don't grow beards and talk to God.

No, these guys are corrupt as they come - the police department's privatised and run by OmniConsumer Products (OCP). In the first film (and game), OCP were helping a local drugs baron; in the second they instigated a crime wave to force the city into bankruptcy.

Now, they've come up with a new solution to the problems of homelessness and poverty: hire mercenaries to eliminate the poor (sounds logical)! The situation is further complicated by a bunch of Japs trying to take over OCP, bringing over a bunch of robotic ninjas. ('Selve the pubric tlust.. plotect the innocent, uphord the raw!').

The first of five levels is Operation Wolf revisited with a targeting cursor to aim; the screen scrolls left/right as the cursor nears the edge.

It's a lovely moonlit night in the city, or it would be but for the splatterpunks who pop out from behind buildings - in the foreground and background - and occasionally appear at windows.

These guys have got guns as big as their muscles [Mmm, yum yum - Man Ed] which they blast away to reduce Robe's efficiency level. Replenish this only at the end of each level, using Repair Tokens shot on Robo's head, body, arms and legs.

One quick oil change later, Robo explores the horizontally scrolling Rocket Motors factory, a familiar scene to RoboCop 2 fans with its platforms and conveyor belts to bound around on.

Robo crouches and aims his gun in all directions. He's now got a new weapons arm fitted with a flame thrower (great for short-range battles), laser (powerful with long range), guided missiles (automatically homing in on enemies) or tin-can opener (only kidding!). Collect the right icon to claim each weapon. Pressing space exchanges them - but there's only limited ammo, so be sparing!

Robo dons a jetpack to float through Level 3. Control here is a bit tricky with realistic inertia as Robo blasts jetpack-clad down-and-outers. After clobbering a huge end-level tank. Robo finds he's run out of gas (don't you just hate it when that happens - Man Ed)!

With not a tin of curried beans in sight, he has no choice but to trundle back to the OCP tower on Level 4. Following a close shave with a huge strafing helicopter (I prefer a Bic myself) Robo battles with his arch-enemy, ED-209 - nine sprites gorgeously animated (eight frames), with clever shading giving it convincing solidity.

Finally it's climb-a-tower time, the screen scrolling upwards to show the next floor, to knock the stuffing out of those acrobatic robotic ninjas.

Yes, Ocean have 'served the public trust' yet again with a licence that oozes quality from start to finish. Once again, cartridge power has been used to the full to provide instant loading and an astonishing variety of graphics - which would normally cause a nightmare tape multi-load.

Graphic detail is superb, both on the excellent colourful backdrops and the smoothly animated sprites - especially the bigguns.

There's also the now-expected top-notch presentation with a neat intro and cracking inter-level repair sequence - even if Robo looks like he's sitting on the loo [Even dead coppers have to go sometime y'know - Man Ed]! Not to mention a moody Jeroen Tel (ex-Maniacs Of Noise) soundtrack to add extra atmosphere to a true movie experience.

It plays as good as it looks with familiar, instantly addictive blasting action on the Operation Wolf-style first level. Of course, the three walkalong-and-shoot levels are just as familiar to fans of the previous games. Improved, more realistic weapons add a tactical element - knowing where best to use them is essential for progress.

Five levels may not seem much, but they're certainly long enough with loads of big-baddy confrontations. The jetpack level is a successful addition and frankly I'm glad to see the back of those fiddly puzzle sub-games which detracted from the overall atmosphere in RoboCop 2.

RoboCop 3 is action all the way, and should keep even the most expert game players protecting the innocent for ages - just make sure you've got a large enough supply of baby food!

I bet the Blue Peter team were happy when RoboCop was melted down (along with the odd Skoda) to provide a few tins for their old fogie appeal. Don't worry readers, I'm only kidding, old tin bonce is back in his third game (and very soon third movie). Well, there are elephants... sorry, *elements* of the previous two games in RoboCop 3, and it's very spiffy indeed. Robo's old enemy ED-209 (even deadlier than ED-P.H.I.L.) pops up for a goodly scrap, and as always makes everyone's life complete misery.

The title sequence is a corker (but what else do you expect from Probe?) though the rest of the game isn't too shoddy either. For my money, the difficulty setting is a touch too high on the first couple of levels - I only just made it through Level One after umpteen games, and cheating with an auto-fire stick [Blinkin' girl's blouse - Man Ed]. But with practice Robo is soon blasting all and sundry with his very impressive weapon (!!?). Thank gawd I'm one of the innocent citizens that Robo protects.

Presentation 88%
Neat intro and repair scene, instant cart loading.

Graphics 92%
Attractive backdrops and smoothly animated sprites.

Sound 90%
Classic Jeroen Tel music accompanies all levels.

Hookability 93%
Mega-blasting first level gets you in the mood.

Lastability 91%
Only five levels but they're big and pretty tough.

Overall 92%