Cyrus 2 Chess

Copyright : Amsoft | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

One of the first title?s launched on the short lived Amsoft Gold label, Cyrus II was the first, and possibly only, chess game to be written exclusively for the Amstrad and released commercially.

Boasting better graphics than all of its rivals at the time, Cyrus II Chess certainly stuck out from the crowd but how does it play now in a genre that was always about the quality of the artificial intelligence rather than the superficial exteriors.

Graphics

Forget any preconceptions you may have about chess games and take a look at the screenshots. For my money the game board would not have looked out of place on an Amiga or an ST at the time. Making moves is simple thanks to the control method and its perfectly clear what is going on at all times. The shading is painstaking and it?s clear that an awful lot of work must have gone in to this title.

After making a move your piece slides across the table in to the spot you have chosen and while its not conducted at lightning speed, the quality of this animation is good and it has a realistic feel to it that I can?t quite explain, this more than makes up for this very slight inconvenience. The blue colour scheme is perfect - very tranquil and peaceful.

For traditionalists that hold no sway with 3D graphic engines getting in the way of their chess, the game can be switched to a conventional 2D display that is lightning fast to play - giving some indication of the power of the game. Unfortunately this allows us a peek into the darkened underbelly of the game?s graphics and have a good gape at the only thing wrong with the visuals. The colour scheme on the 2D game is a hideous clash of orange and purple that is not at all in keeping with the mood and atmosphere that is created by its excellent 3D counterpart.

It?s hard to imagine what else anyone could?ve wanted or even expected back in 1985 but for my money the 3D graphics and particularly the colouring show off the capabilities of the CPC as well as any other game released at that time.

Sound

Beep. Your move. Hardly essential for a chess game, the lack of sound is as understandable as it is forgivable but it still doesn?t change the fact that there?s hardly any!

Gameplay

Fortunately for all chess enthusiasts, Cyrus II Chess isn?t all just window dressing. The AI is good. Damn good. Even the most accomplished of players is likely to be pushed to a real game by one of the computer?s 12 difficulty levels. The response times are pretty remarkable too when you consider that a number of the lesser looking titles take a lot longer to make a move on some of the easier difficulty levels than Cyrus - and generally speaking Cyrus will make a better one!

As the difficulty increases so too does the average response time. The early levels are pretty instantaneous without really compromising the game too much while for real deep thinkers, the average time can push out as far as fifteen minutes on the higher levels, apparently.

Cyrus II Chess also features everything you?ve come to expect from chess games, printing out moves, getting computer help, swapping sides mid-game and all the other usual suspects!

Even without the flashy graphics, Cyrus II Chess would still be a cracking chess game? just not very nice to look at! Probably the best chess game on the Amstrad, if you like chess then you?ll love Cyrus.