A remake of Chip's Challenge
Before Chip can join the Bit Busters computer club and hang out with the girl of his dreams, Melinda the Mental Marvel, he must solve all 144 challenging puzzles. Your bird's-eye view can help Chip rush through the puzzles and mazes before he's deleted by monsters, traps and the passage of time.
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no doubt I was autistic over this on a daycare's computer 20 years ago
I used to play this when I was young. So happy to find this game again to prove that I'm not that any smarter 20 years after.
If you would prefer to hear me read this review, or simply want to support me further, go check out the video version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnbuD0i9Zz8&list=PLs1yo664lx8w1gMcP1wnpUyMfaNJ9UjZ3&index=1
Chips Challenge may just seem like a simple, run of the mill tile based puzzler from yester year but skipping over this gem would be doing yourself a disservice. The game was developed by a company known as Epyx, a San Francisco based publisher known for games such as Rouge, Ballblazer, and California Games. In 1987, what is now known as the Atari Lynx is born. Forged by the hands of past Amiga designers, it was seen as mighty impressive by those that got a chance to see the thing. Epyx lacked the financial backing to bring the console to fruition on their own however. Many companies were pitched to including Nintendo, but Atari was the one who ultimately ended up agreeing to a deal. Epyx developed many of the Lynx's killer apps, one of them being Chips Challenge.
After Epyx's bank account was looking anything but epic, they licensed out the game to be ported to a plethora of home computers. The Windows version being the most well known, do to its inclusion in 1992's Microsoft Entertainment Pack. And after 15 years of legal squabbling, both Chips Challenge and the never before released sequel Chips Challenge 2, finally became available for purchase on Steam as of May 28th, 2015.
Taking on the role of Chip; a nerdy high schooler, your tasked with solving 149 puzzles in order to impress a girl named Malinda and gain access to an allusive club known as the bit busters. So is he playing a computer game or is he actually navigating around a physical space? I guess he's playing a computer game but it's all not too clear. The fact that Malinda's playable in the second game makes everything all the more confusing. Did she and the bit busters design these games? Maybe every level has a real world representation and the game's obstacles are simply metaphorical for how Chip views the actual struggles he is facing. Am I thinking too far into this? No of course not!
Navigating across the grid based stages, your goal is to simply find a way through the spinning blue exit. Most levels require you to pass through sockets however, which only allow Chip passage once he has attained the level's designated amount of microchips. Theirs also plenty of obstacles you'll come across such as water, fire, ants, balls, blobs, rockets, and even giant sentient killer teeth. Don't worry though, these yings have their yangs. There's also something in the level to aid you on your journey. Whether that's dirt blocks, which create walkable tiles when coming into contact with water. Elemental shoes of many varieties, that allow you to walk on ice, fire, direction titles and so on. Or a plethora of colorful keys that will allow you passage through the corresponding doors. The simple Americana esc graphics give the game a charming aura along with the frivolous sound effects. The music is also something to note. It may be simple but when it's the only track in the entire game, it needs to be. Doing its job well, it allows for concentration to develop while also not becoming grating. Overall there's no reason not to give chips challenge a try, especially because its free.
Chips Challenge may just seem like a simple, run of the mill tile based puzzler from yester year but skipping over this gem would be doing yourself a disservice. The game was developed by a company known as Epyx, a San Francisco based publisher known for games such as Rouge, Ballblazer, and California Games. In 1987, what is now known as the Atari Lynx is born. Forged by the hands of past Amiga designers, it was seen as mighty impressive by those that got a chance to see the thing. Epyx lacked the financial backing to bring the console to fruition on their own however. Many companies were pitched to including Nintendo, but Atari was the one who ultimately ended up agreeing to a deal. Epyx developed many of the Lynx's killer apps, one of them being Chips Challenge.
After Epyx's bank account was looking anything but epic, they licensed out the game to be ported to a plethora of home computers. The Windows version being the most well known, do to its inclusion in 1992's Microsoft Entertainment Pack. And after 15 years of legal squabbling, both Chips Challenge and the never before released sequel Chips Challenge 2, finally became available for purchase on Steam as of May 28th, 2015.
Taking on the role of Chip; a nerdy high schooler, your tasked with solving 149 puzzles in order to impress a girl named Malinda and gain access to an allusive club known as the bit busters. So is he playing a computer game or is he actually navigating around a physical space? I guess he's playing a computer game but it's all not too clear. The fact that Malinda's playable in the second game makes everything all the more confusing. Did she and the bit busters design these games? Maybe every level has a real world representation and the game's obstacles are simply metaphorical for how Chip views the actual struggles he is facing. Am I thinking too far into this? No of course not!
Navigating across the grid based stages, your goal is to simply find a way through the spinning blue exit. Most levels require you to pass through sockets however, which only allow Chip passage once he has attained the level's designated amount of microchips. Theirs also plenty of obstacles you'll come across such as water, fire, ants, balls, blobs, rockets, and even giant sentient killer teeth. Don't worry though, these yings have their yangs. There's also something in the level to aid you on your journey. Whether that's dirt blocks, which create walkable tiles when coming into contact with water. Elemental shoes of many varieties, that allow you to walk on ice, fire, direction titles and so on. Or a plethora of colorful keys that will allow you passage through the corresponding doors. The simple Americana esc graphics give the game a charming aura along with the frivolous sound effects. The music is also something to note. It may be simple but when it's the only track in the entire game, it needs to be. Doing its job well, it allows for concentration to develop while also not becoming grating. Overall there's no reason not to give chips challenge a try, especially because its free.
chip challenge 1 kicks ass
Now listen, I love Chip's Challenge to death. But not this version.
This version unfortunately has some pretty bad mechanics. It's similar to the original Lynx version, but even then it changed some things to make some levels downright awful. It also has the same levels as the original game, which isn't always a good thing. Really suffers from the 80s level design. There are some good levels, but there are a lot of bad ones too. Plus, you can't play community created levels for it. So really, there's no point in playing this version. Play the old Windows version, where you can play some fan levels that are much better than a lot of the original levels.
This version unfortunately has some pretty bad mechanics. It's similar to the original Lynx version, but even then it changed some things to make some levels downright awful. It also has the same levels as the original game, which isn't always a good thing. Really suffers from the 80s level design. There are some good levels, but there are a lot of bad ones too. Plus, you can't play community created levels for it. So really, there's no point in playing this version. Play the old Windows version, where you can play some fan levels that are much better than a lot of the original levels.