Reviews

• gamedeal user

  May 29, 2015

  Step aside, DNF, we may have a new record for longest delayed game sequel. So for anyone who's not an old fart like me who actually played Chip's Challenge 1 back in the day of hamster-powered processors, when sound cards were just being adopted and Voodoo cards were an upper class luxury, it was pretty much one of the de facto standards for puzzle games of the day. You've got block pushing puzzles, switch-toggling puzzles, enemies and hazards to avoid, ice tiles that you can't control yourself on, and some interesting interactions between tiles such as dirt blocks defusing bombs or making bridges across water. These are all strung together in increasingly sadistic ways to make levels with some legitimately puzzling elements, and a LOT of trial-and-error. Chip's Challenge 2 picks up pretty much where we left off, with 200-ish new puzzles (all designed in the 90's) and a few tutorial levels explaining old and new mechanics; enemies can eat blue keys, green keys are good for multiple uses, and a brand new dick move: bombs that need to be turned into chips to be collected. Where the game *could* have benefited greatly from the massively increased average desktop resolution these days, it has instead opted for retro authenticity (or perhaps engine limitations) to keep its tiny visible area of the playing field, enabling a lot of "fuck you" moments that you could not possibly see coming the first time. To its credit, there is now a level select function rather than all those awful passwords. It commits an unfortunate number of what are now considered cardinal sins of the puzzle genre (including a number of awful action-based levels), there's as much butt hole puzzle design as legitimate puzzle design (new pieces like the randomized teleport were literally invented purely to frustrate you), and its best shot at success is riding on the coattails of 25-year old nostalgia, but for being $5 and coming with a level editor and the first game, I think it gets a pass.
• gamedeal user

  May 29, 2015

  This game have stayed unreleased for a really really long time, Chuck Sommerville released a teaser video nearly ten years ago showing how CC2 looked like, but due to trademark problems could not release the game at the time as badly as fans wanted it. The game does look a bit dated as it was developed during a way different time, but the new puzzle elements is hugely appreciated and it's a timeless game at the same time. There was chuck challange, and as much as I enjoyed it, I thought it was way too focused on small mini puzzles rather than the bigger levels of chips challange. Chips Challange 2 seems to have a mix of both, which I appericite and also seem to have way way more levels than both the original chips challange and chucks challenge. Some people don't like the more action focused levels, but that is one thing missing in chucks challange that I actually liked from Chips challange. Interestingly the game is bit of a mix between Microsoft's version and the original Lynx version with the new game elements added on top. Chuck Sommerville wasn't too fond of the Microsoft version, but it's nice to see it's being acknowledge to a degree here as the game feels familiar to those who grew up with the supposedly inferior MS version. I kinda prefer the Lynx version highschooler look to Chip than the young kid that chip looked like in Microsoft's version anyway.
• gamedeal user

