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It's just not fair, is it? There you are, hero of the moment after saving the planet Eris from the comet Damocles (remember all that in Damocles?) and they chuck you into prison, condemned to wait for Mercenary III to arrive. A terror-inducing prospect, given author Paul Woakes' past record of deadline-(un)meeting.

Luckily, Mr. Woakes didn't take quite such a grey-hair-fostering long time coming up with Mercenary III as he did Damocles, so once again the weird, wild, and probably even wacky Gamma solar system is yours to explore.

So now you're an enormously rich ex-mercenary with nothing to look forward to except a long slow slide into obscurity. At least, until you get wind of what one rather unsavoury character called PC Bil is up to. Mr. Bil has also become rather rich through some dodgy business deals. He's now about to spend his readies in building whacking great Pulvin mines on the peaceful island of Dion North (which, of course, you knew when it all was fields), in the process completely ruining the environment.

So, with the best interests of the people in mind (and, of course, no thought at all of making a few more spondulicks on the side for yourself), you set out to stop Mr. Bil any which way you can. And, although you're not really aware of it to begin with, there's also a time limit. As usual, you have only the barest of clues as to how you should go about this. One thing's for sure, though, to get anywhere you're going to have to face the most heinous, the worst, the most devious, low-down and downright underhanded thing the Gamma system could throw at you: public transport.

There are three ways of getting about. Buses are free, thanks to your bus-pass, but they only follow a predefined route. Catching a number 12 to take you where you want to go may mean waiting five minutes for it to arrive, and then wasting more time shuttling along via all the destinations you don't want to go to.

Taxis, on the other hand, take you exactly wherever you want to go, but at a considerable cost. As the taxi driver chatters on inanely, you can only watch in horror as your credits decrease at an alarming rate - if you're not already in a permanent coma from the way they take 90 degree corners at what seems like 70mph. The same money-gobbling is true of inter-planetary or inter-city flights.

In Damocles, you had very little money but most things were free - there were plenty of ships, cars and suchlike just lounging about ready to be used. Now that you've got 51 million credits, things suddenly have to be paid for. There are other quicker and cheaper ways of getting about, but you have to be clever or lucky to find them. At least the buses and taxis are unrealistic - you can always depend on another bus coming along in a minute, and getting a taxi is as simple as using your taxi-card.

This forced reliance on public transport means the travel timetable that's included with the game becomes the most important thing in your life when you're playing Mercenary III. It also serves as a clue to some of the locations you should be visiting if you're to get anywhere. Visits to places like Margaret's Retreat, Bosher's Bar and even good ol' Future Publishing should be high on your list. Don't expect to find the same buildings from Damocles - there's been some mighty big reconstruction going on during your, er, holiday.

Taxi drivers are just part of Mercenary III's other innovation: people. Previously, the Gamma system was like a ghost town only a little big bigger - full of buildings and objects but absolutely no people. Now you can't move for the blighters. Receptionists, clerks, taxi drivers, pilots and so on jostle for your attention at every moment. Ignore them at your peril: some of them have some very useful tidbits of information, particularly (and appropriately) the garrulous taxi drivers. The people don't actually move about - they're just like part of the furniture.

Benson, your ninth generation PC, once again accompanies you - it's through it (him?) that all communication takes place. Strangely though, he seems to have become much more passive during your incarceration, since he no longer makes those acid comments on your progress.

As before, you need to search each building carefully to find all its objects, and there's the same "wonder if it's useful or not?" dilemma whenever you find something unusual, which leads to you carrying about every bit of tat you can lay your hands on. There's a normal limit of ten objects you can carry, but again, this can be increased when you know how. Some objects can be used and bring up a separate control panel when selected - it's worthwhile trying to use everything in this way, since some objects are more interesting than they first seem.

There are actually six different ways to complete Mercenary III. Five of these are included as sealed solutions with the game, so if you get completely stuck you can throw your conscience to the wind and cheat. The sixth solution is the most financially rewarding, but it's up to you to find this one out.

The Gamma system is big, but mostly empty. You find that most of the planets are barren apart from their cities, and they only include a few key buildings. Consequently, there aren't all that many graphics for you to gawp at, but what there are include some of the best-designed 3D shapes you'll find anywhere, except perhaps in Cybercon III.

The graphics move with the same amount of smoothness as before - that is, lots - but they do tend to slow down slightly if you're in a "complex" room. In space, things get a little better with the planets and moons acting completely realistically and staying in their relative positions as you zoom about. Damocles fans will recognise the, er, sound effects (for want of a better word): the warbly beeps as a message appears from Benson, and - well, that's about all really. Oh, except for a bit of white noise here and there.

It's incredible what a few tweaks can do to a game system. The introduction of the public transport system is by turns frustrating and a godsend. It's frustrating because you do spend a lot of your time waiting for the next bus to arrive, or travelling about aimlessly with the hopeless robot taxi drivers on Gaea. But, on the other hand, you can always rely on getting a bus or taxi, so there's no need to worry about always finding a quick way to get around. It also provides a kind of structure to the game that was previously missing. Often in Damocles, you would find yourself wandering around with no idea of where you were or where you wanted to go. At least with the buses and taxis you know exactly what that innocuous block of a building looking up ahead is.

Looked at dispassionately, there's very little difference between Mercenary II and III. But somehow, the new elements here manage to make playing what is essentially the same game as Damocles enjoyable all over again - there's certainly no feeling that the game's just a money-grabbing re-hash. Quite the opposite - you get the same feeling of being able to explore any where you damn well want to, and there's always the lure of all those strange objects lurking about on obscure planets for you to find. If you've never played a Mercenary game before, get this. As an introduction, it's far better than Damocles because it's easier and more structured.

So, once again, Paul Woakes and Novagen (who must depend entirely on the Mercenary games just to stay in business - how many other successful games have they released?) have come up with the goods. But this should definitely be the last Mercenary jaunt - time for Paul Woakes to spend another four years developing another game system, perhaps?

1. Not really all that different to Damocles, yet Mercenary III manages to be an entirely new experience.
2. Cybercon III is perhaps its nearest contender. Its graphics are better, but the gameplay's tougher and it's not as immediately accessible.
3. The Freescape games, like Castle Master, although similar just don't come anywhere near close to the complexity and sophistication of Mercenary III and Damocles.
4. Great gameplay that unfolds in the same way as Deuteros.