I first played this game way back in 1993; I saw it by chance in my local Electronics Boutique (now GAME) store and as I has owed the previous game decided to purchase it, this game shipped with two copies (one for the Amiga A500/600 ECS chipset and one for the A1200 AGA chipset)
Well, after the end of The Chaos Engine the designer Baron Fortisque escaped. In Chaos Engine 2 he requires your help to free him form the machine forever by collecting the various components needed to reconstruct the Chaos Engine.
At first glance the graphics are very bright; I suspect that the designers were trying to ensure the game looked the same over the entire Amiga platform. Unfortunately it proved that the Amiga was the ONLY platform to receive the sequel. Many blame the graphics, others the game-play.
I think that the graphics are great, it’s nice to have a different feel to the game, and as it took place over several different themes, it was necessary for the graphics to reflect this.
This can be played as 1 Player & CPU or 2 Player game, you are against each other to gain both the key to the door and the most amount of points, after several stages (usually three) a Boss will appear which you both have to defeat
to progress, upgrades are purchased at the end of each world.
The game interface has changed slightly too, instead of your character status at the bottom its on the left hand side with the health bar next to their picture, the current ammo clip as well as spares available. Underneath your current gun ammunition is your Special Weapon which can be altered.
The music is as spooky as ever, this is what made the original Chaos Engine game, not the game itself but the music, haunting and fun to listen to.
The controls are very simple, you use the joystick to move, fire buttons to fire your weapon and the spacebar to switch Special Weapons (to activate these you hold the fire button down for three seconds until you hear "Special Activated".
In my opinion this game is highly under-rated. Look past the "odd" graphics and you find a gem of a game, although it's probably not as good as The Chaos Engine, it is definitely a worthy sequel. I score this game 8/10 for graphics, 10/10 for controls and 10/10 for sound.
