Archon: The Light and the Dark
| Developer: Free Fall | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Electronic Arts | Sound: |
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| Year: 1985 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Strategy | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 2 simultaneous | Rating: |
6/10 | |
This fantasy-themed chess variant was a big hit on 8-bit computers. It blends strategic gameplay with a mini combat game whenever two pieces meet. On the Amiga version, you can opt for “cyborg” mode to let the computer handle the action sequences while you focus on moving your pieces.
Victory comes in one of two flavours: eliminate all your opponent’s creatures or occupy the five “power squares”.
A few spells are available to spice up the game, and certain squares change colour, offering either a boon or a penalty to the creature standing on them, depending on its allegiance. The rules are straightforward, and you can always let the computer play itself to get the hang of things.
Despite my curiosity, this game is just a little too ancient for me to dive into properly. Personally, I was more interested in Castle Quest.
Archon 2: Adept, released in 1988, left players somewhat baffled by overhauling the rules entirely. In 1994, the series got a PC remake: Archon Ultra.
Note: Due to its venerable age, Archon can be tricky to get running on an emulator. You might manage with a Kickstart 1.1 ROM (if you’re lucky). I used the pre-installed WHDLoad pack (which requires a hard drive with Workbench installed).
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