The good news about Chessmaster: The Art of Learning is that the game is catered towards casual gamers and those who consider themselves Chess experts. If you've never played a game of Chess then there is a practice mode which teaches players how to play. The tutorial is broken up into several different parts (such as the board, the pieces etc..) which should make the game rather approachable to those who are genuinely interested in learning Chess.
So this is Chess...
If you're quite confident you know all their is to know about Chess then there are plenty of options in Chessmaster. You can jump into a quick game, which will start a new game up against an opponent in a matter of seconds or you can jump into classic chess. Even after selecting classic chess you can begin a game like normal or even select a position on the board to commence the game from.
It really is the wealth of options which makes Chessmaster: The Art of Learning such an easy game to recommend. Aside from classic chess there is also a bundle of chess themed mini games. There are six mini games in total which each have seperate requirements. Breaking the lines for example requires players to capture all the pawns with a knight, whereas minefield chess requires players to clear hidden mines with the chess pieces. The mini games aren't exactly the highlight of the package, but they are a novel inclusion.
Those who don't want to just play Chess and want to think just a little more will appreciate the Chess practice puzzles and the time challenges. There are seven different categories of chess puzzles. All these inclusions result in Chessmaster: The Art of Learning feeling like a feature packed game. It would have been quite easy for Ubisoft to just include a bare bones game of Chess, so the wealth of options is fantastic.
Chessmaster also features a skill range system called the Elo. When you start off in Chessmaster you'll have an Elo rank of 600 and as you play your rank will improve. The game lets you know the Elo rank of your opponent as well, so you'll always have a fair idea of whether you stand a chance in that particular game of chess or not. The addition of an Elo rank is rather clever as novice gamers and hardcore gamers will appreciate being able to watch their Elo rank increase as their own skills improve.
This guy looks very serious.
Chessmaster includes some multiplayer support as well, for those who want to play with their friends. The game supports multi-card wireless Nintendo DS play as well as a single card download play. If you and a friend both own a copy of the game then there are seven multiplayer challenge games available including classic chess, dark chess (your opponent's pieces are invisible) and extinction chess (normal chess where the player has to capture all of their opponent's pieces of any particular type). If the two players only have one copy of the game then you can play mini games and normal Chess. We are disappointed by the omission of online play, as having worldwide rankings for Chess would have been a fantastic inclusion.
Developing the game on the DS hardware has obvious advantages. The directional pad and A button can be used to move the pieces but the far more intuitive option is to use the stylus. The chessboard is on the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS and by using the stylus players can drag their chess piece to where they want it to be on the chessboard. The top screen contains a picture of your opponent, as well as their Elo rank.
Chessmaster: The Art of Learning is a fantastic Chess game for the Nintendo DS. The Chessmaster series has always been the series for Chess fantatics but with a detailed tutorial the series now appeals to casual fans as well. The Nintendo DS is the perfect platform for Chessmaster: The Art of Learning, and with so many options it's hard to imagine a better Chess game coming out on the Nintendo DS. The budget price point is just the icing on the cake. Checkmate.
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