Chessmaster
Score: 80% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment Developer: Ubisoft Entertainment Media: Cart/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Strategy
Graphics & Sound: Most chess addicts look at the graphics of console or PC based chess games as mere eye candy. They put a greater amount of importance on ease of use and opponent AI. However, first impressions seem to go a long way in any game incarnation, and generally, the first thing we notice is graphics and presentation. Chessmaster for the Game Boy Advance is the third chess game introduced into this portable consoles repertoire, and the second of which that is geared towards newcomers as well as pros. By first impressions alone, Chessmaster presents a subtle, easy on the eyes, graphical interface. There is an abundance of soft blue hues in menus and tutorials and a cavalcade of crisp, decently detailed pieces, which provide a nice, appealing look and feel. Chessmaster, like Virtual Kasparov, provides options to change board appearance. Ten different boards can be configured with different pieces allowing for some customization and relieving the gamer from looking at the same pieces every time he/she plays a round of chess. Themes range from the strategic and royal Napoleonic, to the silly and fun Circus; each appealing and entirely unique from the previous. Also reminiscent of Kasparov, musical audio only renders itself in menus screens. Other sound bits occur at key moments during the game such as check and when you take an opponent's piece. Personally, the lack of a continuous score in chess games is unnecessary. Nevertheless, you will not find one with such music around for the Game Boy Advance. The menu scores are pleasing for their short-lived time spans, and the in game sounds add flavor, although they serve no real purpose to the game.
Gameplay: One of the most popular licenses in the chess realm today, Chessmaster, finally shows its face on the portable gaming market. For years, both beginners and reknowned chess addicts have used Chessmaster. In fact, Chessmaster is something of a household name when referred to by chess aficionados. Chessmaster's priority has always been to emphasize the instruction and learning of proper chess concepts and strategies. Because of this, Chessmaster for the Game Boy Advance comes packed with useful information for newcomers and spirited veterans looking to improve on some game. Tutorials range in medium from basic introductions to high-level strategy. These tutorials are presented via dialog screens that switch to a board view to demonstrate moves discussed. In case reading about strategy does not help your game, Chessmaster includes a database of historical matches recreated play by play so you can see those strategies in context. One hundred fifty-one complete games should be a sufficient amount of research to help you understand the concepts that Chessmaster presents, further improving your game. Naturally, Chessmaster includes a decent chess engine to combat against. As opposed to Virtual Kasparov's in-depth story mode, Chessmaster only allows for quick play against one of 18 different characters. Each character has his/her own system of strategy and ability level. Furthermore, Chessmaster lets you switch players mid-game if you feel the need. This is the end of the line for player/opponent configuration in Chessmaster. Explanations of opponents' styles are also shady, generally resorting to one or two world phrases that hardly tell much about an opponent's background, education or individual strategy. Although it fails to appear elsewhere in the game, Chessmaster includes a testing setup to determine your chess ability rating. In real life competitions, these ratings are used to determine your opponents, and progress or digress as you complete games. With this setup, Chessmaster poses a series of suggested moves. Your speed and ability to properly locate the solutions add up to determine your rating.
Difficulty: Although there is no initial difficulty setting, each of the 18 opponents should supply enough strategic differences to keep you up all night trying to beat them all. Some opponents use simple strategies. Others are masters of their own game. There is no real way of keeping track of your individual win/lose progression, so it is not logical to assume you can 'win' Chessmaster by beating each opponent once. In chess, your strategies play an important factor in the outcome of a match. Sometimes you can get by with pure luck, but to actually understand the game, a lot of time must be dedicated to practice and study.
Game Mechanics: A hand associated with the Game Boy's cursor pad controls pieces in Chessmaster. Pieces are picked up and placed down with the hand, and movement between squares are smooth. A control to cancel a move puts the piece back in its previous location, and you can even backtrack the game to any point of the match if you want to try a different strategy. Where game play is an issue, the general ease of use and pleasing design will factor in to temporarily make up for Chessmaster's handicaps. Kasparov does not have as smooth an interface as Chessmaster, and Chessmaster's interface and graphics are more pleasing. Even though it does not have a large-scale story mode, Chessmaster still guarantees scalable competition for all levels of expertise.
-==Boy, GameVortex Communications AKA Kyle Prestenback
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