Chess 2: The Sequel

If you do like chess and agree to pay 25 bucks just for an upgraded chess game buy it. But only for the game... Chess 2 does not have a UI that reflects the price. Moreover it's lack of in-game chat between players, the missing rating and post-game stats and the slow-pace (The graphics seem sloppy, it makes me think twice if I'm clicking the right spot) don't help... They new rules are indeed genius but it needs much more to get to its actual price. The game just feels incomplete. I really hope they put work on it but in the state it actually is... I do not recommend the game.

The game Chess 2 is very enjoyable; the application Chess 2 is a mess. It feels like very little work was done to port this from Ouya. There are zero options: you cannot adjust resolution, quality, you can't even adjust the volume or turn off the music! The menu's don't seem to like being controlled by mice, you can only click on the deepest "slice" of a menu, even if the other menu options are on the screen. Online play also has zero options. You search for a game and pick an army, but have no control over who you play or extra rules like the time each player gets. There is no rating system for players, no chat system, no friends system, no ability to start a game with a specific person (!), nothing. This application is missing SO MUCH that paying $20 for it makes me feel ripped off. This is not $20 of quality. This is like $4 of quality. Maybe. I'd pay $5 if I could turn off the terrible music. In other words: don't expect much.

EDIT: There are no more future updates (afaik) planned for the game, and IMO its a great game but wasn't fully fleshed out with all the basic features. The population has bottomed out, so if you're buying it for multiplayer then you may be out of luck in finding games. This isn't really the developers fault, as indie games have a hard time in capturing a big multiplayer player pool. It was an interesting take for a chess variant, and I hope more tactics games similar to it come out. I am always looking for that next pvp tactical game. To Chess Players: If you're more of a tactics player (short term captures and plans), you'll enjoy this game. Chess 2 (C2) is a much more fast-paced and unpredictable game than traditional Chess. C2 has 6 armies to choose from (there is the classic Chess army, but also new armies with unique units & movesets), and you can face any of them from your opponent, so games will have very diverse matchups each time. There are also 2 ways to win: Getting your k...

I want to like this game so much. The ideas behind Chess 2 seem so good. So far Chess 2 seems like a great Chess variant. The problem is that this particular implementation just seems unfinished. You can play Chess 2 against a horribly weak AI. You can play live in 25 minutes a side games and you can play Correspondence games. Your rating goes up if you win and down if you lose (presumably based on your opponents rating). The game looks nice and bar a few crashes, plays smoothly. But there is so much missing that you would normally take for granted. No rankings ! You can see your opponents rating and yours in game. Out of game you see...nothing. No win/loss ratios. No breakdown of each armies win/loss. No leaderboards!!!! You cannot challenge a friend. You play against random opponents only. For a game that's supposed to be all about multiplayer this is just unforgivable. There are no options. You window resize (unless you edit the game launch properties yourself). The music is n...

Spent ~£16 on something I have freely installed with Windows 10/10

Quick first impressions review: I'm not a huge fan of chess, but the rule changes in this game really spice up the gameplay and give it a new appeal. Having six different chess armies with new pieces and new abilities adds a lot of variety to the game and requires new tactics to win, especially with different army match-ups. I recommend this if you have any interest in chess and fancy a different challenge from the standard game.

I don't know whether to recommend this game or not. I bought it at the $10 price point, which isn't much I guess. The overall idea is OK, but personally I don't like the betting stones for pieces thing, and I just wish I could turn it off and play `a piece captures a piece` (along with the music- I'm forced to play with no volume). The worst part is the AI. I read other reviews before purchasing and thought, OK the AI isn't great but it must be playable. Frankly, it isn't. Most games are won in very few moves and the AI is almost unresponsive to threats. Seriously, move a pawn out of the way and march your king/s across the midline, very minimal resistance will be offered, you will win. So with no viable AI, you will always need an online player. There's no 2 player option, so at the moment you can't play a friend or family member at home using the same computer. Why is this not an option? It seems like the basic option? Actually this is what tips me to not recommend it, because wit...

This is a truly great game! It has some bugs and is missing some features but the core is great and that is what really matters when it comes to games. Some more options and features would have been nice but it has all the essential pieces and you will certainly be able to enjoy the game for a long time. It is simple enough that you can get into it fairly quickly but advanced enough so it will feel fresh for a long time and surprise you with new combos and strategies. A must try for fans of the turn based strategy genre or chess fans. If you want a strategy game without luck then this might be the game for you. The six armies manages to make new games feel fresh and you have to adapt different strategies depending on who you are facing. The mid-line invasion rule makes the games shorter and more intense and often result in heated battles around the chess boards mid-line. The game feels very balanced, there are no best or worst army. If you don't like chess or think you are bad at ...

There needs to be an option to challenge your friends. Otherwise a nice twist on a classic game.

Chess 2 is a brilliant variant but this app is a hot mess. Here are my major gripes: - No move history. If you're playing a correspondence game you're better off logging the game yourself (e.g. "1. e4 e5, 2. Nc3 Nf6..." etc) as this game does not provide a move history. This is a baffling design decision since logging each move as it is played does not seem like an ordeal to code-in if you manage to build an otherwise functional chess variant app. - No audio controls. The game plays an embarrassingly brief sampling of classical music from the moment the app launches. There are no volume controls, nor is there a mute toggle. The only way to avoid hearing this is by disabling your sound, which is unfortunate as sometimes I'll have a correspondence game open and I would like to listen for the wooden clacks to let me know a move has been played without being required to listen to the music as well. - UI is confusing and buggy. The app sorts your active chess games by games where it's yo...