Chessmaster Live and Poker Smash

There were a couple of new releases on Xbox Live Arcade this week. Both games, Chessmaster Live and Poker Smash, will set you back 800 MS points.

Chessmaster Live

There’s not a great deal I can elaborate on with this game. It’s a more than competent chess game based on a reputable chess engine, but don’t expect an exciting sensory experience.

The board can be viewed in either two or three dimensions, the latter of which can be rotated and panned and looks as good as can be expected. The 2D board doesn’t offer anything more exciting, feels a little out of place on an Xbox 360 console and reminds me of those portable magnetic chess games you can buy.

The actual chess engine itself seems decent and offers different personalities to play against in single player with the full version featuring full online play. Chess is one of those games that you either really like or just pass on. Personally I’ve never really got into the game, but if you like giving the old grey matter a workout then the trial is worth a go.

Poker Smash

Second up this week is Poker Smash, a puzzle game featuring five columns of rising blocks faced with kings, queens, jacks, aces or tens. The aim is to clear the blocks in either rows or columns by matching various poker hands before the blocks reach the top of the table.

Cards can only be swapped horizontally which will invariably leave you with some that can’t be matched in time and in these circumstances the limited numbers of bombs available to clear “bottleneck” areas are vital. Additionally time can be slowed down, draining a time meter, giving you a few additional seconds when under pressure.

Poker Smash looks pretty good with some vibrant effects when combinations are matched but the male commentator audio soundbites started to grate after a while. Regular readers will know that puzzle games aren’t really my favourite genre and unless a game offers something new and exciting then they don’t hold any lasting appeal for me. I had fun for about 30 minutes with Poker Smash but by that time it had unfortunately overstayed its welcome.