Previous Next

I've got some good news and some bad news. First, the bad news. If, like me, you were one of the first to spend your hard-earned cash on an old 800, then you might be forgiven for thinking that you had some terrible personal problem when it came to buying cheap quality software.

But this is where the good news comes in. Now, thanks to a few enterprising software dealers and the growing potential of our own software writers, we can at last enjoy some of the best Atari software at a portion of the price.

Archon by Electronic Arts is one of these classics to filter through. It's distributed in the UK by Ariolasoft and costs £11.95 on tape or £14.95 on disc. It is at first glance similar to chess, not only in its board layout but in the movements of some of its players. But that is where the similarity ends.

Archon is a two-screen game. The main screen is a chequered board, of light and dark squares.

There are also squares which vary between light and dark, but most important there are the power points - five squares which, if totally controlled by one side, will end the game.

The second screen is the scene of fierce battles to decide the right to own a square.

So much for the layout. Now on with the game itself. Archon can either be a one or two player game.

You are given the choice of being either the light force or the dark force - and this is where the squares matter.

If you are the light side, the light squares will give you more strength thatn the dark squares and vice versa for the dark side.

The revolving squares will give a different amount of strength depending on your colour and its colour.

Each side has an army of equal strength but different in their fighting styles. Thus tactics play a major part in Archon.

The most important element is the Wizard who can cast spells ranging from healing your player to reviving a dead piece. This usually encourages an onslaught on the Wizard from the word go, but it can prove a very costly attack and is generally not preferred by the more experienced player.

My only complaint about this excellent game is that you do not have any skill-level selection in the one-player mode so I found myself beating the computer time after time.

The manual is well laid out, giving hints on playing the game and a thorough explanation of your spell-casting ability.

The one I received was a Commodore 64 version which was accompanied by a photocopy of the Atari key functions. I find this a touch strange as Archon was released first on the Atari, then on the C64. Perhaps this was a pre-release version of the manual.

All in all, an original game well written and a pleasure to play.