Virtual Battle Scenes with Online Chess Kingdoms
This is what twenty-first century chess ought to be—we see the actual battle scenes right before our eyes as chess pieces—or rather, characters—fight and capture each other with weapons and animated combat maneuvers. This is what chess simulations online bring us.
It's our usual chess game. But this time it follows a story that gives everything on our computer screen life and a realistic theme. We can choose to play with chess sets with various animation themes—like Magic, Order, Reason, Chaos, or Spirit—all "kingdoms" trying to reign in the fantasy world of Phernos. Each contender online can select a theme to play and pit it against another theme the opponent chooses.
Then watch what happens when captures and counter captures happen in the game. Instead of merely disappearing from the screen the pieces—costumed and armored pieces, that is—put up a little fight before the captured piece is vanquished for good. The kingdoms vie for supremacy against each other and we take charge of the kingdom we opt for and aim to succeed at this endeavor.
For a chess set theme on Order, for instance, we get a chess set and backdrop characterizing order and formality. The same with Magic, Chaos, Reason, and Spirit. So what we see on screen varies with the themes used. Most theme scenes are weird with graphics qualities reminiscent of Luke Skywalker's first encounter with the Jedi in Star Wars, only more bizarre.
Online Chess Kingdoms probably is uncontested in chess simulations online but the way the games are played still follow the traditional way of playing the game. Thus, it is nothing too complex to play or understand—it's just more exciting, hinging on a story, and well animated. We may choose to play against the computer program or a human player. With solo plays we may opt for story or classic mode.
Classics afford us the usual game played online equipped with simulations. Only, these simulations are superb than what most software can offer. We can hack away at enemy pieces using our pieces and their weapons. With story modes we get to "face" whole kingdoms that try to challenge our supremacy online and we have to wipe them all out.
With dual players battling each other the PSP's wireless functionality connects their plays. Here we enjoy pitting our intelligence with a fellow human player, still with the amazing features of chess simulations online. It's a totally new experience with a centuries-old board game.