Online Chess Kingdoms

Chess has got to be one of the oldest board games in history – right up there with Snakes n Ladders. But seriously, a game of chess requires concentration, skill, planning, and strategy. That pretty much all goes out the window when playing Online Chess Kingdoms for the PSP. Though the game does a valiant attempt to make the game of chess accessible to everyone, it ultimately is nothing more than just another chess game.

The game totally sets off on the wrong foot by trying to introduce some sort of story, as if to justify why you’ll be playing countless chess matches. Some all powerful being created five worlds, called Chaos, Magic, Spirit, Reason, and Order, and for a time all the worlds lived in peace an harmony. But of course, you’re well aware that this isn’t going to last for long, so before you know it, the evil minions of Chaos decide to divide and conquer, so before you know it, you’re playing a frenzied game of chess in the hopes of restoring order. Though the story doesn’t sound at all right, you’ll be paying even less attention to it once the game actually starts. You’re given the choice of playing either in Classic mode or Battle mode – the classic mode involves the universal rules of chess, and doesn’t showcase anything exciting. The Battle mode however, adds a bit of spice to the regular game of chess. All the normal rules apply, except whenever a piece on the board is captured, it really does get captured – pawns get speared, knights get slain, and heads roll on the chessboard. The pieces have mini-duels right on the chess board as they move around, which adds a rather quirky distraction to what would have otherwise been a rather standard game of chess. This mode is exactly like the ancient game ‘Battle Chess’ for DOS, and watching each piece’s grueling battle animation is quite fun. The AI does a thorough job of living up to the difficulty setting you choose – seasoned chess players are in for a couple of well-played matches against the AI, while newer players can choose a more novice difficulty setting. It is here that the game scores some points in the appeal department – not everyone is a chess wizard, so it’s nice that there are several difficulty levels available in the game.

Apart from the rather thin story mode, you can of course play quick matches against the AI or team up against a friend wirelessly – you’re still given the option of playing either classic or battle modes. But unless you’re a chess fan or a geek who’s finished every conceivable level of ChessMaster 3000, the scope for this game is a bit slim. There is an online mode available, but finding free players took a good deal of time, and within minutes you’ll most likely be defeated. The game assumes you already are familiar with the rules of chess, though new chess players will be given an ‘illegal move’ notice if they do something fishy. Still, there’s limited scope for this game for non-chess enthusiasts.

Graphically, the game does surprisingly well. Each world has a differently designed chess set and board, and some of the detail on the pieces are quite good. However, the annoying thing is that because every single piece has been modeled to reflect the world’s environment, it often gets very hard to recognize pieces on the board during gameplay. It’s handy to play at a slightly magnified viewing angle, just so that you can differentiate the different pieces on the board. But this quip aside, the game boards and environments have a decent amount of detail put into them, and the game allows you total control of the camera angle, so you can pan around the entire board before making your next move.

Online Chess Kingdoms should be applauded for trying to inject some sort of excitement into a game that has lasted for hundreds of years, but sadly it all boils down to being just another chess game. It does have nice visuals and faithfully generates a decent chess experience, but there isn’t anything else to offer here. This game is really only worth going for if you’re an avid chess fan and want to hone in on your playing skills.