Konami puts PSPs in check

The game of chess has endured for centuries solely on the appeal of its unfathomably deep strategic aspect, but the original sport of kings (and queens) is about to get a makeover, courtesy of Konami. At the publisher's press event in San Francisco today, it announced the development of Konami's Chess Battle (working title) for the PSP.

Scheduled for release in the fall, Konami's Chess Battle will add such modern trappings as a story mode, animated battle sequences, themed armies (magicians, cybernetic creatures, forest spirits, and more), and wireless online play with PSP owners on the other side of the room or across the country. The game will also include a speed chess mode for gamers who don't have time to ponder the infinite permutations of 32 pieces arranged on a board of 64 squares.

Konami's Chess Battle is being developed by Leviathan, a company started in 1998 that specialized in the development of corporately sponsored titles, or "advergames." For more on Konami's Chess Battle, check out GameSpot's coverage of Konami's press event.