"Satán nunca ha descansado y menos aún ahora, ya que al secuestrar a los ocho grandes magos, la tierra está totalmente indefensa ante sus secuaces. Sólo tú, poderoso guerrero, puedes hacer frente a esta amenaza y salvar el mundo".

Nuestro protagonista, un famoso guerrero de alquiler, se rascaba afanosamente la cabeza preguntándose cómo diablos (nunca mejor dicho) se iba a enfrentar a los mágicos poderes de Satán y sus innumerables esbirros. De repente se le ocurrió, or primera vez en su vida, una brillante idea. Si había que luchar contra la magia, qué mejor que hacerse mago y, para ello, sólo había que recoger los tres pergaminos-hechizo que conferían esta característica. Pero Satán también se había dado cuenta de esta circunstancia y había colocado a sus Tam Lin, esqueletos monstruosos de múltiples cabezas.

Eliminar a estos bichos será la misión de la primera fase de este juego de doble carga. Como os podéis imaginar, la labor no va a ser sencilla, ya que además de los Tam Lin, hay todo tipo de bichejos inmundos dispuestos a convertir a nuestro héroe en cenizas.

Una vez que hayas recogido los tres pergaminos, podrás acceder a la segunda parte donde, ya convertido en mago, debes eliminar a las múltiples formas de satán que se te presenten.

"Satán" es, en su primera fase, un frenético arcade de plataformas con alto nivel de dificultad y adicción, gráficos cuidados, aunque confusos en algunas ocasiones por lo recargado de su diseño, y movimiento adecuado; mientras que, en la segunda parte, se han incluído algunas novedades sobre el ya conocido tema de matar y matar, lo que quizás le haga más jugable que el primero.

En suma, un buen y satánico producto que no creemos que os lleve al infierno, sino todo lo contrario.

PUNTUACIÓN MH

Originalidad: 7
Gráficos: 8
Movimientos: 8
Sonido: 7
Dificultad: 9
Adicción: 9

Judging by all the skulls, axes and blood all over the box and, of course, the name, I thought we were going to be in for a crappy heavy metal game or something. But I was wrong (and not for the first time this morning). The game's all about beating up Satan, not shouting about him. So that's interesting Fact No. One. Interesting Fact No. Two is that Satan is the latest from Dinamic, those cheerful Spanish programming people. (That's enough interesting facts. Ed)

From what I can make out (the instructions are a bit 'Spanish') the plot goes something like this - you're a warrior, and you've got to become a wizard in order to duff up the forces of evil. To do this you've got to collect three thingies, and then you'll have the necessary power to take on Satan, who has probably taken over the world or something.

Being a Dinamic game, this means two separate loading parts with a code to get into the second bit. It also means that I looked forward to playing it about as much as a punch in the face, as I've never really 'got on' with these Spanish games. They've all tended to be a bit messy and off-puttingly hard. So what did I think of this one? Well, you'll have to wait a bit longer because there's a bit more description coming up.

These two levels, then. The first one features you as a muscley warrior-type who leaps about from platform to platform and climbs up things with the help of a bit of four-way scrolling. He can also shoot baddies, which is quite handy as there are plenty of them, and collect the little icons they leave behind. These give all the usual extra energy, weapons and stuff. It all looks strangely familiar. Being a bit thick, though, someone had to explain to me that Black Tiger is most likely the inspiration behind this bit.

On to Part Two, and our warrior has become a wizard. He can still do much the same sorts of things, although in a more 'outdoor' environment. This time, however, he has to face the alarming prospect of a confrontation with Satan himself. From what I can work out this usually results in a Game Over message in no time at all, but maybe that's just me being crap again. Oh, and there's a 'shop' bit on this level too, also nicked out of Black Tiger.

Right, criticism time. It's not too bad, actually. The first level's the best, nice and easy, while the second verges a bit on the hard side, and the way your character leaps about is most impressive. The graphics are quite good too. Okay, so they're not exactly slick (being in monochrome) and it does get quite difficult to work out what's going on at times, but apart from all that they're fine.

The only really snag is that Satan isn't exactly huge - I'd seen most of it after playing for only half and hour. Beating the game might be another matter, but, hard as it is. Once you've managed that you might feel ever-so-slightly short-changed.

However Dinamic fans should enjoy it (it's probably their best yet, or one of their best anyway) and others should find it fun while it lasts.

Jonathan Davies.


RATING

Life expectancy: 69º
Graphics: 71º
Instant appeal: 77º
Addictiveness: 78º
OVERALL: 77º