![]() In 1994 Computer Gaming World added it to the magazine's Hall of Fame honoring those games rated highly over time by readers, describing Battle Chess as "a showcase product for the first level of multimedia standards". Interplay won "Best Graphics Achievement In A Non-Graphics Product" from Software Publishers Association (later renamed to Software and Information Industry Association) for Battle Chess. In 1994 Computer Gaming World said of the remake, Battle Chess Enhanced, that "Better artwork, smoother animations, and a much stronger chess algorithm than its disk predecessors make the CD version a good buy". In a review of the 3DO version, Mike Weigand of Electronic Gaming Monthly stated, "If you are a chess fan, then you may want to check this title out." German game magazine ASM, however, criticized the weak chess AI. The Amiga version received favourable reviews from magazines due to its comical battle sequences which were advanced (for the time) in terms of graphics, animation and sound. Andre reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "Quibbles aside, every chess player will want a copy of this program, and every Amiga owner owes it to him/herself to see Battlechess in action. Reception īattle Chess sold 250,000 copies by February 1993. Come review, the producers, predictably, okayed everything but asked for the duck to be removed. To this end, one animator added a small duck around the queen piece, but made sure that the sprite would be easily removable. Īn apocryphal story of the development was the invention of "The Duck" (an example of Parkinson's law of triviality): The producers of the game were known to demand changes to the game, presumably to make their mark on the finished product. Battle Chess producer and Interplay's founder Brian Fargo expressed his fondness for the game in a 2006 interview, although he added that he did not think there would be much of an audience for it today. ![]() The game was featured in the 1992 film Knight Moves about a chess grandmaster who is accused of several murders. The game has an opening library of over 30,000 moves (which were not available for the Commodore 64 and Apple II versions).īattle Chess was the first title developed and published by Interplay Entertainment themselves after ending their relationship with Electronic Arts, besides Neuromancer. Digitized sound is used in the MS-DOS version for all battle sound effects and is played through the PC speaker, without the need for a sound card, using a technique akin to RealSound.īattle Chess can be played against a human opponent (by hotseat, null modem or over a local area network in some ports) or against the computer's artificial intelligence (AI). The game can be also played in a 2D version with no animations, and the Amiga CDTV version has a fully voiced introduction describing the movements of the pieces for the benefit of beginners. There are some pop-culture homages the knight versus knight animation references the black knight fight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and the king versus bishop fight pastiches the short battle between Indiana Jones and a swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The rook, for example, turns into a rock monster and kills a pawn by smashing its head, and the rook kills the queen by eating her. Since there are six types of pieces for each color, and a king cannot even check (let alone capture) another king, there are a total of 35 different battle animations. Furthermore, when checkmate is delivered, the checkmating piece fights and defeats the king. A remake, Battle Chess: Game of Kings, was released on Steam on December 11, 2015.īattle Chess follows the same rules as traditional chess, with pieces moving in an animated fashion and battles playing out so that the capturing piece defeats its target. In 1991, Battle Chess Enhanced was released by Interplay for IBM PC compatibles and Macintosh with improved VGA graphics and a symphonic musical score played from the CD-ROM.īattle Chess was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, resulting in two official follow-ups as well as several inspired games. It was developed and released by Interplay Entertainment for the Amiga in 1988 and ported to many other systems, including the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Acorn Archimedes, Amiga CD32, Amiga CDTV, Apple IIGS, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, FM Towns, Nintendo Entertainment System, MacOS, PC-98, X68000, and Microsoft Windows. Cover art showing the red queen killing a blue knightĪmiga, 3DO, Archimedes, CD32, CDTV, Apple IIGS, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, FM Towns, NES, Mac, PC-98, X68000, Windowsīattle Chess is a video game version of chess with 2.5D graphics and fighting animations showing the result of one piece moving onto the square of another.
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