I have added the LP of Chip's Challenge to the OP, as that is another one that I have completed
Chip's Challenge is a puzzle game I remember playing growing up. I'm sure I knew about the game from how in early Windows OSes Microsoft shipped the game with it as part of their "entertainment packs." I don't think I would had known about the game otherwise. It was released in 1989, so a few years before Lemmings.
As you might had guessed, I didn't complete the game as a kid, as I ended up playing several levels before I gave up/lost interest. I think it was level 31 - Knots where I stopped. At least in my memory, I don't think I ever completed anything beyond that at the time. Or if I did, then I'm nearly certain it was that I didn't play much further after that level. This particular level requires you to collect close to 120 chips but in just 29 seconds. I remember being very confused when I got the message that I ran out of time, and then when I restarted the level and saw the very strict time limit, that made me gulped. Certainly a level like this was one I couldn't comprehend as a kid. So, I didn't come back to the game for years. As it would turn out and I later found out, the game is quite long (149 levels), some of which are also very difficult on top of being really long themselves.
Sometime in high school, either during my sophomore or junior year, I remembered this game. Now that my house has had Wifi for around a year, I searched for the game and downloaded it. It was a long journey, but after nearly a month (I think?) I eventually completed all of the game save for one level, Block Buster II. All other levels I completed, but after I found out there's an easy way to do the upper section of the level without all the dodging madness, I finished this one too.
The game was originally made for the Atari Lynx, and the game was later ported to MS, which is what you see in the LP. I must say, the game still looks great on it even to this day. Unfortunately, the porting came with some negative side effects. I think due to a lot of rushing and hence not enough testing, some bugs carried over. Some of these allow you to complete a level much faster than you can on Lynx. These so-called "busted" levels also make some of them far easier than intended on MS. I completed some of these by taking advantage of the busts, but others I have forgotten that they're busted. In any case, if you want you could solve those levels as they should be played as if you were doing it under Lynx, but it's up to you.
Some time later, the creator, Chuck Somerville, made a sequel to the game, Chip's Challenge 2. It was ready for release, until he found out that an agreement couldn't be negotiated with the other party, who bought the rights to the game and required that he pay an undisclosed huge amount of money. As a result, the game was in limbo for many years, but it finally got released on Steam in 2015. When I heard the news about it, I bought the bundle that included both CC and the editor. Even though I was working at the time, I played and completed both games on Steam. The Steam version is pretty much improved in nearly all aspects, such as the smooth movements and sounds. Not to mention the far better graphics. I was especially excited for CC2, as that meant new levels to play and the game could finally be seen in all its glory. It's definitely tougher than the original CC, but it's also longer, with 200 levels compared to 149. I will leave a more detailed post about CC2 when I get around to LPing the game.
Until CC2 was released, CC fans (there's an online community for that too, and I know a few members here are also a part of it) decided to put together a community pack called Chip's Challenge Level Pack 2. This in a way served as a replacement for CC2 in the meantime until the official game could finally be released. I have completed this, but it's much harder than CC, particularly since the pack uses what is known in the community as "invalid tiles." IMO this is very akin to hidden info in Lemmings, though for CC it's far worse since you don't have the convenience tools like NL does, such as CPM. In other words, anything hidden behind/beneath other stuff you have absolutely no idea as to any of their locations or what they are until you actually try it or if you look in a level editor for the game. Thus, at least to this Lemmings community, a lot of levels in CCLP2 would be considered "unfair" and not so much fun, as countless minutes, even hours, could potentially be wasted in solving them that wouldn't be the case if the stuff wasn't hidden from the player's sight. As a result of this, CCLP2 likely wouldn't even make for a great LP, so I don't think I have plans to. However, I might upload video solutions of them, as I believe I used an emulator called Tile's World to play and solve them. It's pretty much akin to loading up replays for levels in NL in that when you complete a level, a replay of your solution gets solved.
The CCC has produced several more level packs for the game, and if I'm not mistaken it is currently up to CCLP5. I have only completed CCLP2 and most of CCLP3. I'm only missing the last 6 or 7 levels due to being stuck on a level close to the very end. Hence, I have not played CCLP4 and CCLP5. There's also a CCLP1 (not to be confused with CC) which kind of serves as a predecessor to CC, though it's more a prequel to CCLP2 despite being released years after the latter and is supposed to be quite easy. I've played to about close to half of CCLP1, but again I haven't completed this one either.
So why did I LP the Microsoft port of CC, you asked? For one thing, I grew up playing the Microsoft version. Definitely for the nostalgia, even if it isn't as spectacular as, say, the Steam version. Also, I apologize for not playing the game with the music on. Truth be told, when I first played the game back in elementary, I played it without the music. So, in keeping with that, I decided to do the same. Besides, I find the music loud and a bit obnoxious. The Steam version should be better, with the better sounding tunes, which does include Joplin. The same ones should play for CC2, IIRC. Even then, I think most of us would agree the game on MS still looks pretty good for this day and age.
If you like Lemmings, then you'll likely love Chip's Challenge, as the two games share plenty of similarities with one another. They're both puzzle type games, and some themes are recurring in CC, such as Sokoban (block pushing) type puzzles, others are more action based, where you need to dodge the enemies, and some even combine both. Just beware that you don't have the convenience tools that allow you to more easily complete levels, such as a CPM like feature to help you see hidden stuff. At least not until you get to CC2, but for CC there's no such feature. Luckily, there aren't that many levels that have stuff behind blocks in CC, but they are far more common in the custom packs.
It was a long road and journey, but I managed to complete all 149 levels of CC again after having last played it when it came out on Steam back in 2015. It was definitely great for reliving the nostalgia of a wonderful game, even if it's quite difficult and frustrating in many places. I'm definitely happy that I got to know the game when I was growing despite having only completed 1/4 of it at the time and then I happened to remember it when I was in high school. I also remember playing this game at times at a local computer store that used to exist in my hometown, called Comp USA. It was definitely in the early 1990s, as the computer likely wouldn't have the game otherwise.
All rightie, there's a few other games that I would like to get to before I come back to Lemmings content. I should return to the latter in about a week or two. The break is definitely helping a lot. I might do the same as Gigalem in putting up a poll asking what the next two games to LP should be, I might not. I'll have to think about it, though I think for the next one I've already decided what it is and hence there likely won't be too much of a point in doing one.
Can't believe it's March already, and 3 more days until my birthday!
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