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 ♥♥♥♥ 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 "♥♥♥♥ 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.

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.

Gather round, children, and let me tell you a tale of the wonderful Silver Age of computer gaming. Back when the biggest memory hog in a Windows machine was Windows itself and any games worth their SoundBlaster salt had to be run under raw DOS, Microsoft had the brilliant idea to gather various tiny games and market them as the first productivity killers along with Solitaire. In between nascent classics like Minesweeper, Freecell and Pipe Dream, already-classic Tetris and dark horses like Skifree, the Windows Entertainment Packs featured a port of a Lynx game: one head-banger of an action puzzler called Chip's Challenge.

Chuck Sommerville started work on Chip's Challenge 2 nearly immediately. Development finished around 1992, and then nothing happened for 23 years, because when a company and a trademark love each other very much, everyone else gets screwed.

What this means is that you have under your eyes a precious uncut gem from the early days of casual gaming. No precious "demographics" here: breakneck action levels follow brain-busting puzzles with no discernible pattern. No Undo key if you misstep off a bridge into the drink, surely you have 15 more minutes to get this level right - unless you want to wimp out and skip the level, but then you won't be able to get a high score! Oh, and make sure to remember what blocks have deadly traps underneath them: perhaps you might even have to TAKE NOTES. (For the younger members of the audience, taking notes is like a wiki only you can access - try it, it's fun!)

Overall, this is a game whose flaws should be manageable by the fans of the New Puzzlers like Sokobond and SpaceChem, and an invaluable experience for anyone interested in a minor but shining piece of history of gaming.

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.

I started playing the Windows version of Chip's Challenge way back when I was five years old. It took a good three years to beat the game, but they were three very enjoyable years. Shortly afterward, around 1997 to 1998, I discovered a small online community dedicated to the game, which was buzzing about a potential sequel. Sadly, by the time its development was finished in 1999, the sequel never saw the light of day due to publishing problems. So that should give you an idea of just how much time fans have been waiting to see this game. In the meantime, the CC community grew and started developing its own official fan-made sequels to the original game in lieu of CC2, and CC developer Chuck Sommerville released a successor to his original called Chuck's Challenge.

I'm happy to say that it's been worth the wait. Chip's Challenge 2 builds upon what made its predecessor great by adding lots of new game elements that fit right into the existing ones and providing players with a variety of new and innovative challenges. Much like the aforementioned fan-produced level packs for CC1, the official levels for this game were also built by fans back in the '90s - some of the first custom levels ever to be produced. Because of the lack of an audience for custom levels (and the lack of levels in general), some of the level design here can feel a bit hit-or-miss, particularly toward the start of the game. But it's certainly more hit than miss, and the variety with design styles and gameplay types is welcome. And yes, for anyone wondering, the game does not include anything quite as long as CC1's infamous "On the Rocks" or "Pain." In fact, a lot of the levels seem designed specifically to avoid CC1's pitfalls (overly homogenous and lengthy challenges), though they can often veer in the opposite direction with ultra-short time limits. Still, it's refreshing to see these smaller challenges mixed in with the epic campaign levels, and the concepts featured here don't wear out their welcome quite as much as those featured in CC1 did there. Some of them even feel like precursors to what would later rock the gaming world, like yellow teleports and their Portal-esque functionality.

A game with this many elements may seem daunting, but they are introduced at a very reasonable pace. Unlike CC1, the tutorials for this game are not all packed together at the beginning but are spread out instead, leaving enough time to re-introduce the familiar stuff while slowly mixing in the unfamiliar. The game also does a decent job of exploring the new elements without going terribly overboard on difficult uses. Some players may be frustrated by the full application of the new elements not being entirely explained off the bat, but exploring the extent of their use in the later stages can be very, very satisfying. By the time you solve level 200, the game's declaration of your "puzzle master" status will feel quite well-earned.

If you purchase the bundle for this game - and there's really no reason not to - you'll get the original CC1 and the editor for this game, with which you can create your own devious and fun challenges. Perhaps one of the most welcome elements are the bonus flags, which allow more power to designers to create levels that can be accessible to all skill levels: go the easy route for completion, get the bonuses if you're a real daredevil. I'm really excited to see what the online community for this game will create.

Perhaps the only other drawback that some players may complain about here is that much of the game's interface has gone relatively unchanged over the years, with only a few minor adjustments to the menus, bug fixes, etc. You can't increase the size of the editor window, at least as the game stands at launch. There is no checkpoint system. It really does feel like a game from the late '90s, but don't be fooled by the simple interface and graphics: if you're a puzzle fan, the challenges are still loads of fun today and will keep you coming back for more.

(8 out of 10)