Digitized sound is utilized in the DOS version for all battle sound effects and is played through the PC speaker, without the need for a sound card, using a technique akin to RealSound.īattle Chess can be played against a human opponent (by hotseat, null modem or over a local area network in some ports) or against the computer's artificial intelligence (AI). The game can be also played in a 2D version with no animations, and the Amiga CDTV version features a fully voiced introduction describing the movements of the pieces for the benefit of beginners. There are some pop-culture homages the knight versus knight animation references the black knight fight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and the king versus bishop fight pastiches the short battle between Indiana Jones and a swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The rook, for example, turns into a rock monster and kills a pawn by smashing its head, and the rook kills the queen by eating her. Since there are six types of pieces for each color, and a king cannot even check (let alone capture) another king, there are a total of 35 different battle animations. Furthermore, when checkmate is delivered, the checkmating piece fights and defeats the king. Its remake, Battle Chess: Game of Kings, was released on Steam on December 11, 2015.īattle Chess follows the same rules as traditional chess, with pieces moving in an animated fashion and battles playing out so that the capturing piece defeats its target. In 1991, Battle Chess Enhanced was released by Interplay for the PC and Macintosh featuring improved VGA graphics and a symphonic musical score that played from the CD-ROM.īattle Chess was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, resulting in two official follow-ups as well as several inspired games. It was originally developed and released by Interplay Entertainment for the Amiga in 1988 and subsequently on many other systems, including 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Acorn Archimedes, Amiga CD32, Amiga CDTV, Apple IIGS, Apple IIe, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, FM Towns, NES, MacOS, NEC PC-9801, X68000 and Microsoft Windows. It will spend some time teaching you the basics of chess which is great, especially for those, not all that familiar with chess.Cover art showing the red queen killing a blue knightĪmiga, 3DO, Acorn Archimedes, Amiga CD32, Amiga CDTV, Apple IIGS, Apple IIe, Atari ST, C64, MS-DOS, FM Towns, NES, MacOS, NEC PC-9801, X68000, Windowsīattle Chess is a computer game version of chess with animated three-dimensional graphics. I have played chess most of my life, but I still jumped into this mode here. Chess has a tutorial mode which I highly recommend you do. Or, you can play with a friend via LAN or on the same computer which to me just sounds like a nightmare! Learning From The Bestīattle vs. You can play against the AI which is one hell of a challenge by the way.
The mode I liked best was the mini-game mode as these were more like a series of puzzles than they were a straight game of chess. Skirmish, battlegrounds, and mini-games are all here to keep you entertained. There is of course a campaign for you to play through, but this is really just the tip of the iceberg. The game has a ton of game modes for you to play. The game plays similar to chess where you make moves and want to win the match, but the characters will fight it out which is really cool.
Chess is going to not just test your chess skills, but your puzzle-solving and problem-solving skills as well.
You may think that you are the ultimate chess master, but I assure you that Battle vs. I do not mean that as a diss either, I actually really like the overall presentation of this game. The “arena” that you are playing chess in also looks like it is taken straight from a Mortal Kombat game.