Battle vs. Chess claims to be chess crossed with “combat orientated game mechanics”.
Well, it’s not very clever is it? Getting me to review a chess game I mean. What I know about chess would not fill the back of a postage stamp…
Developer: Targem Games
Publisher: TopWare Interactive
S.A. Distributor: Apex Interactive
For fans of: Chess. Or someone looking for something other than shooters
Reviewed on: PS3
Also available on: Xbox 360, PC, Wii, DS and PSP
If we had to give it a numerical score: 7.0 out of 10
What I liked
- Prettiest chess game ever.
- Good fun for the whole family.
- Best played with a companion next to you.
- It taught me how to play chess… I still suck.
Not so much
- More decapitations next time please.
- Still can’t say I love chess.
Overview
It really is chess. However, you can go all in and enjoy a variety of modes that would make purists baulk at what’s happened to “their game”. There is still a good old “Classic” chess option to go along with the modes like “Battlegrounds” and “Slasher”.
Gameplay and Features
Chess – and I quote – is “a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player starts with 16 pieces either black or white and…”
Woah. Ran out of postage stamp space there. If you’re familiar with chess, then you can jump right in and play without wading through the game’s tutorials. I found myself spending more time in the tutorials than time spent being annihilated by the AI. Even on easy. Hey, I’m a chess n00b OK?
Once you’re done with simply playing the game as Kasparov intended, you can try out the more ‘violent’ modes. ‘Violent’ might be a step too far. With an age restriction of 12, the game is intended for family participation, so there are no bloody limbs or fatal decapitations.
There are two modes under ‘Battlegrounds’, each offering a take on hand-to-hand combat. ‘Slasher’ pits the two armies against each other in a battle arena – that’s the chess board – where they are still moved traditionally until they battle each other. The game then allows you to use a fast attack, a strong attack, dodge or block. This attempt at beating seven shades of ivory out of a pawn was actually quite entertaining. Absolutely nothing at all like chess was played back in the day however. ‘Duel’ is a one-on-one, side-view battle using Quick Time Events to determine the winner. This was not so entertaining, even though it was reminiscent of a crude beat-‘em- up.
There are also a number of mini-games available to play. Essentially a sequence of puzzles, but I found myself left more than a little puzzled by them…
The game also has two campaign modes – one for each colour – which is basically 15 rounds of chess over different boards. My chess prowess meant I managed no more than two missions for each campaign and I eventually resigned myself to the fact that the only way I was going to win enough games was to challenge someone of lesser skill than me.
Step up… ‘The Wife’. Err. Where’d you learn to play that? Give the controller to the dog please… The game is good fun with someone else for sure and is the best way to play and experience the game.
Visuals and Sound
The game is not running on the latest Unreal Engine, so don’t expect Gears of War level graphics. However, it is a pretty game and some of the boards are set in lovely backgrounds. There is sound, but to be honest, you can mute the TV as it’s not really relevant.
Final thoughts
Not one for “I-wanna-kill-zombies” gamers, but one for the family. Or one for the “I-wanna-kill-zombies” gamer, if only to get them to stop the genocide. And to add a little culture to their lives…
Zombiegamer rating:
