Virtual Kasparov

The important thing is there is an irritating BUG. Sometimes a black pawn will turn into a black bishop. I've only seen this happen (a lot) when playing Kasparov himself and I think that I would have noticed it if it happened when playing the other opponents. It can happen to either side, and inspite of the numerical superiority that a bishop has over a pawn, can really scupper your plans even if you are the lucky recipient.

My aim was to improve enough to at least not look like an utter buffoon when playing a human. It satisfied this aim. Using it in conjunction with a good beginner's book (like "The Right Way to Play Chess" by D. Brine Pritchard) will bring an added dimension to the experience.


A great buy for the thinking gamer   April 16, 2002
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

Let's face it - this is either going to be exactly the kind of game you're looking for, or something you will avoid like the Black Death. If you want murder, mayhem and action, go look somewhere else...

Are they gone yet?

Right. If you want murder, mayhem and action, you've come to the right place. Chess is probably the most famous board game in the world, and for a good reason. It's war. Total war. The only thing that's going to save you is your wits and experience.

Surprisingly enough this game really does it justice, whether you are a complete novice or an experienced player. There are about 50 tutorials by Gary Kasparov, starting from first principles (e.g. how the pieces move) and working up to game analyses and many variations on mate. Best of all, they are hands on - rather than show you the Box Mate, you are presented with a position in which your sucessful mating move will win the game, and any other move will lose it for you. We learn by doing, after all.

The majority of the game is the 'Story mode'. When I first bought this game I thought that this was going to be a complete waste, but having played for a while I think it works exceedingly well. You start off being able to play in 2 countries, each with 4 different opponents, a master and a grand master. Each opponent has a slightly different level of skill, and varies between aggressive and defensive. If you beat all 4 opponets in the country you unlock the master player, and can also unlock a further 3 countries. If you beat all 5 masters you can unlock the grand masters, and if you beat the 5 of them you can finally play Gary Kasparov.

This all sounds a bit false until you play it. Instead of just endlessly playing a computer and slowly turning up the difficulty you play against better and better opponents. Each has different strengths and weaknesses, encouraging you to adapt your style of play. You also get practice playing as white and black, as many people (myself included) will often tend just to play as white.

There is also a quick-match option, which enables you to pick any of the opponents that you have unlocked, or a custom opponent with variable skill, error-making and aggresiveness. You can choose how long the game will last, and of course, whether you are white or black.

There are ten 2-dimensional and two 3-dimensional boards, but you'll probably pick one of the first two simple 2d sets as they are excellently designed and very clear. The sound is functional, and, most importantly, the music can be turned off. You get a total of 3 save-game slots, each of which stores your current position in the Story mode and, if you're in the middle of a game, exactly where you are and how much time has elapsed. These are automatically saved after each move, so that if you're in the middle of a game you can just turn it off and come back later.

Overall an excellent game, whatever your level (though I couldn't say how good it would be if you are a very strong player), that I'll be playing for a long time to come.


well laid chess game   March 21, 2002
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

hmmm portable chess games for GBA
it's definitely a long wait for chess lovers

the striking features such as tutorials which covers relative in depth of strategy has boosted the attractiveness of the game.

other features where you need to unlock after finishing the game is virtually hard
as some cpus in the later part of the game are almost unbeatable.

the frustating aspect of the game is that sometimes cpu will just do a silly move that will remind you that you are playing a cpu.

Overall it's a fine game with good graphics and musics


It may be "Virtual" but it feels "Real"...   March 15, 2002
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Whether you're a complete novice or seasoned pro- chess player, there's somthing in this game for everyone. The tutorials by Mr Kasparov himself are excellent, giving inspirational techniques with which you'll be well armed to thrash your friends. The competition offered when challenging the computer is well up to the task and should offer even the best of players a good mental work-out. Sound is of little consequence in Chess... There is some audio... the odd "Phhhtt ...Phhhtt sound when you move your cursor and some background music which can be disabled if you like to concentrate on the game at hand.

The graphics are fairly basic, but functionally excellent... Sticking to classical chess pieces, (Which I think is the best policy), the figures are very clearly defined and move smoothly. Obviously, there aren't too many graphical tricks that can be employed in a game of chess, but what is displayed is great. If you, like me, want a game with some longevity and like a challenge, then this is a game for you. You can "vitually" feel the little GBA's brain working overtime, trying (and usually succeeding) to beat you.

I can't wait to meet up with my human opponents now that this game has taught me some decent moves! I have a Chess game or two on my PC and this compares very favourably with them. Add all this to the fact that I can take This with me wherever I go...

Brilliant!