Chocolatier 2 Review

Enjoying the familiar flavor of your favorite chocolate is always a delightful experience, but game sequels face a greater challenge in that they have to bring new experiences to the table while retaining the charm of their predecessors. We're happy to report that the much-anticipated Chocolatier sequel - Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients - is another sweet experience.

In Chocolatier 2, the Baumeister Confections empire has slowly fallen apart since its success in the late 1800s. The game begins 40 years later, in 1920 during the industrial age, so players have the opportunity to see cities grow as new buildings are added.

The Golden Gate Bridge (completed in 1937) and Empire State Building (completed in 1931) don't appear at the start of the game. As time passes, these and other buildings start popping up, giving players new opportunities to explore. This new feature keeps the visits to the 20 cities - including Buenos Aires, Paris, and Bombay - from turning tedious, as you never know who you'll meet or what new building you'll discover. Ports also have animated scenes to bring them to life.

Another sweet addition is the laboratory where players can invent their own products ranging from sauces and pralines to truffles and exotics. Meet the right people and they'll reveal hidden ports for purchasing rare and secret ingredients. The recipe book contains room for 72 recipes for to obtain, which you'll be able to manufacture in six factories, and sell in four shops across the world.

One of the least favorite features in the original was the arcade portion where players shot a recipe's ingredients into rotating circles. For example, the basic chocolate square calls for cacao and sugar, so to create the chocolate players must shoot one cacao and one sugar into each circle - messing up and putting, for example, two sugars ino the circles would result in a penalty.

Chocolatier 2 improves the ingredient shooting arcade feature by eliminating the rotating circles, which made some players dizzy. Instead, the circles move in different ways on the production line. They could move in a simple straight line or weave in and out. There's no spinning. Depending on the product, the patterns will be more intricate as the recipes get more advanced. Players also now earn bonuses for correctly matching ingredient colors.

After players buy the new chocolate tasting lab, the researcher accepts one sack of every ingredient into the lab for creating new recipes. Players pick up recipe ideas in their travels based on clues from conversations with characters. When enough ingredients become available to make something, players click various ingredients and run a taste test. The researcher will cross out anything that doesn't work, much like in the game Mastermind. Players keep adding other ingredients based on researcher input until discovering a new sweet creation.

Building the empire requires good management and multi-tasking skills. The job calls for watching factories to keep ingredients in stock, managing the bank account by not overspending, selling products for top dollar while buying ingredients for low prices, haggling for better prices (Beware: they could go up!), paying attention to the time of the year as prices for off-season ingredients are sky high, and changing products in the factories to keep the selections fresh or meet customer demands. This sounds complicated, but the tutorial and guidance from characters help players along their sweet adventures.

Free play mode remains the same as in the original game, where players set company goals and move at their own pace. The sequel's music and artwork reflect the original's high quality except where creating your own logo comes in. Since the Baumeisters have a family feud going, players need to create their own company name and logo to hide any possible connections to a Baumeister. Unfortunately, the background and images contain feeble choices in terms of quality, quantity, and colors. Only the font feature complements game's quality.

Not only does Chocolatier 2 live up to the original, but its new features take it to another level that is sure to hook those with a sweet tooth for Pecan Chocolate Squares, Coast Rican Cacao Infusions, Filipino Cacao Milk Chocolate Truffles, and many others. The adventure in both modes last a long time, making the game as valuable as cacao from exotic places. Furthermore, the game contains no calories, so hips can rejoice!

I loved Chocolatier and really like this one as well. Definatly will be picking it up, though the logo making is a big limited, going into advanced helped...a little. Also, when Haggling, the faces of the merchants change, growing sour with every haggle, I don't remember this from the first game, but I could be wrong! Also buying something from the merchant makes them happier again, can you then haggle even lower? I liked the spinning ingredient game in the first one, but I like this one even better, as color matching can net you big rewards and get your chocolate per week count really up there! But beware, I burned though cocoa beans and sugar too quick in the begining and got into trouble hehehe. Have fun, I know I did!

Despite the fact that I loved the first Chocolatier, my first thought was that Chocolatier 2 might be just a rather boring repeat of the first version -- not so!

I absolutely agree with the reviewer that the developers have successfully maintained the charm of the first Chocolatier while at the same time moving the game forward by incorporating a creative scenario and lots of interesting new features.

And the developers also deserve big kudos for bringing such a high quality sequel to the market so quickly.

I had a great time playing it -- definitely worth the price!

I was another one of those Chocolatier fans who was skeptical that a sequel could ever outdo the original. But after only a mere hour of playing, I can see that I was very wrong! Fantastic game, worth every one of its 4 1/2 stars!

LOVED IT!!! A great compliment to the original, but not a copy. I had to buy it right away and have played it through 3 times already.

I don't mind the lack luster graphics in a game like this.

Looking forward to Chocolatier 3, maybe they can make that one have more choices that will lead you down alternate paths? Or select your player from different profiles like in Tradewinds...

This game is so much fun i loved playing it,i loved the haggle face the are so funny . My favorite part is the the factory part with the colors i can make much more chocolate then in the last one and get richer.

I dont seem to get across the part of having 12 cases of roses along with 3 other ingredients, which are to be sent to sara from alex. Help!

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD
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I cannot seem to figure out the remaining exotics:
what I have so far:
lemon ginger swirls
the spicy smooches
saffron coffee pearls
spicy clove, ginger, anise ganache
tea and toasted pecan ivories
varietal dark choc wild berries

I also need one more sauce, am I supposed to invent the last one? missing 2 more pralines, and 3 truffles.

if someone could help thatd be awesome. I cant seem to find the right combos for new recipes.

I have completed every aspect of Chocolatier 2, but I need one more sauce and have gone to EVERY port and special ingredient location at least 20 times each, went into every single building each time, talked to EVERYONE, yet noone offers me the recipe! I am stuck! Any ideas?

You have to figure out the recipies yourself. Just take one of everything "exotic" and see which one you need. Then take one of each cocoa, and see which kind you need. You'll almost always need 1 or 2 sugars, and the game will guide if you need anything else.

No, I have completed all of the exotics. This is a sauce recipe that is part of the default cookbook. I think it's cayenne dark chocolate sauce or something like that.

SPOILERS

If it has a question mark, you need to create those in the lab.
The last truffle is a recipe you need to find. I found it at The Bund in Shanghai.
You need to have all the recipes before you can finish the game because you have to make all the exotics.
To get all the recipes you need, start out with sugar and beans and see where it guides you.Too bad you can only do one at a time. I remember there being other chocolates that needed truffle powder so try that, too.

My current task is to make the ginger sauce, but I have checked every port I have available and can't find ginger. Where can I find the it? Bombay and Syndney are stil locked. The secret ones I opened are Amazon and Sahara. I have even tried the tool tip in the recipe book and it just says that I have 0 sacks in my inventory.

When I try to talk to people to find it, they tell me that to come back when I'm not busy or don't I have a task to complete??? ?:-|

TIA!

My current task is to make the ginger sauce, but I have checked every port I have available and can't find ginger. Where can I find the it? Bombay and Syndney are stil locked. The secret ones I opened are Amazon and Sahara. I have even tried the tool tip in the recipe book and it just says that I have 0 sacks in my inventory.

When I try to talk to people to find it, they tell me that to come back when I'm not busy or don't I have a task to complete??? ?:-|

TIA!

I've gotten every recipe in the book and have over
$100 million, am i done? or is there a final challenge? I haven't had any messages telling me I won or anything, and no one is giving me anymore missions... am i done?

I have all the recipes in the book and have raised over $100 million but i dont think ive had a final mission. am i done? ive been to every port over and over again visiting everybody, but i havent had a final mission. Am i done?

WOOT completed the game in 3 days, its a ton of fun... but now that I am done I dont know what to play.. any recommendations? The chocolatier game was really simple to play and understand.

Enjoy playing everyone!

I am at the very end where I have to go see the father. I have bought all of the factories with all the upgrades to each factory. It still says that I have to complete the recipe book, but I have them all. I have gone to each board member as well. It still won't let me go see the father at the end. What do I need to do?

I am stuck on the final task. I have all of the recipes and have completed 5/12 exotic chocolates to bring to the father. When I get to making the 6th (in my case the Spicy Chocolate Smooches) it will not show up in my inventory. I have double checked that I have enough inventory to complete the 100 cases required. As anyone else had this problem?

*SPOILER*
For those of you looking for the last ginger sauce, I found it in Moscow. Some fellow in one of the buildings in the bottom left area of the screen offers to give you the recipe in exchange for making him some other ginger confection.

I too got to the end, having delivered the exotics and completed the recipe book, and didn't notice any particular special ending. Was a bit disappointed at that. I was hoping for a cut scene or something.

Someone mentioned having to go see the father, I have not been asked to do that. What do I have to do get that mission?

I loved the original and I also like the sequel to this choclate story. As a teacher I think this could be a great educational game. How well for starters since the first game is in the 1890's (Industrial Revolution)and the second game is in the 1920's (heading for WWII)we have history. Also the making of chocolates and fulfilling of orders can be good practice for all math skills and finally the map of the world can be a good geography tool. Sorry kids, you are learning when you play this game, but it's still fun isn't it?

Could someone please tell me where to find the ginger? I have gone every where several times and still can not find it. Bombay and Sydney are still closed. Pleasse!!!! Thank you!!!!

After you have all of the recipes, go see Alexandra in Jakarta and she will give you the final mission.

Thank you CinDD! But when I go see her for some reason, it says that I need to find all the exotics recipes, but I have them all... weird

I loved both Chocolatier games. I could play them over and over. I don't care about the signs or anything. I do agree with everyone on the ending. I didn't realize it was over, unlike the last one where they gave you the trumpets and the time and amount of money you had at the end. Other than that, I loved it and will play it many times over.

** Ingredients List **

San Francisco
sugar, milk, raspberries, almonds

New York
cashew nuts, sugar, milk, mint, pecans

San Jose
cashew nuts, sugar, cacao beans, milk, truffle powder, costa rican cacao beans

Cayenne
cayenne peppers, cacao beans, milk, coffee beans, sugar, truffle powder, cayenne cacao beans

Buenos Aires
sugar, milk, lemons, oranges, almonds

Paris
caramel, milk, congac, bing cherries, hazelnuts, sugar

Casablanca
cashew nuts, sugar, milk, mint, raspberries, almonds

Abidjan
cashew nuts, sugar, cacao beans, coffee beans, almonds, flowers, cote d' ivoirian cacao, (truffle powder)

Amazon
fire ants, amazon plantians

Moscow
sugar

Cairo
mangoes, milk, lemons, hazelnuts, sugar

Bombay
sugar, gingers, milk, oranges, almonds

Mahajanga
sugar, cacao beans, mint, coffee beans, vanilla, mahajanga cacao beans, (truffle powder)

Shanghai
sugar, gingers, cinnamon, pecans, vanilla, milk, macademia nuts, caramel

Manila
cashew nuts, sugar, cacao beans, milk, coffee beans, mangoes, truffle powder, philippines cacao beans

Jakarta
sugar, cacao beans, cinnamon, macadamia nuts, coconut shavings, truffle powder, indonesian cacao beans

The Sahara
currants, anise, saffron

The Himalayas
lavender honey, cloves, black tea

Sydney
sugar, milk, oranges, bing cherries, macadamia nuts, raspberries

Fiji
fijian pumpkins, wild island berries

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here are some helpful hints for you guys:

- keep your chocolate empire expanded through buying all factories & shops (it's part of your mission as well...)
- random cards appear once in a while, you might encounter some ingredients destroyed for particular reasons
- you will be using various transportation to travel around e.g. cruise ship, train, camel riding, hiking or even airplane
- some ingredients are seasonal items so you should maximize your revenue by buying & using them in their seasons
- cacao beans are available at cities situated along the equator only
- keep checking your factory status since the production might be stalled due to ingredient shortage
- you can boost your production amount by matching ingredients in the same color
- you collect chocolate recipes through characters you meet along the journey or try combining ingredients in "Chocolate Tasting
Laboratory"
- shopkeepers of your own chocolate stores are good sources for new recipes and market trends
- once enter particular port, you should visit every building since there might be some assignments / recipes available
- there will be new places (mountain, monument, park, temple, bridge etc.) for you to visit on each port, you will get alert messages about this
- strategically plan your journey so you don't waste time travelling places
- you discover ingredients through buying them, this will reflect your ingredients for your lab test
- truffle powder listed in (xxx) is not initially available at the beginning of the game. i'm not sure when it will be available but i've tallied the ingredients list i have and truffle powder just came up in some cities which are not on my list.
- all in all, San Jose is where you can get both cacao beans and truffle powder at the beginning of the game.
- chocolates with more expensive/rare ingredients sell better than those with simple ingredients. (of course!!)
i think producing chocolate sauces, infusions, truffles, exotics yield better revenue than producing those simple squares. however, you can produce more and more of squares than those complex recipes in 1 week.

hey guys... why can't i open some markets? i have clicked every part of the building but it doesnt highlight and never opens... any help pleasE?

thanks!

Ideas for a third edition:

We could go further back in time and meet Heronymous (sp) Baumeister himself. Or we could remain in the same time frame as Choclatier 2 and have the option of being the bad guy and working for Wolf Fleischer. Or we could go forward to the 1970's and in the building scenes watch the Twin Towers of NYC rise and eventually fall and maybe if we continue to 2012 watch the Freedom Tower rise.