  May 29, 2015

  I first heard about this game after it was put on hold in the early 2000's, and I remember being very upset about it. Being a vivid fan of the first game, it is no surprise that I sat waiting, ready to play, when this game was finally released. Now, about halfways in, I have decided it's time for me to give my thoughts about this game. For those few who haven't heard of or played the first game, the concept is something along the lines of tile-based puzzle meets action-adventure. There are blocks that can be pushed around like in Sokoban, elements with different properties, items to help getting around in the elements, hazards, various different kind of enemies, teleports, and of course various keys and doors (including the iconic chips/chip socket). The goal is to get through the obstacles and reach for the exit. Most levels have a time limit as well. This sequel adds a whole lot of new elements, including Melinda as a female second protagonist (with different properties than Chip), wires/logic gates, misc. items unrelated to the elements, several-characters in a level, and the ability to drop items. There is also a ton of new tiles and puzzle-elements, too much to go into detail about here. Most of these additions are very welcome, but with so much content to choose from a great amount of care should be taken by anyone designing levels. As of gameplay, this game plays it oldschool (it's based on a game from 1989 after all). Like arcade-games of the 80's, it has no mercy if you do a fatal mistake: When Chip or Melinda dies, you'll be forced to restart the level from start. Although puzzle-games nowadays are often associated with casual gaming, this game is far from it and requires a great deal of attention and precision. It plays very well, and anyone familiar with the first game will instantly feel right at home (or at least after changing the controls to the arrow-keys). One of the biggest strengths of the first game was it's mostly stellar level-design. It had a great balance between room-sizes and and room-content, and much of the game feels like it's actually located inside an actual place. It also has great consistency, and for the first 80 levels or so it often feels like an adventure. It's like you cannot wait to see what's behind the next corner. This second game... Not so much. To be honest, the level-design of the second game is overall average at best. Don't get me wrong, a handful of levels are indeed excellent, but there is a fair share of levels that are absolutely awful. One particular level where you have to rely on guesswork comes to mind. Some other levels require flawless play to be completed within the time limit. In general it feels like just a big compilation of individual levels and it never really catches the same consistency and feeling of adventure the first game had. In my opinion the level-set would have benefited from being cut down to the 100 best levels. Still, this game is saved by it's built-in level editor (if you went for the bundle or added it as DLC). With this you can make your own fully-fledged levels and play levels made by the community! Last, the presentation. The game looks very good, and the tile-set has a feel somewhat similar to the old Microsoft Windows port of the first game. Help-text and title-text at the start of a level might be a bit hard to read at times, but it's no big deal. Over to music and sound. The sounds used are sampled from the original Atari Lynx version of the first game. Quite a nice touch, and it sounds just right. The music, is on the other hand a collection of Scott Joplin piano pieces. As odd as it might sound, it actually works quite well! Only issue is that the sounds are quite a bit louder than the music, at least on my computer. My final verdict is: If you like the first game, you should absolutely get this (even if only for the level-editor). If you hate the first game, you'll probably hate this more, and if you have never heard of the first game you might want to give the re-release of that a try before trying this one out.
• gamedeal user

  May 31, 2015

  I've been waiting for this game for over 15 years, and it does not disappoint. The levels are just as varied as in CC1, and have marginally better design sense as well, with a few exceptions very late in the game. There's a good balance of long and short levels as well, and puzzles that really make you think about the quirks of the game mechanics. While I personally found the soundtrack a little boring, it's easy to change simply by replacing the music files. At the time of writing the editor needs a little bit of work, as it lacks features for creating levelsets and doesn't let you view a lot of the level at once without zooming out. Unlike a lot of games with editors, though, you can use any element in the game in your levels, which lets you make intricate puzzles on par with the ones already in the game. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the community can do with this game. One more thing: If the size of the game window bothers you, Windows has a utility called Magnifier that lets you zoom in. Although it seems like the developers are working on built-in zoom as well.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 2, 2015

