Chessmaster

"A Game for the Mentally Superior"

Introduction
Chess is one of the oldest games in history. It has been played by some of the most intelligent people alive for centuries, and is still having more and more learned and written about it every day. (What do you think I'm doing right now? Writing about Chess. And making a ham sandwich) Chessmaster takes it farther, and creates a game that is great for anybody from those who have never played chess before to those who compete in tournaments regularly.

Gameplay-9/10
Chess is a rather simple, yet genius game that brings a different perspective to board games. While in most board games, you are required to roll a die, spin a wheel or flip a card to do your turn, in chess you make choices, and every single choice can affect the outcome of the game. Most games are a test of luck, and a trial of endurance and temper, while chess is a battle of wits. 5% of the battle takes place on the board, 60% takes place in your mind, 10% takes place in your opponent's mind, and 25% is based upon your understanding of your opponent's mind. The gameplay of this product is simply astounding. It gives you the real live chess effect. You can rotate the board to see everything it has to offer, and it has dozens, even hundreds, of different computer AI simulations, so that you can play against someone your level, and even be informed of the quirks of the personality you are playing against. Every piece has its own style of movement, and every piece has its own special, individual advantage. The king is the most imperative and defensible, and together with the rook, it has a special move called 'castling'. Pawns have a unique capture style, as well as capturing "En Passant" (check the FAQ) and can move in a variety of ways as well. They can even promote themselves to a stronger piece after reaching the other end of the board! Bishops are very sneaky, and can attack from the far end of the board, usually without the opponent realizing it until it's too late. The queen is the easiest piece to maneuver and deploy, and the knight can jump over pieces. You will not ever find another game with this type of play. The only things missing are an easily accessible, non-battlefield way to do a multiplayer, and a story mode-maybe give you a single piece or something and make your way across a chessboard world or something. Battlefield is a world on its own, though. It gives the game a war-like perspective, giving you control over actual soldiers instead of pieces. It even has war-time combat scenarios.

Graphics-7/10
The game is pretty average in the way of graphics. Nothing special, save the ability to choose from about 15 different chess sets during play. You can do almost anything with the camera angle, and the battlefield is an unnecessary, yet decent and enjoyable addition to the game.

Sound-6/10
The sound in this game, overall, is a little dull. The only sound you ever hear is the same, repetetive background music, and the excessively monotonous voice saying your moves or aloud-reading your chess school lessons. The only thing saving this rating from a 2 is that it reads aloud almost every text in Pandolfini's chess school, which is more than most games do.

Replayability-10/10
The replayability of chess is incredible. There are millions of outcomes for each game, and every time you play a single personality is different, and every time you play a different one is even more different. It is amazing how the creators gave the game so many AI's. It never gets boring.

overall-9/10
Overall, this game is incredible. It has thousands of pages worth of chess school tips, drills and tutorials, from anywhere between beginning chess players to advanced ones. It can teach you how to play, and improve, your game. It has 800 famous annotated chess games, hundreds of one-move puzzles, chess school, rated games, pre-setup games, multiplayer, battlefield style. Overall, this game does everything a chess game should and more. A definite must-buy, ESPECIALLY given its low cost. I purchased this game for a mere 15$.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/21/07