Chessmaster is one of the most well-respected series in the game industry, and we've been testing our skills against its AI opponents for years. Now, courtesy of Ubisoft, the legacy has arrived on Xbox, filled to the brim with all sorts of cool features that'll have chess fans swooning, and all for the budget price of $20.

For the MSRP you're seriously getting one of the most loaded games ever made. Chessmaster is chock full of options and gameplay modes. You can test your skills against over 100 AI opponents, enter numerous tournaments (that have varying skill levels), create your own tournament (and you can tweak all sorts of options), and I'm really just getting warmed up. There are also one-move mini games you can play, the Chess Academy, where you'll gain expert advice from numerous Chessmasters including Larry Evans, Yasser Seirawan, and Grandmaster Larry Christiansen, among others, and you can even watch over 800 famous matches that cover a time period from 1619 to 2004 that have commentary, and yes, there's more! There's a pretty extensive tutorial, drills to solve, exams to take, and different boards and pieces to choose from. Better still, some of pieces are animated!

Playing against a friend in the same room is fun, but it's the ability to challenge players across the world on Xbox Live that's really intriguing. Chessmaster includes similar features that are found in most Live titles, including Quick Match, OptiMatch, Create Match, and scoreboards, and you can adjust the options for the games (time limit, for example). You can even use voice chat, so you can have intelligent discussions about the game of chess, or just talk trash.

The online set up is all well and good, but it's sometimes difficult to find opponents, not because of the system that's set in place, but because you're playing Chessmaster on a console known for big budget first person shooters. Still, patience is a virtue, and you will find people if you're persistent (there are lots of ranked players). Whether they'll be at your skill level is another matter entirely.

In terms of faults, there really isn't anything wrong with the game other than the camera sometimes makes it difficult to see every detail of the board. Also, it would've been nice if there were some backgrounds, and why the heck can we only use one controller when playing against a friend on the same Xbox? Other than that, the developers have seemingly accomplished what they set out to do; craft the ultimate chess experience that is both challenging, fun to play, and the ultimate tutor.

Chessmaster is a brilliant budget title that's full of options that fans will enjoy. It's not full of pretty bells and whistles like most games on the market, but what's here is golden, and if you're a chess fanatic this game will suck away hours upon hours of your life. As for those who are trying (albeit unsuccessfully) to prove that games are a catalyst for violence, they should stop running into a brick wall and take a look at something positive like Chessmaster. Nonviolent and fun to play, spending time with the game will actually make you a better chess player in real life, and for only $20. Now that's something worth looking into.

Our Final ScoreGood

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