Hoyle Majestic Chess (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.5 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Jeff Lackey
• Reviewed on: 09/10/2003
• Released on: 08/14/2003
• Originally published on GameSpot: Hoyle Majestic Chess (PC) Review

How do you market a new PC chess program? Chess is chess, and today's programs are all powerful enough to defeat anyone below the level of grandmaster, so the only means by which a publisher can differentiate a new chess offering is in the bells and whistles. While others try to provide every feature imaginable for every level of player, Hoyle Majestic Chess focuses on those new to the game, and it features a fun and innovative way to learn how to play chess.

There are certain features that you expect in any modern chess program, such as a strong but adjustable AI, a wide variety of 3D chess boards and pieces, online play, and some type of teaching tutorial. Majestic Chess delivers, to various degrees, on all of these. You can play on top-down 2D boards, fully 3D boards, and fixed-perspective boards (2.5D). You choose from a variety of piece sets, with around eight selections per board style; while not the plethora of choices some programs offer, all of the pieces offered here are actually usable (many fanciful offerings in other chess games are good for screenshots but little else). The 3D boards are rather unattractive and pixilated, but the fixed-perspective boards provide an attractive 'faux 3D' alternative. The fixed-perspective board options are chosen by selecting 'scenes,' which are environments such as a temple with light flowing in through stained-glass windows, the ruins of a coliseum, or a D&D-style dungeon. Overall, Majestic Chess provides graphics that are pleasing, interesting, and conducive to play.

We've come a long way since the days in which the measure of a chess game was whether the AI could put up a decent fight against a moderately skilled player. As in most PC chess games, the AI in Majestic Chess can be set to levels that will provide a serious challenge to any amateur. Playing levels for the AI are set by selecting one of 24 computer opponents. While this is far fewer AI personalities than offered in other chess games, such as Chessmaster 9000, eight more opponents can be unlocked in the 'adventure' portion of the game. The computer opponents' skill levels range from the total klutz, appropriate for chess neophytes, to virtual masters for the masochistic chess aficionado. You can also create new AI players with the custom personality creation module; however, it is limited in the options available for creating a wide range of AI players that truly feel different in playing style (rather than just playing strength). Also, there's no way to set up an in-game tournament involving you and the AI players.

If you prefer the challenge and unpredictability of a human opponent, you can use Majestic Chess' online mode. When we checked the multiplayer server on a weekend, there were only a few players online; however, the game has only been on store shelves for about two weeks. Online play offers few frills, but the basics (such as chat, setting the game-timer options, challenging a player to a game, and actual gameplay) work as advertised.

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