Who would have thought that Archon’s release on the Atari 8-bit computer three and twoscore years ago would have brought about a whole legion of fans who fell in love instantly with the concept? After all, Archon was a game that played like chess, infused with strategic elements and intense arcade action which spawned a host of games that owed their gameplay to Archon itself. For gamers who have not heard of Archon let alone seen it, it consists of Black and White factions who meet on a chessboard, duking it out in a battle. Depending on the color of your side and the square where the battle takes place, one side will have home ground advantage while the other will be weaker than usual. The underdog always never wins, but there are occasions where the tables are turned. History lesson aside, Myriad Interactive has announced that they have reached an agreement with Free Fall Games, giving them rights to the Archon license.

Leo Zullo, founding partner of Myriad Interactive, looks forward to this license agreement with anticipation. He hopes that the huge nostalgic value of the Archon license will be able to reassert itself in the minds of gamers, both old and new alike. This means we all should be getting a new version of the game which combines the fun, strategic, and action elements of the original along with the exciting technology of today pretty soon.

I remember that there was a remake of Archon sometime in the mid-90s, called Archon Ultra. Battles took place in a 3D environment, and it was much harder to dispose of a Black Dragon with a Knight than it was in the original game. Oh yeah, who could forget the Banshee’s skull dropping technique that slowed down its opponents? Will the new remake feature similar elements, or will Myriad Interactive throw a spanner in the works by surprising gamers with something new and unexpected? Only time will tell.

Source: Kotaku

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