Rambo III (Sega Genesis)

Rambo III is an action game for the Sega Genesis, developed and published by Sega in 1989. As in the film, the plot centers on former Vietnam-era Green Beret John Rambo being recalled up to duty one last time to rescue his former commander, Colonel Sam Trautman, who was captured during a covert operation mission in Soviet-controlled Afghanistan.

The player controls Rambo through six missions, in each one with various objectives. Besides finding the exit of the level, in some missions, prisoners must be freed or enemy ammunition supplies destroyed. Rambo is controlled from an overhead perspective and has several weapons at his disposal. In addition to a machine gun that never runs out of ammo, he can use a knife for close range kills, set off timed bombs and use his famous longbow with explosive arrows. Some game mechanics included item refills though the use of the combat knife, as enemies dispatched with the knife usually leave behind items. This exposed Rambo to additional danger however, as Rambo is vulnerable and can be killed after one hit, forcing the player to weigh the risks and rewards of going after those items.

After some of the missions, the perspective switches to a view behind Rambo and additional boss fights take place. Soviet tanks or helicopters must be destroyed using the bow. While aiming the bow, Rambo cannot move, but otherwise he can hide behind rocks or other obstacles from enemy fire.