  Full video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udggMQ-mc-c TL;DR It’s worth giving Chip’s Challenge 2 a play. Just go into it expecting a game from over twenty years ago, and the trappings (or lack thereof) that come with such a thing. Well here’s something I never thought I’d be reviewing. Chip’s Challenge 2, the official sequel to Chip’s Challenge! The original was first released for the Atari Lynx in 1989, but eventually saw increased popularity due to its inclusion in the Microsoft Windows Entertainment Pack in 1992. If you’d like to know more about that one then I’ve got a full review video covering it, so let’s move right along. Chuck Sommerville, the developer of Chip’s Challenge, had pretty much finished developing this sequel back in 1991. But there was a problem: the publisher, Epyx, had gone bankrupt. Many of their assets were sold to a Christian media group, Bridgestone Multimedia, and they not interested in bringing the game to market. Sommerville tried to release it on his own, but Bridgestone would only continue to negotiate if he handed over a large undisclosed sum of cash upfront. He was never able to afford this, further attempts to renegotiate the rights went ignored for years, and the game was forgotten. In fact, Sommerville said “I generally thought the only way Chip’s Challenge 2 was ever going to see the light of day was by having my wife leak it on the internet on my death.” In the meantime, he developed and released Chuck’s Challenge, which I also reviewed in the past, but it was more of a stand-in for Chip’s Challenge 2 rather than a true sequel. Finally, in April of 2015 it was announced that the rights to Chip’s Challenge had been granted to his company, Niffler Limited. Has it been worth the decades-long wait? Well, yes and no, as that depends on how hardcore a Chip’s Challenge fan you are. Personally I was psyched to finally be able to play this thing that was long considered vaporware, if only for the curiosity factor. But as with so many things that languish for such a long time, it’s normal to be a bit disappointed in the result. Chip’s Challenge 2 is a game that acts like it just emerged from a 25 year coma, not stopping to consider what decade it’s in. As a result, it looks and plays just like a game from 1991, complete with MIDI-quality music and low-res graphics that can’t even be scaled up to modern resolutions. Now, I think that I prefer it this way myself, in the sense that in such an unusual case I want the original artistic intent to be preserved. But being that it’s released on Steam in 2015 with a price tag putting it in the territory of far beefier games, it’s not going to be an easy sell to everyone. That said, it really is a proper, enjoyably tricky sequel to the game from 1989, and if you still enjoy Chip’s Challenge, it’s well worth checking out. For starters, the look and feel of the game is highly familiar, falling somewhere between the Atari Lynx game and the Windows 3.1 game in terms of aesthetics. I can easily see this being exactly how Mr Sommerville originally envisioned the game back in ‘91, and it’s just cool to be able to see this finally step out of the shadows. But it’s a bit of a let-down that it’s such a barebones program, with only the most basic of options, and certainly nothing like the ability to play at a scaled-up widescreen resolution. The game window is restricted to the same play area as it was originally, which is fine I suppose, but it would be nice to have the option for some art around the edges instead of just black space, or at least to be able to play it full-screen. And even though it’s a Steam game, you can’t use the Steam overlay, and achievements are an old-school pop-up dialog window straight out of Windows 95. Okay, actually I kinda dig that, so whatever. The graphics tiles and design of the levels are all awesome though, and there are 79 additional features to play with, consisting of new game elements, abilities, and monsters. In some levels you can even play as Chip’s companion from the first game, Melinda the Mental Marvel. She not only looks different, but can access certain areas Chip cannot, and has different strengths and weaknesses. But even with all the new textures and logic, the basic gameplay remains. It’s a top-down, tile-based logic puzzle game, with a timer and a goal for each level. There are a number of chips to collect, which are often in plain sight, but grabbing them quickly enough is another story. Two hundred of these levels await you this time, created by a number of talented designers, but the goal is always to reach the swirly exit tile by way of logical object manipulation. The new items, tiles, and enemies make for some absolute mind-benders, with things like dynamite, railroad tracks, electric wires, logic gates, and bandits. But again, it really is just more Chip’s Challenge with very little in the way of evolution. If anything, it feels more like an expansion pack, and there’s nothing wrong with that I guess. It’s just that I feel it could have also done a bit more to appeal to gamers of 2015, instead of just those of us from the early 90’s who never got their fix. Things like the inclusion of puzzles that are totally action-based, or are nothing more than sadistic mazes, are incredibly grating, same as they were in the first one. The aggravation these incite could have been avoided: for instance, Chuck’s Challenge 3D included a rewind feature that made playing with game logic a breeze, but no such feature is on offer here. Again, I can understand keeping the original game’s integrity intact, but I also would just like to enjoy this with some new, optional features to get past the parts that didn’t age as well. It does let you skip levels at will, but sometimes I’d rather just retry from a certain part than punk out on the entire thing. Oh well, it is what it is, and what it is is a game for a niche audience of Chip’s Challenge fans and retro puzzle gamers. The fact that it is now purchasable at all is a serious accomplishment, and I’m seriously happy to see it. I’m not so happy about the barebones nature of it, being a 2015 release and all, but I can also excuse it in a special case like this. I’m also not happy about the level editor being an extra piece of DLC, ugh, I could have done without THAT bit of modern gaming business practice. But if you get it alongside the original game on Steam, you get everything for five bucks at the moment, so it’s not a big deal. If you’ve been curious about the sequel, or have never even tried the original, it’s worth giving Chip’s Challenge 2 a look. But just go into it expecting a game from over twenty years ago, and the trappings, or lack thereof, that come with such a thing.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 1, 2017

