level results in analysis in a matter of seconds, the "Level 12" setting results in waiting times greatly varying based on the position. There is a "Meditation" setting by which, if enabled, the chess engine will think on the player's time except usually during the opening phase of the game in which predefined moves are played. Again based on the complexity of the position, analysis will continue for a matter of hours or days until either a forced checkmate is found or the player makes a move. Development Development on the game started as early as June 1997. Critical reaction The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Nintendo Power gave it a mixed review, a few months before the game was released Stateside. Critics stated that although Virtual Chess 64 may not be for those who aren't into chess, it was so thorough in features and gameplay that it was worthwhile to any kind of chess player, including newcomers wanting to get into the game. The game's opponent AI was praised, with critics claiming it to be hard to beat even on lower difficulty levels; writers such as Hyper staff Ross Clarksmith and N64 Magazine journalist Tim Weaver opined that it made Virtual Chess a worthy alternative to playing chess in real life with another human. The tutorial feature was another common spotlight, with reviews rejoicing that its interactive-ness made learning the rules easy for beginner players and offered several strategies and tactics for intermediate to advanced players. Mark Skorupa of Gamezilla, a gamer who never played chess before, admitted he understood the rules successfully thanks to the tutorial, although had a minor complaint of the content being over-detailed. IGN writer Peer Schneider wrote that, despite flicker in the alternate 2D chess boards, the game looked mostly high-res. Weaver, on the other hand, critiqued other parts of the visuals, such as the menus that look "scribbled on with felt tips" and the "hideous" Titus animations in the tutorials. The 3D chess board garnered numerous complaints. Crispin Boyer was disoriented by its "awkward perspectives", and Josh Smith and Scott Alan Marriott noted the 3D pieces were difficult to identify which Marriott attributed to their "carved" look. Skorupa, although opining piece distinguishing was more difficult in the 2D mode than the 3D, claimed figuring out positions of pieces was hard on the 3D board. The 3D camera