Battle Chess II: Chinese Chess

Battle Chess II: Chinese Chess is a strategy game that was developed by Interplay and published by Electronic Arts in 1990 for the Amiga and MS-DOS.

The beginning of chess can be traced back to the seventh century in India, where it was initially called Chaturanga. The game then spread to the nearby regions of Persia and China, thanks to the European traders that visited these lands the historic game soon made its way onto the western world where it went through certain adaptations to become what it is today. While these changes came through through European influences, Chess went down a whole different lane in China, where it became vastly different when compared to the dominant form of modern Chess that we see today.

The Chinese variation of the game replaces pieces such as the rook and bishop with their eastern counterparts of ministers, counselors, and cannons. The pieces behave differently and have an entirely different set of rules allocated to each piece's movement, even the board is set up individually. The end result is goal is, however, the same as its modern counterpart; checkmate the king.

Interplay made some considerable changes when looking at what they presented in the first Battle Chess game, there are a plethora of new features added into the game. The game has three versions of the board available for players ensuring that they can pick what they prefer without having to stick for a compromise; a 3D, two 2D, and a 2D window on the main 3D screen, these are a bit better than the 3D models as they do partially obscure the view.

The game is full of humorous animations that are entertaining to watch, but they do put a tax on the loading times for each move, but this can be avoided by switching to the 2D view that is less glamourous but equally playable. The game is a bit difficult to play as the computer AI is exceptionally competitive even at the novice levels. If you aren't familiar with the rules of the Chinese version, it is better to read up and get informed beforehand as the game can get a bit unforgiving and consequently give you a headache when playing.

The original Battle Chess one was a more fun version of the classic game that everyone loved, and this is no different. The cute Chinese-style koto sounds and impressive visuals make it a good buy for anyone who loves the game.