by:	November 14, 2004

By: Briton Heitt, Contributor

Chess-- it is a game of pure intellectual talent. There is no physical skill involved; there is only the immediate mental skill that precedes all vindication of physical talent. Well, actually, there is some physical talent needed, but that is only the meager movement of the chess pieces from one area to the next. Ubisoft-the developers of numerous hit titles, such as Prince of Persia, and even the superb Beyond Good and Evil-hopes to change this and to make you into something that you undoubtedly never thought you could achieve: a chess master. Originally released on the Playstation 2, the Xbox edition of Chessmaster is more or less an update of the Playstation 2 version of the same name. With numerous enhancements over its Playstation 2 predecessor, Chessmaster on the Xbox is the ultimate chess game on any system to this date. Period.

Gameplay
When you think about the game of chess, the usual thought comes to mind; Advance, think, dominate, and corner. Chessmaster assumes this mentality throughout the game and the way that it presents itself. Do not fear; you do not need to know how to play the game of chess at all before you buy Chessmaster. Once you start the game, and enter in all of the information that is required of you to start playing Chessmaster, you are greeted to the start menu. This is where the statement “you do not need to know how to play the game of chess at all before you buy Chessmaster” comes into play. There are two separate tutorials at your disposal, both of which clearly and intelligently explain to you how to play the game of chess, and do so in a voiced manner. They both explain the basics, such as how many squares a pawn can move and in what direction, all the way to how you can intelligently corner a king. They even give you samples of what they are teaching you so that you are not left out of the loop feeling confused. The tutorials explain everything you need to know about chess and how to play the game respectfully and accordingly. Also, if you already know how to play the game of chess, you will undoubtedly learn many new things from these tutorials, and after you think you know everything there is to know about chess, you can challenge yourself in the chess exams. Though the tutorials are helpful, they are very long, and consume a lot of time, around two hours at the most for anyone who actually sticks through the tutorials until the end. Also, the tutorial teacher compares chess to real life an awful lot, which just seems weird, but is fine nonetheless. There are a lot of game variations to choose from, such as the style of board you play on, to the characters that your chess pieces represent, from medieval 3D pieces-that will actually attack the other pieces in an animated fashion-to glass shimmering chess pieces that are all too apparent in chess collections today. Though the animated pieces are nice and well presented, it would be nice to have a larger selection and more animated pieces to choose from. The A.I. in the game is very, very good. Be prepared to receive an immense load of ass-kicking in the first hours of your Chessmaster experience. The A.I. itself is very fast responding, and only in select times will it think about the move that it will make next, which in actuality only takes up to a mere 3 seconds to respond. There are many different A.I. that are represented as people in the game. According to how you play in your early hours of the game, you will be matched up to a similar ranked A.I. to compete against. When you choose your persona, you are basically inclined to choose from many different avatar type pictures that will represent your character, from humans, to gods, to symbols, all helping to create your own unique identity. The controls are very easy to get used to. All it takes is a press of the A button to move a piece, such as a pawn moving two squares forward. In all actuality, the A button is mainly the only button used in the game, other than your main options buttons-such as X or Y that will lead you to certain other menus. Also, a zoom function would have been nice, since it is clearly somewhat zoomed out and is frustrating to breathe in all of the detailed attacks that are taking place. Overall, Chessmaster truly exhibits an unparalleled chess experience that is the best on any system to date.

Chessmaster for the Xbox is also supported by Xbox Live, voice and all. You would generally think that this would help the game receive a higher score, but, to my sad disappointment, it does not help much at all. When you go to play someone on Xbox Live, you will be taken to the lobby. There you can join a quick match, or make your own match for someone to enter; this is where the problems start. Simply put, you will rarely ever find anyone playing Chessmaster on Xbox Live. It may be the fact that chess games aren’t incredibly popular in this day and age, or it may be the fact that Ubisoft marketed the game poorly. However, as time goes on, I am sure that you may see someone on someday, and if you are lucky enough to find someone on Xbox Live, it would be wise to take advantage of the situation.

Graphics
This is a game of chess, not a game of Halo. Therefore, you will not see bump mapped chess pieces and boards, you will not see reflections or dynamic lighting, or spectacular particle effects. Though, the game comes across fine in the graphical department for what it accomplishes, and generally gets the job done. Pieces that are suppose to be made of metal look like they are made of metal, and shimmer in a shiny type of way. Pieces that are animated move realistically and look generally decent. The menus are crisp, and have a new age type of feel to them, and look like they were specifically designed to be used in the Xbox edition, as they are numerous shades of green. Shadows of the pieces are numerous, and realistically move when you revolve around the chess board. Select chess pieces have a whacky sort of look to them, and the character models for the chess pieces come across convincingly and detailed. The game has clean textures, and no framerate issues. Basically, this is all what you would expect from a chess game. Nothing overly drastic, but something expected for this type of game. Also, to be noted, all of the boards and chess pieces are represented in 3D, unless of course you choose to play on a 2D board of your choosing.

Sound
Chess is a game of legend. Therefore, you would assume it would contain classical music. The music selection in Chessmaster really gives you a sense of the reality of what a chess game would naturally feel like, such as calm and relaxing. Though the music in the game contains good choices from famous classical pieces, it will not appeal to everyone. Also, there is no custom soundtrack, which would have been greatly appreciated and needed. If you are not the classical type, your best option is to simply listen to the radio or a CD that you own. But, the music in the game does capture the feeling of classic chess, and overall represents the game well.

Chess at its Finest
Chessmaster truly is the ultimate chess game. The experience that you are rewarded with is immensely uncommon, but in a grand way. After playing Chessmaster, you will learn knew things to help you in your real life chess games as well. Also, adding in the Xbox Live feature slightly raises the bar for replay, as well as all of the ranked opponents offline, of which there are almost one-hundred. In the end, Chessmaster is a must buy for chess wizards, and a great but for anyone who would like to play the great game of chess every now and then, without having to put up with long waiting periods from your real world opponents. Simply put, this game will keep you busy for some time. Highly recommended.

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Overall, Chessmaster presents an unparalleled chess experience. Though Xbox Live compatible, you will rarely ever find anyone online at all. Though, with the few shortcomings that it does represent, there is enough good left over to overshadow all downfalls that Chessmaster has. Again, Ubisoft has created a great game that will undoubtedly be left behind in the dust by all of the other major games that are coming out this holiday season, so grab a copy while you still can. Also, the game is only twenty dollars brand new, so there is no way that you can go wrong with Chessmaster.

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