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America's future looks grim. The streets are literally crawling with crime and corruption. The police force doesn't know how to deal with it and local government's a joke. Old Detroit's worst hit by felony and devastation but that's the least of its problems: The ruthless Omni-Consumer Corporation plans to wipe it out and construct the shining Delta City in it's down-town suburbs. OCP will let nothing stand in its way!

All seems lost, dread and despair abound... but wait a minute, who's that on the horizon? It's that chrome-clad law enforcer -Robocop!

For those who don't know the story behind the metallic justice-maker, listen up: Alex Murphy was a good cop. until corporation goons were hired who shot him to pieces and left him for dead. OCP took Murphy's dying body and transformed it into a cyborg police officer whose memory and emotion were replaced with a tireless will to uphold the law.

Unfortunately for OPC, the all-American cop has rediscovered his conscience and turned against his creators.

Now it's your turn to take the place of Robocop and battle the bad guys of Detroit. Robocop 3's a side-scrolling platform game featuring level after level of fast-paced action. You can walk, jump and shoot your way through this high-powered cart but your objective remains the same: stop OCP before they can complete their nefarious plans.

Unlike the original arcade game, you can't punch your assailants, but a wide array of weaponry makes up for this. You start with a standard shot but can pick up a three-way cannon, laser and flame-thrower. Each of these weapons has a limited supply of ammo so use them wisely.

Numerous bad guys, some mechanical, others human, do their best to stop you. Annihilate them and use special weapons to blast the end-of-level guardian before moving onto the next section. Later levels see Robocop taking to the skies with the aid of his new jet-pack and tackling flying OCP troops, ninja robots and floating mines.

There's only one skill level but the options screen lets you set between three and five lives and one or two continues.

The future may have a silver lining but it's up to you to keep it that way. If you have a taste for action, violence and the American way, this could be the game for you. Stay out of trouble!

I have to admit, when I first heard Robocop 3 was due for release, I had a cheesy grin on my face! I've always been a big fan of the chrome-coated cop and I've been waiting far too long for him to grace the Master System.

Unfortunately, I was a wee bit disappointed when I finally got my hands on the game. I have no gripes with the graphics because they're damn good. Mr Robo's well animated but moves too stiffly, even for a cyborg. The bad guys are impressive and there are enough of them to keep even the toughest cop occupied. Backdrops are detailed but can get a bit repetitive.

The main trouble lies in the gameplay. After a half hour's play, I was slumped over the console, snoring my head off. Robocop 3 has nothing I haven't already seen in a thousand other shoot-'em-ups and the cyborg himself has few moves.

And why wait for the third movie to produce a Master System Robocop game? What happened to the other two? Maybe next time Acclaim will start with a great title and produce a great game to go with it. Better luck next time. 54%

The mechanical law enforcer's back for another adventure! Acclaim have taken yet another hot movie licence and come up with a platform game which takes Robocop deep into the heart of a crime-filled city. As I'm a fan of the movie series, I've been looking forward to the third film, but it looks like we'll have to make do with the Master System game for the moment - Robocop 3 isn't due to appear at UK cinemas until next year.

As for the cart... It's yet another side-scrolling, blast the bad guys, big end-of-level guardian type of thang, based on the Data East Robocop coin-op. The arcade game was nothing to shout about and Acclaim's latest 'masterpiece' is a good example of a decent licence turned into a poor game.

Visually it's bearable, but only the Robocopper's feet move as he walks along - for some reason, his arm's welded to his side! Neat touches include the multiple weapons and flying sequences.

But it's the gameplay that really lets this title down. With only one difficulty setting, it starts off tough and gets tougher. This isn't always a bad thing but the controls are so unresponsive that the challenge level's just too high.

Robocop 3's worth playing for a few hours but those robotic yawns soon start flying faster than a rocket-powered lawman. What a shame. 56%

A good looking shoot-'em-up - shame about the lousy gameplay.