Chessmaster Live (xbox360: 2008): Reviews

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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.

Chessmaster Live


7.0

based on 11 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 11 votes
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Official Website

[Xbox Live Arcade] Enjoy playing as a real strategist with the Xbox Live version of the most-acclaimed chess franchise. Chessmaster Live allows you to challenge friends and players all over the world in thrilling contests and determine who's the real champ. Choose among several 3-D (or 2-D) sets and play against virtual characters or real opponents over Xbox Live. Solve puzzles and discover exciting variations of this classic board game. Beginners can learn the basics of chess, and veteran players can improve their mastery of the game with the advanced scenario. The game is yours ... it's your move! Compete against advanced A.I. characters or challenge other Xbox Live members to a match. New message chess system: Start a game without any time limit, and play the game at your leisure over the course of days or even weeks. Puzzle over a series of classic challenges such as "find the fork" or "mate in one," and experience new ways of playing chess including Dark Chess, Losing Chess, Extinction Chess, and Progressive Chess. Customizable environments: Choose from six 3-D chess sets and three traditional sets, each with their own distinct sound effects, piece and board design. Interact with opponents: Video options allow you to see your challenger during the course of the game. [Ubisoft]

PUBLISHER:	Ubisoft
DEVELOPER:	Ubisoft Sofia
GENRE(S):	Board Game
PLAYERS:	2
ESRB RATING:	E (Everyone)
RELEASE DATE:	January 30, 2008

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Official Xbox Magazine

The beating heart of chess is laid bare with such care that aspiring Kasparovs might yet be lured from the PC dungeon.

Team Xbox

Whether you’re new to the game or a member of the old high-school chess club, you’ll find the Chessmaster series still holds the crown as “King” of the sixty-four-squared board.

Games Radar

Chessmaster Live doesn’t look like much. But it delivers exactly what it promises, and there’s not really much to complain about because of it.

1UP

While Chessmaster Live isn't going to suddenly fatten up the ranks of wannabe grandmasters, it does offer nearly everything you'd want in a competitive simulator while including all the necessary tools for engrossing offline and online matches. It's also a great chess educator.

EuroGamer

In addition to the core Chess games there's a huge range of different and enjoyable challenges to play through, as well as timed matches and online play.

X360 Magazine UK

A practically endless set of challenges has also been included. [Issue#30, p.118]

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

Tough competition will improve your game, but won't convert anyone not already chess crazy. [Mar 2008, p.94]

Console Monster

A complete and detailed chess package.

Totally360

Overall a pleasing little game even for a complete novice such as myself, but there are a couple of jarring annoyances here and there dropping the score a notch.

Official Xbox Magazine UK

It's a graphically functional, perfectly playable plug-in for those who want a quick game of chess. Nothing more, nothing less. Just chess.

IGN

Chessmaster Live is a functional board game, but in this day and age we need a bit more to give it the stamp of approval.

The average user rating for this game is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mat C. gave it a4:
I couldn't agree more with Kevin. Why should I have to wait for the CPU to make a move with a rating of 600? I don't mind having the clock run, but if the CPU runs out of time, let me finish! A "force move" would have been not only appropriate, but it was necessary. The "lobby" for finding players is a joke. The 3-d boards are shockingly unreadable in full HD; I'm playing with just the 2-d boards. And finally, there are no un-timed games. Huh? Wouldn't it be nice to walk away, and come back to it after life interrupts for an hour? Nope. Not here. There are some redeeming points, particularly in the persona/ratings. The puzzles are fun for a warmup, but they really are simplistic. Overall, look at this as a 1-player game. If you want that, go for it. Don't look at this as a Live-competitive area. It's just not properly built.

Ales K. gave it a7:
I miss lessons, more 2D boards and more detailed stats. AI thinks too slowly, even at the beginning or the end of game when there are only a few options what to do.

Steven H. gave it an8:
Not the "perfect" chess game, but certainly sufficient. I'd rate it as an 8.

Joseph K. gave it a10:
If you want a great chess program, look no further. If you want to blow stuff up/read an engrossing storyline/look at cutting edge graphics, then why are you even reading this?

Kevin B. gave it a3:
I was so excited to see ChessMaster in my menu of games that I paid the 800 points for it sight unseen. What a dumb move that was. This game rates a solid "WTF?" I was unable to find a live opponent, and the Message Chess plain didn't work, so I had to just play the AI opponents. Unbelievably the game is essentially *unplayable* in this fashion, because after you make your move, you sit and wait and wait and wait, sometimes for 5 minutes on end, for the $%!@ computer player to make its move! I do not understand this. If I were playing its very top AI I could understand it might take some processing power, but I was playing only 1100-1200 rated AI players. But the impatient waiting was not the worst of it! The worst part was that for every single one of the four games I have started, I ended up winning the game because the AI player's clock ran out!! One time it happened after we had each only made about 5 moves! I thought, what the hell did I just waste the last 12 minutes of my life for? This is complete idiocy. Oh and also, the chess "puzzles" are way, way, way too easy for anyone but an absolute beginner.

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