Chess is fun! (Chessmaster 8000 (PC))

Member Name: chembleton

Product:	Chessmaster 8000 (PC)
Date:	02/07/02 (234 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Variety of views, Tutorial

Disadvantages: None really

I've always enjoyed the odd game of chess sincing being taught by my mother when I was young. Back then it was a case of capture as many pieces as you can and then see what happens...

No matter what you do with chess on a pc it's basically the same. You can jazz up the graphics, animate them and add sound, the game itself essentially remains the same.

With Chessmaster 8000 there is a little more to it than that.

There are a variety of different style boards and pieces and they can be viewed from different angles, in 3D mode or top down 2D (which I have to say is the most effective). You can have both up together.

There are lots of skills levels to match players from beginners to expert. I'm no expert but have won on some of the easier levels.

Chessmaster 8000 also features a interactive
tutorial section. This bit is great for teaching tactics, especially opening moves where the foundations of attacks are laid. So many times I've played and made a mess of my opening but this has improved them no end.
There is also a database of over half a million real games played in real life tournaments to view and learn from. It'll take me a while to look through them!

The computer player records all moves for later analysis and tells you all the possible moves he's considering when it's his turn, which I find is useful because it can highlight some of your more vunerable areas.

You can play over the internet though I haven't done that yet. I once played chess on Yahoo! with a 10 year old and got murdered so I'm still practising.

It should work on most pcs though you do need 48 mb ram for all you 32 mb users.

I can't really fault this game, it's the only chess game I own. Graphics and sound are good, and it's chess.

Summary: