Chocolate squares with fiery ants, anyone? (Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients (PC))

Member Name: sottovoce1982

Product:	Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients (PC)
Date:	06/02/08 (419 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Avoided most of the mistakes of the previous version

Disadvantages: Will still be not challenging enough for some

Chocolatier 2- Secret Ingredients (PC game)



I reviewed the first version of this game Chocolatier previously, but I will give you an idea of how this game looks like and what it is based on. In the previous version (Chocolatier) the instructions are given by a girl called Evangeline Baumeister; in this one, they are given by her granddaughter Alexandra. Of course, what applies to the first version also happens here, with regard to how the game is played. You have to buy the ingredients from around the world and certainly haggle either to get a better price or to get the seller awfully angry and make them sell you with higher prices; the choice is yours. Sometimes the sellers are sweet and understanding, and sometimes they're dreadful. In the first version, you are warned that excessive haggling makes sellers give you terrible prices, but in this version I noticed that it depends on the seller really. You also have to collect the recipes, and this can be done by making sure you visit as many places in each port/city as possible. People might give you recipes and ask you for money or for a number of sacks of a certain kind of chocolate and you can either accept the offer or reject it. The choice appears to be yours, but at the end of the day collecting recipes is an important part of the game.



You are given the first factory in San Francisco where you can make chocolates, but the rest of the factories and shops should be bought by you. What makes this version more challenging than the previous one is that the factories are really expensive. It takes a lot of hard work to buy a factory and the problem does not end here. There are different kinds of chocolates (squares, truffles, pralines, sauces, etc...) and each one of these, except the basic squares, requires a special expensive machine that should be bought before being able to make chocolates. The same thing applies to the first version, but in this one the machines are much more expensive. The ingredients themselves can be so pricey if they were bought out of season or even if they were considered as secret ingredients (yes, like the fiery ants).



So, if everything is so expensive, what happens to me if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no money? It's a lousy state to get yourself into, but you needn't worry. Someone would show up out of the blue to offer you a loan or to ask you for some sacks of chocolates in return for the money he/she will give you. Of course, you cannot refuse such an offer; it is a way to get you out of your misery, but some other offers should be refused. If someone asks you to visit one of your factories, for the result will embarrass you. Well, I have to admit that I made this mistake; it does not feel nice to be fooled like this.



Anyway, I said that most of the mistakes of the older version are corrected in this one, and I mentioned the more challenging aspect due to the higher prices; now let me talk about the rest. Making chocolates involves firing the ingredients on certain circles according to the recipe you have, and doing this one should be careful not to waste ingredients and also as quick as possible. One of the defects of Chocolatier I was that sometimes the player is quicker than the machine and they have to wait till the next circle appears to make more chocolates. This problem was solved in this version by introducing certain colours that, if matched, make the full circle become empty and ready right away. Another problem with the old version which was definitely based on a creative idea, like this one, is that it involved collecting recipes without giving the player a chance to be creative themselves. This was solved in Chocolatier II by allowing you to buy a chocolate laboratory in which you can invent your own recipes. For me, this is the best aspect about the game. It's true that you cannot create new recipes all the time, and that the supervisor there always corrects your recipes, but it is fun.



The graphics are as good as the ones in the first version, and since you get to discover more areas in Chocolatier II, you see more places and travel on a camel or using a very small boat. Whenever you go to a new port/place, the music changes in accordance with it (some oriental music in Cairo, something to make you feel you're in a jungle when you go to Amazon, and so on). If you like the idea of making chocolates, I definitely recommend this game. It might get a little monotonous, yet it is challenging enough to keep you busy. You are given the chance to make creative chocolates with chilli pepper, for instance, and even invent your own. I liked that the company that made this game worked on most of the remarks that I had in mind when I played the first one. I wonder if Chocolatier III would be better than this one. Till then, enjoy the second version.

<> Price: $19.99 from Yahoo, and as usual you can try it for 60 minutes before you buy.

Summary: Much better than the previous version.