While you may have heard of the film Spawn, it wasn’t a big box office hit, and those who did see the movie were rather disappointed. Thankfully this game isn’t based on the movie, but instead Todd McFarlane’s hugely popular book series. The story involves theological issues, which finds ex–CIA agent Al Simmons burned to death in an act of evil betrayal. Pending his dissension to hell, Simmons conveniently runs into the Devil, with whom he signs a pact and returns to Earth as a mean green (well in this case kind of reddish–pinkish) killing machine. In exchange for this rejuvenation, Simmons must lead hell’s army, wreaking doom and havoc on the world. Follow me so far? Although Simmons agrees to a deal with the Devil, he refuses to take the position of the authoritarian figure in hell and, instead, decides to use his powers for good. Instead of leading them he now fights evil creatures on the battlefield of Earth. Once a man and now a ‘hell spawn’ possessing unique powers, Simmons plows on through the fields of darkness, in order to fulfill his destiny and discover what he can about his true identity.

Under the dark and murky storyline, Capcom’s gifted team brings you an arena–based, arcade shooter unlike any other for the Dreamcast. Straight from the hit arcade game, Spawn, gives you the chance to take control of any 36 characters of your choice, 24 of which are available with the completion of certain objectives. Up to four players can simultaneously fight in either a Battle Royal mode (Quake 3 but in third–person, Deathmatch), or pick a team of computer controlled enemies to take on in Team Battle mode. There is also Boss Attack mode, which pits you against the bosses with the assistance of either the computer, or a pal of yours.

The environments in which you play are fully interactive. Here you find items to use to slaughter the enemy and breakable crates and barrels that enable you to find power–ups and health bonuses. You have your choice of a variety of weapons, from knives and swords to long–range weaponry such as rocket launchers and mini–guns, depending upon the character you choose to play.

Some of the smooth animations and other visuals must be seen to be believed — attention to detail is admirable. Characters move gracefully, their postures changing, reflecting the size of the character. Conversely, some of the animations are appalling. An example is when you successfully defeat the boss, bodies blow–up in half revealing 2D art with three or four pixels representing three or four squirts of blood. This is really tacky and childish, considering that the majority of the game has elegant graphics.

You choose from a vast number of arenas in which to obliterate the enemy, and in addition, levels are extended when you enter through doorways and passages. You don’t go very far before you run into an enemy of some sort who is after your blood, which keeps the action pretty intense.

The controls in the game are quite basic — analogue and D–pad can both be used, depending upon which you prefer. I recommend analogue, which provides you with a much higher range of movement. I have to admit, sometimes the action becomes so intense you have a tendancy to mix your keys up, but with training you should be able to overcome this. The hand–to–hand combat is fairly limited and you use just one key to perform moves. What makes it difficult is you can’t choose whether to just kick or punch, but instead, you perform a three or four hit combo before throwing the enemy on his back. Due to the lack of fighting elements, the game suffers.

Overall, Eidos’ Spawn: In the Demon’s Hand is a firm start to the new year, considering the lack of games that have been released this year. You can play Spawn to get over the winter blues. If you’re looking for some mid–range entertainment, you may want to consider Spawn, which should occupy your time until the next Dreamcast title is released.