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It's the ultimate, cataclysmic battle between good and evil - expressed as
a variation on the basic theme of Phoenix!
Hellish green flying demons try to formation-dive your well-armed, devil-fryin'
vehicle at the bottom of the screen. Each time you knock one of this
gargoylesque beasties out of the sky, they drop a piece of a bridge you must
drag over to the appropriate spot on the screen. When you're close to
completing the bridge, the Prince of Darkness sends in some heavier artillery -
a spooky floating demon head who spits fire at your
cannon - to do away with you. Once you've toasted the flying meanies out of the
sky and cross the bridge, it's time to do battle with Satan himself, though he
starts out looking a little bit like that cute little mascot you see on cans of
deviled ham.
(Bally/Midway, 1981)
While it presents some interesting variations - bridge-building while shooting?
- Satan's Hollow really had little to distinguish it from the other
dozens of Space Invaders variants which had been appearing in arcades
for three years at this point. The graphics were prettier (though, in my
opinion, not that pretty), there was music instead of abstract sound
effects...but that doesn't affect the game-playing experience much for me. One
wonders if Bally/Midway was hoping to sell the game on the pre-requisite
controversy that they expected to appear around a game involving the devil -
controversy which ultimately failed to really materialize. However, given that
I only ever saw one Satan's Hollow coin-op in my arcade gaming heyday,
when I frequented several arcades, the thought of controversy may indeed have
killed this one off - by putting off arcade operators on the thought of anything
which would further the already somewhat shady view of arcades held by parents
and community leaders.
Satan's Hollow has yet to come home for any platform, old or new,
unless it involves MAME.
Rating: 
Three quarters - worth repeat play, but with some annoying features that
might alienate less patient arcade veterans.
Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com editor/webmaster
 
 
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