Chess 2: The Sequel checks in next week on Ouya
It's about time.
After hundreds of years Chess' highly anticipated sequel is on the horizon with Chess 2: The Sequel launching exclusively on Ouya on 21st January.
So what does the sequel add to the maybe-not-so-timeless-after-all classic? Quite a lot as a matter of fact, as it's been retooled by David Sirlin, the man responsible for the rebalanced cast of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix.
To start with, there's an all new way to win in Chess 2. Dubbed the "midline invasion," you can now win if you get your king across the midpoint. This new ulterior motive should put a huge new wrinkle in the a game of tried and true strategies.
Additionally, there are now six different types of armies rather than just the one. Each army setup has its own perk like allowing pawns more freedom of movement, allowing the queen to teleport, or even adding a second king to your arsenal.
There's also a dueling element which works like a silent auction. Players now have a resource called stones and when a piece is taken, the person losing the piece can challenge their attacker to a duel. Here both players secretly select how many stones they want to use in combat by gripping them in their fist, then at the same time you both open your hands and whoever uses more stones wins. You've got to be careful though as stones can only be used once, so you don't want to toss in too many stones only to find out the other person only used one. Furthermore, the person being attacked is going to lose their piece anyway. The question is whether they can take their attacker down with them,
In one of the more sensible free-to-play models out there, Chess 2 is free to play offline, while online matches cost eight crowns, the in-game currency. You can buy 120 crowns (enough for 15 matches) for a mere $1.99.
Chris Donlan took a look at Chess 2 a couple of months back. If you'd like to see it in action, check out the following dev walkthrough by thegamedevcast.
