Online Chess Kingdoms
Encyclopedia
Online Chess Kingdoms is a chess
simulation game for the PlayStation Portable
released by Konami
in 2006 in North America and 2007 in Europe. Online Chess Kingdoms was the first chess game released for the PlayStation Portable. Chessmaster: The Art of Learning
was released by Ubisoft
the following year.
opponent at four different difficulty levels. Several different types of chess can be played, including speed chess and a battle mode in which games are played in real-time. Sets can be displayed in either 2D or 3D, the latter sets available in different themes (including magicians and an aquatic civilization) and featuring animated pieces that battle when captures take place, similar to Battle Chess
. Games can be played individually or through a story mode.
gave Online Chess Kingdoms a score of 6.0 out of 10. He praised the "attention grabbing ... visual style", "fun to watch" animated battles, and computer AI, which "does a fine job of challenging a range of players, from novice to master strategists", but felt the game "offers nothing that previous chess videogames haven't covered a billion times before. ... Regardless of what the pieces look like, or how well they're animated, they still behave the same way." Cordova said the online mode "works fine, but finding a partner can take a good long while." He concluded that while Online Chess Kingdoms "offer[s] a new visual style to [chess]", players should not buy it "expecting to find a revolutionized and less complicated version of [the game]."
Greg Kasavin of GameSpot
gave the game a score of 6.4 out of 10. He praised the "fairly good looking" visuals, the "challenging" computer AI, and the online mode, saying that it "works fairly well", though he criticized it for its lack of ability to communicate with other players. Kasavin felt the story mode "represents an awkward attempt to layer a storyline and greater sense of purpose to chess", remarking that "chess doesn't need a plot", and called the real-time battle mode "at best ... a decent distraction from the real game." He concluded that Online Chess Kingdoms "inherently has something going for it just by letting you play a competent version of chess on the PSP", but he compared the game unfavorably to chess programs available on other platforms, saying that "other chess programs out there provide far more sophisticated scales of artificial intelligence to play against, as well as complete tutorials and training modes".
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
simulation game for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
released by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
in 2006 in North America and 2007 in Europe. Online Chess Kingdoms was the first chess game released for the PlayStation Portable. Chessmaster: The Art of Learning
Chessmaster
Chessmaster is a chess playing computer game series which is now owned and developed by Ubisoft. It is the best-selling chess franchise in history, with more than five million units sold .-Timeline:...
was released by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
the following year.
Features
Online Chess Kingdoms uses the PlayStation Portable's wireless connectivity, featuring several multiplayer modes playable locally between PSP owners or over the internet. A single-player mode is also featured, allowing players to compete against an AIArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
opponent at four different difficulty levels. Several different types of chess can be played, including speed chess and a battle mode in which games are played in real-time. Sets can be displayed in either 2D or 3D, the latter sets available in different themes (including magicians and an aquatic civilization) and featuring animated pieces that battle when captures take place, similar to Battle Chess
Battle Chess
Battle Chess is a computer game version of chess in which the chess pieces come to life and battle one another when capturing. It was released for the Commodore Amiga and subsequently on the 3DO, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, Apple IIe, Commodore 64, Amiga CDTV, CD32, Atari ST, Apple Macintosh, Acorn...
. Games can be played individually or through a story mode.
Story mode
The plot of the story mode concerns five warring realms: Order, Chaos, Magic, Reason, and Spirit. Phrenos, the creator of the universe, separated the realms to prevent them from fighting. After some time, however, the realms find a way to one another and begin fighting anew. Players choose a realm to fight with — each with its own unqiue animated chess set — and move their armies around a tactical map in an attempt to capture squares, which is done by winning games of chess.Critical reaction
Rolando Cordova of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave Online Chess Kingdoms a score of 6.0 out of 10. He praised the "attention grabbing ... visual style", "fun to watch" animated battles, and computer AI, which "does a fine job of challenging a range of players, from novice to master strategists", but felt the game "offers nothing that previous chess videogames haven't covered a billion times before. ... Regardless of what the pieces look like, or how well they're animated, they still behave the same way." Cordova said the online mode "works fine, but finding a partner can take a good long while." He concluded that while Online Chess Kingdoms "offer[s] a new visual style to [chess]", players should not buy it "expecting to find a revolutionized and less complicated version of [the game]."
Greg Kasavin of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the game a score of 6.4 out of 10. He praised the "fairly good looking" visuals, the "challenging" computer AI, and the online mode, saying that it "works fairly well", though he criticized it for its lack of ability to communicate with other players. Kasavin felt the story mode "represents an awkward attempt to layer a storyline and greater sense of purpose to chess", remarking that "chess doesn't need a plot", and called the real-time battle mode "at best ... a decent distraction from the real game." He concluded that Online Chess Kingdoms "inherently has something going for it just by letting you play a competent version of chess on the PSP", but he compared the game unfavorably to chess programs available on other platforms, saying that "other chess programs out there provide far more sophisticated scales of artificial intelligence to play against, as well as complete tutorials and training modes".
External links
- Online Chess Kingdoms at PlayStation.com