|
Released In: 1990 Chess is one of the oldest and most popular strategy games of all time. However, its battle dynamics can seem somewhat counterintuitive to the outside observer. For example, how can a mere pawn defeat a queen? And how the fuck can a rook even attack? For centuries, mankind was left to ponder these questions. Enter Battle Chess. Thanks to its goofy battle animations, we finally know how a pawn can defeat a bishop - with a trapdoor. Syd Lexia: Is Battle Chess a classic game? Absolutely. Is it a classic NES game? Not especially. The DOS version of Battle Chess is not only graphically superior to this one, it's also markedly faster. In fact, the NES version of this game is almost intolerable if you've ever played the DOS one. Oh well, at least it's better than the Commodore 64 version. Valdronius: A lot of good things are created by taking something that already exists and tweaking it. This is the case with Battle Chess. Rather than just producing another boring chess game, the makers made it interesting by incorporating death scenes each time a piece is taken. Some of the animations are pretty funny, like a king taking a queen. The old man pulls a pistol out of his sleeve and shoots her. Anything involving a rook is also funny, as rooks are giant rock beasts that smash the hell out of things. The big drawbacks of the game are the extra time it takes to play a game, and the number of times you’re forced to watch pawn versus pawn battles. Dr. Jeebus: Yeah, it’s pretty much just chess with needlessly elaborate animations whenever you take a piece. That doesn’t make the game any less fun, however. |
