Oops. Big mistake. Someone's let the Lord Of Decay escape from his secure hospice. And now he's done a runner to the quiet island of Capra, and is currently hiding there, making life miserable for the residents.

What's this got to do with you? Well, you're a swash-buckling hero, you've survived two other Gauntlet games and now you're back in glorious 3D. So it's your job to pack your weapon and take the next ferry to Capra, where you'll be asked to chop up the minions of Mr Decay before tracing him to his lair and slipping him some cold steel. It's a frightening prospect (for both of you).

No more heroes
After choosing your character, you start off in the middle of a forest. You've got eight-way scrolling, but it's made pretty clear which direction you're supposed to head off in. Making things much more interesting are the marauding aliens. These take the form of ghosts, but once you get further into the game you run up against guards which patrol in strict patterns. These come in many forms, but the humanoid orc-lookalikes are the most common (and the worst).

To progress, it's necessary to destroy the centres from which the ghosts spring. This doesn't take much, as both baddies and generators take only a hit or two. In fact the only thing that keeps the combat playable is the sheer number of attackers, but it gets confusing when your characters disappear underneath a seething mass of them.

Once you've cleared each level you're free to wander around it collecting pick-ups such as food and treasure which add to your strength and wealth. Exploring the levels isn't quite as exciting as it should be. Wherever you travel, you'll have to eventually go along the same route programmed into the game, so short-cuts are impossible.

There isn't a vast amount of variation in what you see, and the overall playing area is larger than it seems (ideally this should be reversed). What is noteworthy is the music: It's atmospheric, it's good to listen to and it's well written by Tim Follin (writer of rather good pop-tunes as well as the Ghouls 'n' Ghosts soundtrack). But heroic though it is, it doesn't rescue Gauntlet 3, which is certainly playable, mappable and big, but could have been a really special game with the addition of more exciting (and colourful) graphics and slicker gameplay.

It sounds really exciting, doesn't it? After all, Gauntlets I and II were massive smash hits in the arcades thanks to their four-player action and endless levels, and US Gold's conversions were a big success too. So, thrilled at the prospect of reviewing a big-name arcade licence, I nipped out to my local amusement arcade (Krazy Kevin's Koin-ops) eagerly clutching a fistful of 50p's in order to try out the original and draw up a few comparisons.
'Ain't never 'eard of it,' Kevin told me.
'But you must have it. Look - I've got the Amiga version right here.'
'Nah. You've been 'ad, mate.'

MAKING THE MOST OF A LICENCE
It transpires that Gauntlet III isn't actually an arcade conversion at all. It's more of an attempt by US Gold to wring the last possible drop of mileage out of its aging Gauntlet licence, and perhaps stir and some interest in its back-catalogue.

And there's nothing wrong with that, even though Gauntlet III bears only a passing resemblance to the originals (and even that's only in the name, to tell the truth). What really matters is whether it's anywhere near as good as the first two games.

So - is it? Erm, well, no, not really, but it's not too bad all the same. The trouble is that it takes all the features that made Gauntlet the hit it was (four players, millions of cunningly-planned levels, simple but compulsive gameplay etc.) and throws about half of them away. It then messes about with what's let a bit, and ends up with something that doesn't quite feel the same, somehow. Having said that, it's a perfectly good game in its ow right, with a couple of interesting features.

THE SAME AGAIN, BUT DIFFERENT
Gauntlet III's main departure from Gauntlet is, as you'll doubtless have spotted, that it's in 3D. No more little coloured blocks with all the spaces in between crammed with baddies jostling to get you. Instead each level is drawn in attractive, isometric 3D which lends more of an adventurey than an arcadey feel to the game.

And that's the other things. It does have slight adventure overtones, although thankfully not enough to obscure its roots as an arcade game. Rather than simply shooting your way to the exit through level after level, you've got tasks to perform.

To complete the first stage, for example, you've got to find a bucket, take it to a well to get a key, take the key to the altar in the church and then leg it back to near your starting points within a time limit, where a bridge to the exit will have appeared. Each step is clearly explained, so there's no actual thinking to do, and it all works pretty well. (The next stage is a bit crapper, though).

