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Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition (PC)
by Eustake
This is one of the few games I can honestly say it deserves every single cent! It's actually a bit strange to call it a "game", because Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition is a great chess-learning a playing program which continues the path of the Chessmaster series, providing more features than 10'th Edition, including one brand ... new section developed by Josh Waitzkin, the former chess prodigy who has an entire Academy in the learning section of Grandmaster Edition. This section is called The Art of Learning and you can almost feel that you're actually sitting somewhere at a table with Josh himself, listening to his advice.
Besides Josh's Academy, the Learning section provides opening database, a game database with more than 700000 games, endgame techniques or some famous games annotated properly. Then, there's the playing section, full of options for all levels and preferences. You can choose a chess set from tens of sets, you can play simultaneous games, you can play rated games against various personalities which represent a great learning tool. Also, training mode gives you the opportunity to choose some more features such as: blunder alert, board coverage, quick hints or natural language advice and much, much more.
If you want, you can use Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition to play games online against players from all over the world, to enter online tournaments or to join a tournament with fictional players from the existing game personalities. Besides all this stuff, you also have a kid section, a fun sector, thousands of puzzles with various themes and this list can continue very easily.
If you are a big chess fan or a professional, or if you are new to chess and you want to learn effectively, then you must have Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition. It it truly awesome!
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Chessmaster 10th Edition (PC)
by thole09
"Chessmaster 10th Edition" is a board video game. It was first released in 2004 as a three disc PC CD-ROM title by Ubisoft. In the European marketplace, the game received an age guidance rating which deemed the title appropriate for ages three and above. The system requirements to run the game are minimal by today's standards ... but include:
System: Pentium III 450 MHz or equivalent
RAM: 128 MB
Video Memory: 4 MB
Hard Drive Space: 540 MB
Chessmaster has been a definitive title in terms of Chess video games. Since 1986, the game has received several updates and releases for different consoles and systems. The 10th Edition for the personal computer could perhaps be described as an "all in one" compendium appealing to different age ranges and skill levels. As a novice in Chess myself, I found this title to be useful for building up basic skills and tactics. Young children who are new to the game may click the "fun" icon which reveals age appropriate tutorials and drills to present the basic functions of Chess, and rewards players for their progress with items such as printable certificates. There is also a quick play option for children which uses a quirky chess set filled with bright and colourful animations. Teenage to adult years who require lessons in the art of Chess may find themselves in the "academy" of Chessmaster which includes video tips and tricks from gradmaster Larry Christiansen. These presentations include full spoken word coverage which appeals to me as an audio learner. The academy also features numerous annotated games which allows a brief sifting through techniques and possible strategies related to certain board presentations.
Aside from the interactive learning aspects, the game also includes free play and tournament matches. Chessmaster includes a variety of different personalities who each bring their own unique flair to the gaming board. Each computerized player comes with a readable biography and this gives some insight regarding potential strategies a player must employ in order to successfully defeat him or her. Each game is based on an intuitive click and drag interface which I found easy to use and was quickly immersed within the game without the need to read additional documentation.
Continual participation in the game seems almost like a prerequisite of installation. The title features 25 different sets of chess pieces but most of these will require "unlocking" by winning matches against certain opponents. This does provide the software with a sense of "stickiness", but personally I would liked to have had a fully accessible Chess game at first load as opposed to being required to win several matches before being granted another Chess set.
The graphics are presented from a three dimensional perspective which can be adjusted and panned to meet a player's certain requirement. By default, the basic chess set is standard in its presentation and meets what I would have expected of it. While lacking in finer details, such as eyelets for the knight, I was able to easily distinguish between the various pieces with ease. In tutorial modes, the player will receive audio cues regarding moves and potential counters. Besides this, Chessmaster is a silent affair with no noticeable audio accompanying gameplay.
Chessmaster 10th Edition was a great selection for my Chess needs on the personal computer. The learning environments greatly assisted me with bettering my game, and it is a functional Chess experience when played. I would happily recommend it to prospective buyers.
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