I love this game too, but I'm down to needing one exotic. The laboratory won't let me try to figure out the recipe, so even if one of those someone has posted is the correct one, I can't concoct it. I've been to every port multiple times and am ready to finish this go around and start again -- any ideas would be most appreciated!

As you know I love this game but I'm having trouble with the pralines machine. I don't know whether it's the placement of the cannon, the movement of the trays or just me, but I have a very hard time filling a tray with all the ingredients of the same color. Sometimes I can get one tray, but usually what I wind up doing is just creating a whole bunch of white trays, thus I don't produce many pralines and filling large special orders takes a lot of time. Any ideas?

Just recently bought Chocolatier 2 after getting hooked while playing the demo. I also have, and enjoyed, Chocolatier.

I've made found all the recipes but have not been able to take the next step - taking over Baumeister Confections. I have also not been able to figure out how to win the last award. There is nothing I've found while playing to steer me in the right direction for this - do I need to make a certain sum of money?

Also, in the free play mode, it would be nice if you could continue experimenting with new recipes in the chocolate lab - otherwise why buy the lab in this mode?

I finished the game, but I'm wondering what would have happened if I had taken the recipes that Christoph guy was offering. The guy she doesn't want to marry offers some recipes and to combine efferts at one point. I turned him down. Did anyone take the recipes?

Update. I played the game over, using a new player name and this time, I made it all the way through to the end. When you win - go back to San Francisco after making/delivering the 100 cases of each exotic, the sign over Baumeister Confections changes to your sign and there are fireworks.

I have replayed the game a couple more times since then and I have to say, it has staying power. I'm looking forward to Chocolatier 3!

Okay, I really need help. I have all of the recipes except dark cayanne sauce and I the lab says that I have made all the recipes I can from them and it is basically closed. Where do I get this dark cayenne sauce from? I have been to every port and spoken to everyone. I need help!!!

Okay, I really need help. I have all of the recipes except dark cayanne sauce and I the lab says that I have made all the recipes I can from them and it is basically closed. Where do I get this dark cayenne sauce from? I have been to every port and spoken to everyone. I need help!!!

HI just wondering how do i finish the game.. is there no end. i am a CEO and i wonder does it stop there?

In answer to Danielle, your best bet is to start the game over, using a different player name. Make sure you go to each building in the ports/cities you visit, every time you visit, because you never know when you will get recipes and clues to move you along in the game.

Ina - The game is over after you have delivered all the exotics and returned to San Francisco. Check in with Alex and after that, the sign over Baumeister Confections changes to your sign and fireworks go off. There are no further challenges after that, unless you want to continue selling chocolates and racking up the cash.

I really enjoyed the first game. The second was fun until I had opened all the ports and had to get into making up recipes in the test lab. My problem was that so many of their recipes were just so weird. And so expensive to make!

I wanted to make something with coconut and macadamia nuts, for example, and instead I kept getting superweird licorice and red pepper flavours. Since the flavours didn't interest me, making and marketing them didn't interest me, and the game became tedious.

(I also thought the character storyline was much less interesting than in the first game.)

So I'd give the first game a 4 or 4.5, and this one a 3.

Robin

I am stuck!! We have been playing for a while and are to the part where you have to make the truffle recipe for bing cherries, anise, and indonesian cocoa. I have all those ingredients and the lab says I don't have any ingredients to make a new recipe. All my ports are open except Sydney and I have not gotten to the exotics yet. I have visited every port in every city about 10 times each. Am I missing something?

I'm stuck, any help please? I'm at the point with the sauces; have just opened up the Himalayas and made the secret clove recipe. But now I'm tearing my hair out and dying of boredom because the guy keeps on saying that I should make some "new" recipe in order to advance to Chocolatier, but I have gone to every single port (secrets are Amazon and Himalayas) and collected every item, but the Buenos Aires guy still says, 'Sorry, we can't make anything' blah blah blah. I've heard about a Sahara port? Any way to open that up?

I need help geting the last two ports.

I'm in love with the game and I just purchased it 2 days ago. I finished it today and I wanted to know if the game was over when I take over Baumeister Confections? I really expected it to go on forever (thinking I'm addicted now) or at least opening up of more ports. I'm guessing I'm a bit disappointed but I'm thinking if this is the end I'll go back and try to do things I didn't do like accept those offers from those guys (their names escape me) or something because I didn't expect to be done so quickly.

Thanks for any advice!!

PS...I think I want a Hershey bar!!

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