Previous Next

Your worst nightmare has come true. Yes, those satanic film planners have taken over the world, torturing everyone with their psychedelic colours. Until now no-one has been brave enough to tell them that grass really isn't pink, but at last a brave warrior steps forward.

Before he can take on the evil planners he must learn the secrets of magic and become a wizard. This is achieved in the first of two independent game sections (as usual with Dinamic games, completing the first gives an access code for the second). The long-haired barbarian hero ventures through multi-directionally scrolling levels filled with platforms to jump on and pillars to climb. As well as a time limit to battle against, there are plenty of film planning minions on hand to reduce his energy, including axe-wielding lumberjacks, flying gargoyles and reproducing dwarfs. When shot, some of these leave behind an object - these include coins and gems for points, elixirs for extra energy, and more powerful weapons such as the "R-Type-style" beam.

At the end of each level, there is a large super-baddy which, when defeated, drops a scroll of magic. Collect all these and the warrior becomes a wizard, prepared to enter the Palace Of The Clouds where several other wizards have been imprisoned. At last, Satan (also known as Beezlebub or Uffindell) makes a personal appearance. Even when destroyed, he turns into two Cyphers - deadly flying demons. When shot, each of these mutates into two Damiens - rapid-firing, flying demons.

Every time a creature is destroyed it drops a coin which can be spent at Brownie the Wizard's (very handily located) shop to buy weapons, shields, two types of map, and a teleport pad which can be dropped at a useful place. To rescue a wizard the creature escorting him to his execution must be killed. At least one wizard has to be rescued (and all the evil forces destroyed) to complete the game.

Despite the title ,this isn't 'reet hellish'. In reality it's a weak Black Tiger variant. On the C64, it suffers from a general lack of colour and some chunky, undetailed sprites. The Amiga game looks totally different but is still unimpressive with jerky scrolling and again a rather limited colour scheme.

Basically all there is to do is jump and climb the platforms, shooting everything that moves. It sounds hectic but it isn't; the game bumbles along at a leisurely pace, especially with the hero's initially slow rate of fire. The collision detection is also unnecessarily fussy when it comes to the pillars - if you're not pixel-perfect you miss them completely and inevitably fall a frustratingly long way down. I was also extremely annoyed by a quirk on the C64 whereby the hero alternately shoots/throws a bomb.

If you play this game you'll certainly know what hell is!

The C64 version looked very nice indeed on the screenshots, so it's a surprise that the game itself looks so dull. As for gameplay, it's very like Black Tiger - surely Dinamic could've been 'inspired' by a better coin-op. The prospect of making lots of pixel-perfect jumps from pillar to post is not a happy one, and the buddies are even more vicious - this really is the Film Planners' Revenge.

As for the Amiga game, it looks a lot better although scrolling is a bit jerky) and plays somewhat more enjoyably. The ability to play either of the two games is welcome, but Dinamic still seem in desperate need of original ideas and demanding game-testers.

Presentation 62%
Standard Dinamic multi-load system: completing the first game gives the code for the second. Very nice instructions.

Graphics 51%
Fast multi-directional scrolling and nice backgrounds, but the sprites are disappointing - especially the main character.

Sound 42%
Disappointing spot effects.

Hookability 39%
Difficult and frustrating to begin with due to pixel-perfect jumping.

Lastability 45%
A tough challenge with two complete games for the price of one.

Overall 43%
Hell on earth.

Presentation 54%
You can choose game to play without needing a codeword, again nice instructions.

Graphics 72%
The graphics are imaginative and highly detailed, but the scrolling is a bit jerky.

Sound 45%
Okay intro tune and in-game effects.

Hookability 44%
Slow paced and repetitive, although the option to play the second game helps.

Lastability 49%
Two large games means there's plenty to do, but it's all rather dull.

Overall 47%
Another nice-looking Dinamic game which sadly lacks gameplay.