There's also some excellent but very repetitive music, where perhaps some sound effects might have been more useful. I mean, what's Gauntlet without the occasional cry of 'Blue Elf shot the food' or 'Red Warrior - your life force is running out'? And.... Oh dear - I'm starting to pull it to bits already. Right, seeing as we're on the subject, here goes:

The main snag is that it's incredibly easy. You tend to accumulate life force much quicker than you loose it, even if you're as useless as me. That means completing the thing will be more a test of endurance than skill.

Then there's the fact that exits are two-way. No problem in itself, but if, after emerging on a new level, you inadvertently flip the joystick in the wrong direction you go back to the previous one, with the 30 seconds of disk accessing that entails, and then another 30 seconds to get back again. Er, what else? Well, each level is several screens wide and several screen high, but you can only tell if you've reached the edge of the playing area when the scrolling stops and you can't go any further - there are no walls or anything.

This looks highly naff. And so does the collision detection for that matter. You sometimes have to hit a piece of food at just the right angle to be able to pick it up. Oh yes, and you can only have two players. There also seems to be a limitation on the number of sprites on screen at once, so you won't see screens brimming with baddies as in the original. Quite a list, eh?

So it has its faults, but Gauntlet III's too good to dismiss as a waste of money. I suppose I'm being ever so slightly generous (being an ever so slightly generous sort of person), but I still found it quite fun. In fact, I reckon it deserves a bit more than the 'low sixties' mark everyone suggested I gave it. So it can have a 'mid sixties' one instead.

After successfully converting both Gauntlet and Gauntlet II onto home computer formats, U.S. Gold have teamed up with Software Creations and have created an original variant of the popular arcade quest.

Purposely avoiding the overhead view favoured by the first two games, Gauntlet III opts for a forced perspective view, with the game's colourful landscapes depicted in all their 3D glory. In keeping with the busy gameplay of the original games, all the old elements are there: ghosts, treasure chests, food rations, dragons, and good old Death in all his energy-sapping glory.

In addition, though, Gauntlet III sports more of a quest than its predecessors, and rather than simply blasting their way to the end of a stage, the player must collect special objects and return them to their rightful place before they can progress.

Opening with a stunning Tim Follin Clannad-esque tune, eight warriors are offered for your delectation. According to the scenario, the distant world of Capra and its many lands have rapidly fallen at the hands of an evil demon king. Starting with the Icelands and working through the Undersea kingdoms and Forestlands, one by one the planet's major cities fell, overthrown by the demon's spectral hordes.

Thus, expanding upon the original's four characters, Gauntlet III offers eight warriors, all of which are the chief of their particular land. So, after selecting from characters as diverse as Neptune, Thyra the Valkyrie, the Ice-King, and Merlin the Wizard, the battle begins...

Each land is depicted as a massive multi-directionally-scrolling area, populated by the ever-present monster generators of the first games.
In terms of graphical style, Gauntlet III is streets ahead of its predecessors, and somehow Software Creations have managed to incorporate the swarms of sprites associated with the original game with the extremely smooth scrolling. Additionally, it also sports more ground and background detail than ever before, adding to the game's appeal and atmosphere immeasurably.

As the two characters wander across the lands, the aforementioned tasks must be completed. The majority of these involve the collection of certain objects, and a disembodied hand will then appear offering valuable advice of what to do next. As these missions are duly completed, more of the game opens up to the player, and icy wastelands and swamps are consequently passed through - all of which are inhabited by suitably icy or marshy creatures and plants, and all of which can be taken out with each warrior's weaponry or an all-powerful potion.

Although Gauntlet III is a major advancement over the first two, both in the style and gameplay stakes, it still seems a little dated. The additions of the tasks does add a degree of urgency to the proceedings and gives the game more of a purpose, yet somehow it sill comes across as... well, bland.

There's no faulting the game's presentation as both the graphics and the sound especially are impeccable. However, in the all-important gameplay stakes, Gauntlet III seems to be lacking that certain undefinable something. Worth a look but by no means an essential addition to the collection.