Chess Tips

Mortal Kombat®: Deception™ is kicking booty on XboxLive™, and not just with its brutal fighting modes. If you're feeling like a true test of your skills as a general on the field as well as a warrior in the ring, you may be ready for Chess Kombat. This special game mode blends the rules of traditional chess with the Mortal Kombat's fighting engine and blood-soaked graphics—creating a challenge for your brain as well as your thumbs!

Queen takes pawn (to the cleaners).

Like chess, the object is to capture your opponent's king. Unlike chess, any piece can defeat any other piece in single combat, and your strategy begins with the selection of the "chessmen." Each side features one Leader (king), one Champion (queen), three Shifters (rooks), two Sorcerers (bishops), and eight Grunts (pawns). They move basically like their chessboard counterparts, except they can all move their limit in any unobstructed direction. Shifters transform to mimic their opposition once a fight starts, and Sorcerers can cast spells that help their side or hinder the other guy.

You should make sure that you pick characters you're familiar with because you'll be using their Martial Arts skills early and often. Character move lists have been simplified for Chess Kombat, but you may select any of the Mortal Kombat characters for any board position. Keep in mind that their positions on the board determine the size of their health bars. Leaders start at 80 percent, Champions at 100 percent, Sorcerers at 30 percent, and Grunts at 40 percent. Shifters are a special case; they match whatever their opponent's health is, or if they're facing another Shifter, they go to 100 percent. These base health stats help balance the board and force Chess combatants to think like chess players, as well as bloodthirsty warriors.

Watch where you step.

With your team in place, the next task is to lay your trap. Designate a single square on your side of the board as a "trap," and if any opposing players land on that space, the trap is sprung, and they die. Traps will kill every time someone triggers them, so it's still useful even when it's no longer a surprise.

The two other special squares are fixed and visible at all times. They're called power cells, and they are integral to a winning strategy. Teams that control either square get a 25-percent bonus per power cell, to each team member's base health in each fight. The character occupying the square is always at 100 percent. Controlling power cells can help your Grunt stand up to a Champion by boosting his heath bar and giving him a fighting chance. Characters also receive a 10-percent boost to their base health for attacking, so the basic elements of your strategy should always be:

1. Occupy the green squares.
2. Always take the offensive.

The most active strategic elements in Chess Kombat are the Sorcerers' spells, which can be cast anytime in the game, in place of a move. Each spell is good for one use only per game, and each has some limitations on whom it can target and where it can be cast. However, spell power is still formidable. Some kill an enemy outright or revive one of your own fallen pieces. Some freeze a character in place for three turns or protect a character from harm for three turns. Sorcerers can change the entire situation by swapping character positions or just plain teleporting someone to any available space. They can even sacrifice one character to restore another's health, which can be a game-saving tactic when your Leader is on the ropes.

Checkmate. Prepare to die!

Once you've set your strategy in motion, with your team choices and your trap, it's time for the tactical part of the battle to begin. Moving your pieces across the board, your ultimate goal is to defeat the enemy Leader. You can try to swarm him with Grunts and Shifters, whittling his health down and setting him up for the eventual Fatality from your Champion. Or, you can concentrate on occupying all the power cells and pick the other guy's army apart one soldier at a time. Or, you can change the board with spells to expose your opponent's Leader. You'll also have to provide your own Leader with a solid defense because you can back your enemy all the way into corner with no way out and still lose if your own Leader falls.

Chess Kombat is a fun and challenging game variant with a strongMortal Kombat sensibility. The best thing about it is that it ends with a bang: Whenever a Leader falls, the victor gets to perform a Fatality. Saying "checkmate" may be satisfying, but it's nowhere near as cool as what Baraka does with those blades of his …

By Mickah Wallace