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The old devil! Beelzebub has been up to his old tricks again. He's only gone and converted all the wizards to his evil cause. And a World without wizards, well doom gloom and general unpleasantness all round I'm afraid. There's only one thing for it. To send the bravest strongest warrior around to fight his way through the hellish underworld to become a wizard, and eventually to do battle with Satan himself. Well, it seemed to be a good plan at the time.

But who's the best man for the job? Well with Sid the Skull-Crusher down with a nasty cold, and Brian Bloodaxe with his sprained ankle, there's only you left. So you set out on your long journey, to teach old Satan a lesson or two.

Satan is like football in the sense that it's a game of two halves. You have to finish the first section before the computer allows you access to the second level. A password is given on completion, so do it once and you'll be able to play the second half any time you like.

The first part concerns you making your way across the Land of Lost Magic, where you need to collect three magical papyrus rolls. It's these mystical items that give you the power to transform from Warrior to Wizard.

Of course, it's not simply a case of strolling into the Land of Lost Magic, slipping the artifacts into your pocket, and catching the number ten bus home again.

For a start, it's not called the Land of Lost Magic for nothing, you know. Those three things so vital to your cause are strewn about a land so big, that even if there weren't any monsters they'd be pretty hard to find. And there are monsters. Lots of them.

If you manage to locate all three scrolls, then it's on to the second part. Things don't get any easier. You've got to rescue as many wizards as you can from the Palace of Clouds, and then there's the matter of forever destroying the forces of evil. Could be tough...

Satan bears more than a passing resemblance to the arcade game Black Tiger. However, the Amstrad version of Black Tiger was not one of the best games around, being a direct Speccy port, so Satan's lack of originality is, perhaps, excusable.

The game is constructed from horizontal platforms which you run along, and vertical pillars that you can cling on to in mid leap, and climb to gain height. Jumps have to be judged quite carefully. It's easy to miss and plummet downwards for several levels. Luckily falling large distances doesn't hurt our hero. It does waste time however, which is in short supply, and the three rolls need to be found before it's too late.

Plenty of Hell-spawned baddies inhabit the first level. The flying Gargoyles are the worst. You're never safe as one of these monsters get reach anywhere that you can. The fact that they are equipped with flame-throwing breath doesn't help either.

You're not exactly helpless though. You have unlimited firepower, and can floor the enemy with ease. Killing a nasty usually reveals a coin, but sometimes hide specials, which aid you in your mission. Power-ups improve your fire power, vials restore your energy, and sand-clocks credit you with oh-so valuable extra minutes.

Eventually you'll meet the first of the scroll guardians. Here you've got to blow his head off and then shoot him in the heart. Do it three times and you're through to level two...

As you'd expect from a Dinamics game, the graphics are big, bold and brilliant. The backgrounds are drawn in atmospheric hues. Ice cool blues contrast with the warm-looking yellows and reds that make up the majority of the platforms and scenery. The monsters are especially well done. They really do look mean and menacing. The only slightly disappointing graphic is the main character. He looks decidedly wimpy compared to the opposition. A pity as most of the time, he's what you're looking at.

Sound is reasonable. There's no title music, and sonics consist entirely of spot effects. There's plenty of explosions as the baddies bite the bullet, keeping the loudspeaker busy for most of the time.

Satan is tough, challenging and very playable. The scrolling is smooth and graphically the game rates very highly. Just be careful that Old Nick doesn't get you...

Fast, furious and fun, Satan is one hell of a game.

Collect two scrolls.

Graphics 89%
Beautifully drawn backdrops and sprites.

Sonics 77%
P. FX OK.
P. No tune.

Grab Factor 84%
P. Lots to kill.

Staying Power 83%
P. Two tough games in one.

Overall 83%
P. A devil of a game!