"[Cast which spell: ditch chessboard, add actual strategy] So mote it be!"

Archon II breaks away from the chess mold of Archon and into a new level of strategy. Some of the eponymous good and evil types(dragons and djinnis) are missing, replaced with some mythological benchwarmers who are entertaining in their own right, and the battle shifts to the four elements and two void squares. You have earth on the inside, shaped like a barbell, with the cathedrals of order and chaos. Then there is the water realm, air realm, and fire realm--the barbell slowly grows into a rectangle but between the outer two there are two void squares. You have one Adept in each element to start, although they can teleport anywhere. Adepts also summon monsters into their current element. The monsters can move anywhere around the element until they encounter a foe, or they can move one square into the next element. You have four lower monsters different for order and chaos, one strongest in each element, and four demons that both order and chaos can summon.

While Archon is about generally slaughtering your opponent, Archon II, despite the departure from the chessboard, is much more sophisticated, the changes going far beyond changing names and colors(chaos, green, versus order, red.) Power squares shift from the corners of each territory each move, pumping up your power bar if you've got a character on there. Each monster you summon bites into your overall energy each move as there's a price to maintain it(unless your opponent casts a spell to imprison them and pays the maintenance,) and if you lose all power you lose the game. The two void squares are also power squares, but although they're available every move you can't cast spells in them, and they only give half the power regular squares do. You'll have a lot of fights over the void squares(Adepts teleporting in there and knocking each other off en masse is common.) If no-one loses power, or no one side ever possesses all six power squares, then the game is decided by Apocalypse. You can cast Apocalypse('Attack the enemy citadel...or retreat to your own) if you believe you're so hopelessly ahead of your opponent, or the game proceeds there automatically if someone loses all his Adepts. The two citadels graphically invert into shadowy mages and fight here in the last combat element or that of the spellcaster, with damage determined by number of monsters, bullet speed by number of Adepts, and endurance by power left. This winner-take-all confrontation will be maddening at first and often degenerates into two citadels standing squares away bonking each other, but given the conservative strategy you need to invoke to win on the toughest level(either side has three difficulty levels that regulate its spell power and monster/Adept power) the game in full should never be mindless.

But what of the dramatis personae? There are no retreads by name, and if there are fewer monsters, many combine the traits of two separate combatants from the original game. Let's let the chaos folks shove their way into the spotlight first.

Pushing his way in front of the Citadel of Chaos is the Giant from Earth, who's a bit slow, but strong and powerful, and you SHOULD be able to hit him several times to sap his energy--in any case, you BETTER. But wait, bursting out of the Water and pushing him to the side with her damaging song is the Siren, who leaves no foe unscathed. But now the Efreet blows them back with a gust of air, a huge green ice cream cone that fires fractured pellets. All move temporarily out of the way as the Phoenix falls through in a ball of Fire, waiting for his moment to end where they can fire at will. All are red as blood, none can be easily dismissed.

Aaannnddd in this corner, in the nature-like green trunks, by the Citadel of Order, we have--the Behemoth from Earth! Faster than the giant, yet it can only punch, it reminds you of a spinning circular clothes rack but can be nasty lying in ambush. If it gets a sure hit after power squares have gone back to fire, its suicide mission will have been worth it. Next, from Water, the Kraken! He's slow, and so is his shot, which lessens in volume as it goes further. In the Air, the Thunderbird(swoooop,) who doesn't just look cool but shoots a neat bolt with each attack! And out of the Fire, it's the Salamander with the pulsing globe shot! Well, he's not as silly as the Firebird, who's a rip-off of Archon's phoenix anyway.

But wait, there are the switch-hitters. There's the Juggernaut, a magic car who's his own missile and invunerable until he hits a wall. The Wraith is invisible until he screams, appropriating his enemy's energy--part djinni, part banshee. The Gorgon, frail, but once this hag slows you with one shot, you're as good as stone, and don't call her unoriginal; she petrified the basilisk in a play-off to get into the sequel. Finally there's the Chimera, with alternating fast-Kraken, needle, and tail-bash attacks. They cost more but they're worth it.

And finally there are the Adepts. Not only can they summon other amazing monsters, but they're no slouches themselves. Hold down the button and guide the joystick, and missiles change direction although they may need time to make a complete about-face. Beware hubris though; although they are sure to win one fight, a couple of combats may leave you one spellcaster short, with that much less chance to keep your power flow up. After certain non-summon spells, the computer even leaves you with a mysterious voice from the Gods: 'So mote it be.'

Now...aarree yyoouu rreeaaddyy to RAGNAROK???

As the pieces have many more different functions than in Archon(which relied largely on energy, appearance and missile power to make different characters) Combat itself is more complex than in Archon. It's tougher to judge when one monster is better than another because in each element the bunkers are different, and although monsters get bonuses in their native elements you will have to try a lot of matchups before you can decide the ones that help you the best. Obstacles are more randomly placed as well. For instance, in air, bullets are deflected by balloony air gusts(they can be reflected back in the direction they came but not kill the original shooter. Juggernauts look particularly funny careening out of control) which also expose invisible characters that breeze by them. Earth has barriers you can't shoot or walk past. You can shoot past water, but it slows you and your volleys down, and fire drains your endurance. Sometimes barriers play little part, which may favor the sneaky Wraiths, but for instance a Siren well hidden behind earth barriers can beat or seriously damage a much tougher opponent.

The theme of useful sacrifice is more prevalent in Archon II as well. Sometimes a strategy of piling Adepts on a square leads to an apocalypse and a toss-up ending, but on the other hand it is possible to summon a couple of Sirens to run at the Adepts. Or you can place two Gorgons next to an Adept in a void(where magic such as heal or summon or imprison doesn't work) and slow it down. There's also an sacrifice of future spell power; building up a big army quickly leaves a huge maintenance tab. You can also gamble by summoning a monster onto a foe(this costs extra but may be useful to take over a power square.)

Archon II has many more game options and combat possibilities and much less background combat noise(it's now easier to hear when you can shoot again) than its chessboard ancestor. It's ironic how the chessboard provides an all-out slugfest, and the realms of fantasy allow for more contorted maneuvers. Archon II would still be a tense affair even if you play on equal footing with the computer, but with your ability to play advanced vs. beginner, you have the chance for some harrowing battles that feel as though you are commanding starving troops in Atlantis's darkest hour. The brawling Apocalypse endings that games between experienced players or on harder levels tend toward drag the game down a bit, and the computer is often stupid, wasteful and stubborn(it seems addicted to the overpriced juggernaut,) but you still feel as though you're commanding a magic army, not just playing a bunch of separate video games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 03/16/02