  Flashback to my 90's childhood. I could play this for hours!
• gamedeal user

  Apr 13, 2018

  this is a good game, Bill
• gamedeal user

  May 20, 2018

  An improvement over CC1 in terms of level design. Puzzle mechanics is thoroughly but gradually explained in 7 spread out tutorial levels. Levels are more thematically clustered together with common puzzle themes (unlike the mumbo-jumbo that is CC1). And overall design and game progress flow goes rather well, despite the same old UI shortcomings and ultra restricted view area of just 9x9 blocks (remnants of early 90's development). Most levels are carefully designed with that in mind so you don't get screwed over after solving most of it. In addition of a few new objects, enemies and level props it's basically CC1. Unfortunately, the level quality progressively degrades to the worst examples seen in CC1. This becomes prevalent in the last third of the game. Huge level monstrosities that take forever to complete because they are full of out-of-sight death traps, dead ends, countless millisecond precision near-death movement mechanics... and so on and so on. For most of the last 50 levels, out of 200 total, I was forced to simply load it in the editor just so I could export the whole thing in BMP in futile effort not to get raped by ol' Chuckster. Cannot even begin to describe the annoyance that process caused. Too bad as a lot of the levels are work of art, especially the smallest ones. To paraphrase on old chess proverb: one bad level nullifies 40 good ones. Except the ratio here is closer to 1 in 4. It's not all bad though, there are still 150 worthy levels and the bad ones can be skipped with a push of a button. There is also a workshop support if that is your thing. In the end, before the Caesar-like thumb grade, I asked myself one simple question: am I glad I played this or would rather like having never played it at all? Nope, play only if you can afford fist sized holes in your display. Now for a short list of improvements that would turn this turd into a masterpiece: [*] View area limited only by display resolution [*] Temporary mid-level checkpoints for when you die (progress saved) [*] Animations speed slowed down at least 50% (!) [*] Pause does not conceal view area [*] Pannable view area while paused [*] Turbo-button (configurable speed) [*] Bindable "Select Level" button (!!) [*] In-game F1 help-screen where all items and mechanics are briefly explained All this and more SubTerra from Crystal Shard has and does infinitively better. You should be playing that one instead.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 16, 2019

  [h1] DISCLAIMER: This is a first impressions review, and NOT a full review [/h1] [b] THE SEQUEL THAT NEVER CAME OUT IS BACK! [/b] Chip's Challenge 2 is a game developed and published by Niffler Ltd. The game has some really basic graphics but for the time the game came out, it's definitely aged well! The game does suffer with some repetitiveness at certain areas of the game but a fun game nontheless Chip's Challenge 2 overall, however, is a fun game to play in short bursts and a great action adventure game to play with something interesting game concepts which I thoroughly enjoyed playing [h1] RECOMMENDED :) [/h1] [b] REVIEW SOURCES: [/b] [list] [*] None
• gamedeal user

  Feb 22, 2019

  Oh boy... this was a SEVERE letdown. I've owned this game for a long time. 2nd game I ever bought on Steam. I returned to it again recently, and it still sucked. This is one of those games you want to love, but just can't. Level design is not nearly as interesting a CC1, and a lot of the late game levels are an extreme difficulty spike that replicate the worst parts of the first game. Not to mention in my game there's 3 of the same level. 197, 198, and 199 are all "Gears", a level I don't even think is in the main game. I am using the proper level pack, and have no idea what is wrong. Not to mention around 90% of the levels are all marked wrong or have that same issue. The entire game seems like an insult to the legacy of CC1 from my experiences. Do yourself a favor and buy CC1 instead. It does more right than this one does.