Purple Software's Chess


This is the most substantial of the three games, and is very easy to get into. It looks and feels very impressive, and the attention to detail shows at every stage. There are ten views selectable, including several 3D ones. Some of these work better than others, and I find the controlling the 3D ones with the pen very difficult, but there is plenty of choice, allowing you to set up something you feel comfortable with. The views show differing amounts of extra information, such as pieces taken, moves made so far, time, and player names. Several examples of those are included to demonstrate that.

Chess Screen

Traditional Game Display

The list of moves can be in several formats, boards can be set up for games from magazines, files can be saved and loaded to exchange them with other programmes, and there are 25 "Master Games" chosen to demonstrate specific points. There are six levels of difficulty selectable for the computer player, and they seem to be pretty strong in the testing I've done.

Chess Screen

3D Board

Of course, you can do all the normal things like rotate the board, swap sides in mid-game, play against another human, or let the computer play both sides. You can also get hints, a display of the legal moves for any piece, which ones are under threat, and a tutorial on the rules. It is also possible to change the pieces to wild animals, geometrical shapes, and Napoleonic soldiers as well as the traditional pieces. The background is selectable, giving some attractive combinations as well as some hideous ones!

Chess Screen

3D Board Display with Alternative Pieces

I can't imagine anyone choosing to use the distorted 3D board below, and I generally find the 3D display less usable but more attractive. That's a personal opinion though, and I can see them being useful for a change and when used with the keyboard to move the pieces. Like most computer chess games I've come across, it doesn't seem to know when it's beaten. It will determinedly soldier on in the face of overwhelming odds so that you can have the satisfaction of beating it. Following the end of a game, you can review it and also take back moves while still playing. Some displays provide "Video Buttons" to enable that, but the menu commands can be used in all views regardless.

Chess Screen

The Most Outlandish Combination!

Conclusions
This is an excellent version of chess, and Purple will also give users of their S3a version £20 off the S5 one, making it very attractive if you're changing machines. The only alternative chess game available for the S5 is Psion's own Spectrum version running on Palmtop's Spectrum emulator, so the competition isn't very great in this area, and with a version this good, Purple are really setting the standard early on in the life of the Series 5.

Purple Software are at

PO Box 7535,
London,
NW1 2WF,
tel. 0171 387 7777,
and don't forget that you can now download a demonstration version from their Web site so you can decide whether to buy or not.

Back to Introduction or forward to Backgammon & Chinese Chess review.


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