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One of Taito's best games, Rambo III is a fun top-down action game that is very faithful to the testosterone-filled movie it was based on. In case you have missed the movie (lucky you), here is a brief plot: our beefy commando John Rambo is forced to leave his – err – meditation in a monastery in Southeast Asia (uh huh, sure) to rescue his handler Richard Crenna from the Russians. The action takes place in a jungle deep in Afghanistan, where Rambo enlists the help of Afghan Freedom Fighters to lead him to the Russian base. Rambo, being human like the rest of us (ugh), falls into a trap and gets captured. The action then begins with our hero about to prove, once again, that one beefy commando can dispose of orders of magnitude more enemy targets. Although it looks similar to dozens of other action games you have played before, the more you play the game, the more you realize that it has a lot of neat subtleties and detail that sets it apart. For starters, you have at your disposal not only a wide variety of weapons (which include the bow and bomb arrows, knife, rifle, and time bombs), but also a lot of actually useful items. For instance, you can attach a silencer to your gun to snipe away at enemies without alerting the whole camp to your presence. You will also find IR goggles (which won't operate without a battery) that are useful for seeing IR laser beams and night vision. The levels are well thought-out, with enough new surprises and scenery to keep you captivated. The level where you get to shoot down a giant Russian chopper is particularly entertaining (yes, it didn't all begin with Half-Life), as well as the building you must break into to rescue the hostage. Overall, Rambo III is a very entertaining game that has just about the right difficulty level for an average gamer. It's not Metal Gear in terms of novelty and intuitive interface, but it is definitely one of the best games based on movie licenses. Recommended! Reviewed by: Underdogs | 
Rambo III 
