Where are the knights!? OK, in a conventional chess set the knights are just horse's heads. The only gripe I've got is that the knights are riderless winged horses. It all gives the game a very realistic Tolkienesk sword and sorcery battleground feel. By holding down the left mouse button the board can be rotated and manoeuvred in such a way that it can be viewed from all manner of angle and perspective. Very scary – but all the better for that. The 3-D pieces, all fully animated, are of the type you wouldn't want to run into up a dark lonely backstreet. It's a factor in those kind of games – but how many of us will ever find ourselves playing at that level? All of the other game play features you'd expect to be present are there though e.g., player v player, player v computer, computer v computer – that's good enough for me. If you're playing against the computer it's always going to be able to evaluate hundreds more positions per second than you can – so what's the point of trying to out-do it on time? Some will disagree with that and perhaps point out that games involving grand masters v computers are always timed – and the computer doesn't always win. The game doesn't have any time controls but for me that's a mute point anyway. If you have the conventional chessboard displayed it can also be used to move the pieces in exactly the same way as with the 3-D board – or by dragging and dropping. E.g., you can show/hide the move list, the captured pieces etc., if you want/don't want them visible. At any time during a game you can call up the sub-menu and change some of the game's settings. Pressing the keyboard escape key brings up a sub-menu.
BATTLE CHESS FOR MAC PLUS
When you first start up the game, in addition to the 3-D chessboard, you'll see a small conventional chessboard, plus a window for displaying captured pieces, along with a window for the move list. You just left-click the piece you want to move and right-click the square you want to move it to – job's done. The interface, in fact, is quite easy to navigate and the pieces are very easy to move.
BATTLE CHESS FOR MAC TRIAL
However, I decided to download the free trial anyway – and I'm very glad that I did so. My reason for doing so is that, at first, I was put off from trying this game by a couple of the more negative reviews to be found here.
Additionally, every title from the Battle Chess series has been updated to support Linux and macOS operating systems, and they've received support for features like Steam Remote Play Together, allowing for online play in the classic games.BestChess I've never written a review before but decided to give it a go. Now available on Steam, Battle Chess 4000 is available for $10 with a 40% launch week discount, along with a 30% discounted Battle Chess Mega Bundle that includes Battle Chess, Battle Chess: Enhanced, Battle Chess 2: Chinese Chess, and Battle Chess 4000.
Interplay Entertainment is continuing its journey to reintroduce its most famous games with a re-release from the Battle Chess series. Related: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 Port Teased By Developer Well before the modern gaming industry had formed, Interplay had a hand in over 100 titles, including groundbreaking franchises Descent, Earthworm Jim, Baldur's Gate, and the ever-growing Fallout game series. Interplay no longer develops its own games, but it continues to publish an expansive catalog of titles, preserving over 40 years of its legacy for players new and old. What makes the title distinctive from other chess-inspired games is its library of hundreds of thousands of opening moves, clay-modeled chess pieces with their own unique animations, and challenging AI.Īlthough there are many new kids on the block of modern game development, some of the most recognizable studios were formed in the '80s, and Interplay Entertainment can be counted among them. Originally released for Microsoft DOS in 1992, Battle Chess 4000 took the classic game of chess and meshed it with a sci-fi settings like those from Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
BATTLE CHESS FOR MAC SERIES
Battle Chess, Interplay Entertainment's critically and commercially successful retro game series, is returning with the re-release of the clay-animated Battle Chess 4000, which is available alongside the entire series in a discounted Mega Bundle.