Time travel is nothing new for video games. It’s been featured for years in one sense or another. Often it’s a plot device with characters traveling to different time periods for whatever reason. Occasionally it’s a gameplay tool. Miss the jump and fall to your doom? Fumble that grenade toss? Just thought that was really cool and want to see it again? Hit a button and turn back the clock.

Hazardous Software has just unveiled an unusual and incredibly ambitious project. It’s called Achron and on the surface it’s a standard RTS. You build a base, assemble your troops and send them forth to kick the crap out of your enemies. There will be some new ideas including ‘command hierarchy’ (probably allowing certain AI units to issue orders to others to adapt to enemy tactics) and ‘smart idling’ which will supposedly alleviate some of the need for micromanagement common to most RTS games.

Where the game really hopes to shine though is in its use of time travel. You and your opponents can all quickly and easily travel through the course of the battle, jumping back and forth with ease to review your opponents tactics or simply delight in re-witnessing a crushing defeat. Don’t gloat for too long though, because you might see your glorious victory turned around before your very eyes. That’s right, you can go back into the battle at earlier points and fix your mistakes or simply hone a strategy. This means that victory could be snatched from your grasp at any point as your opponent alters a previous battle, resulting in greater resources at their command who later come back and destroy your forces.