Chess 2: The Sequel Coming to iPad and Steam

Do you feel your Chess board has lost its appeal? Do you think having only one King per-side is too old school for your tastes? Do you wish for a teleporting Queen piece that is a reincarnation of the Grim Reaper? Well worry no more, the ambitious sequel Chess 2: The Sequel is here to inject life in the famous game and make redundant subtitles cool again.

Previously released exclusively for the Ouya, the combined efforts of Ludeme Games and David Sirlin (the mastermind behind Street Fighter II: Turbo HD Remix), Chess 2 is set for release on Steam and the iPad later this year.

For those who didn’t catch the game’s initial release buzz, Chess 2 expands upon the base game by adding new means towards victory and multiple factions to choose from. You can now also battle to get your king across the middle line of the board to claim victory, but you also have to keep him out of checkmate.

Further changing up the style of play is the inclusion of six factions, all with distinctively playstyles. Each faction is highly balanced, and really bend the norms you’d expect. Rooks as indestructible walls and a faction with two kings that can do wide area of effect attacks are just a taste of the varied combat optoins players have to experiment with. You can even wager marbles earned throughout the match to try and keep one of your pieces alive after it’s attacked.

The game has packs impressive visuals on the Ouya. Ludeme Games spared no effort to crank the graphical capabilities of the micro-console, and it paid off in a big way. With access to PC and iPad hardware, the graphics have even more room to improve.

The ports will also feature previous updates and unique features. Cross-platform play will be included, in addition to the game’s new Correspondence mode that lets you play turn by turn over time. If you prefer real-time battles, both the tablet and PC versions will feature them as well.

For more on Chess 2: The Sequel, please be sure to look up  Ludeme Games’ website, Sirlin Games’ free downloadable rulebook for using a regular Chess set with the new rules, and my interview with the game’s developers.