Archon Ultra

[ Free Fall Associates 1994 ]

Description: Board Game

This game takes a classic game, Chess, and turns it into an interesting active-life chess game. Each piece has certain types of moves it's allowed to make (just like Chess), but when battling, it's completely based on your actions and the computer's actions. Unlike in Chess, where the attacker is the winner, this game allows for either parties to win a fight based on how well you compete on the battle field! The landscape design for these battlefields are pretty nice looking, especially for 1994. The gameplay is smooth, making this game more than bareable to play.

   

The controls were difficult at first to learn, but once you figure them out, it's a cake walk. You use E, S, D, and F as "arrow keys" to pick select which piece you want to move and then select the tile you want them to go to. Spacebar is used for selecting. These are the controls for both the "Chessboard" and the "Battlefield" sections of the game. You can use the mouse (right click) to access an invisable top bar menu for various in-game functions (such as new game, exit, music/sound adjustments, screen size, etc). The music and sound effects in this game are fairly impressive and definitely help you "get in the mood" for a game like this.

   

The only problem I had with this game was mastering the controls during the Battlefield. I literally lost every fight my first game because I couldn't figure out how the attacking aspects worked (spacebar and "B" seem to be handy, but I didn't figure this out till the game was practically over) Definitely worth checking this game out, just don't let it anger you, it's actually quiet simple once you've gotten the controls sorted out.