A few weeks ago, Pure Chess made its debut on Android after being ported from the PlayStation Network version, touting some of the best graphics ever seen in a chess game. I’ve had some time to try this out, and I can safely say that it is just that: the prettiest chess game you’ll likely ever play. But like all pretty faces, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Pure Chess offers a very full experience to anyone wanting to put in a game of chess no matter your skill level, new to chess or grandmaster. For those that are new to chess or simply want to have their chess knowledge refreshed, there is a very comprehensive ‘Learn to play’ tutorial section that will walk you through all the different pieces and moves you can possibly make. Additional to these learning  sections, you have a ‘Play Local’ option in which you can play against one of 6 different AI difficulties or play a hotseat game with a friend, and a ‘Play Online’ option in which you can pit your Grandmaster skills to work against other chess masters online. There is also a ‘Chess Challenges’ section which will challenge your well-honed skills in certain scenarios and tournaments.
The menus in Pure Chess are very sleek and well designed, however there is one major oversight which is the fact that they have removed the use of soft keys. This is all well and good in most games as you wouldn’t want the soft keys accidentally exiting you from your game, but there’s actually no way to exit Pure Chess besides pressing the home button, which actually isn’t the most ideal scenario.
The local play is simple enough and the scaling of the AI difficulties seems appropriate to what you’d expect; Level 1 is pretty easy to beat given a pretty good knowledge of the game, whereas Level 4 will have you pausing before making moves to ensure you don’t fall into a trap. Mulitplayer, likewise, is a pretty simple affair; if you choose the online route for chess play, the game will search for an opponent with a similar skill rating to you and pit you against each other. This will play out turn-by-turn; if you’re lucky, your opponent will be around for most moves, though you can always come back to it later. You can also sign into Google+ (Facebook and Twitter appear to have been neglected) to share your tales of victory if the urge takes you.
In-game, the controls to control your chess pieces is easy enough; tap piece to move, then tap square you’re moving to. It can sometimes be difficult to select the piece you want exactly, but there is the option to swivel the camera view quite easily to gain better access to the piece you’re hoping to move. It’s all very fluid and everything on the chessboard is incredibly well rendered. In fact, there is an amazing amount of detail in this game, from the detailing on the chess pieces to the incidental objects in the room around the chessboard. it might just sound mundane, but it really does add to the whole feeling of the game. And it can’t be stated enough how impressive the visuals are in the game; it might just be a chess game, but the graphics look far more amazing than most games on the Play Store to date; even the loading screens are pretty!
There’s quite a lot to customize in Pure Chess as well; if you so wished, you could purchase some of the additional chess sets which are available through the set selection menu or the ‘Pure Store’, as well as the ability to select what map you want to play on. You can also purchase different locations to play in, but that will acquire additional purchases for too. In fact, this trend continues throughout the game; by default, you have one local game unlocked, and to play more than that simultaneously, you have to purchase one of the remaining 5 slots to be able to use it, and likewise, that applies to the number of multiplayer games available to you too. Even the higher level tutorials like the ‘Castle’ move require a purchase to unlock. In-app purchases (IAPs) then, play a big roll in this game if you’re intending to get the most of it, but luckily Pure Chess does provide to you a ‘discounted’ pack which unlocks everything in the game for roughly $13, depending on where you’re playing from.
If you’re just looking for a free, simple chess game that is good looking to boot, Pure Chess is great value. But if you’re looking to get the most of Pure Chess and all its hidden beauties, and to enjoy the game as it was intended, be ready to spend some cash to splash out on the IAPs. Just be ready to use that ‘Home’ button when you need to exit.
Check out Pure Chess at the Google Play links below.
Game: Pure Chess
Price: Free
