Rick Dangerous 2 is the sequel to 1989’s Rick Dangerous. It was developed by Core Design (with programming by Simon Phipps, graphics by Terry Lloyd, level design by Robert Churchill and sound/music by David Pridmore), and published by Micro Style (a Microprose sub-label) in 1990.

The gameplay is very similar to the first game (this being a platform game with shooting and bomb-dropping), and once again a good amount of very sneaky traps have been liberally sprinkled throughout the levels.

The storyline in Rick Dangerous 2 sees you trying to thwart an alien invasion of Earth. Rick starts off in Hyde park, in London, where he eventually manages to steal an alien spaceship and flies to the planet Barf. Unfortunately the spaceship runs out of fuel before reaching its intended destination and crashes in the desolate ice kingdom of Freezia. From there Rick must make his way through the Forests of Vegetablia and into the Atomic Mud Mines to stop the alien invasion. So instead of an Indiana Jones parody, this time we get a Flash Gordon parody (if you doubt that, the intro sequence begins with “Back in a flash! And as dangerous as ever…” which is an obvious nod to its Flash Gordon roots).

Rick‘s revolver has been replaced with a laser gun in this game, and the dynamite has been replaced with futuristic detonators. Other new elements include: climbing up pipes; pressing buttons to switch guns and elevators on and off; anti-jump platforms (that suppress Rick‘s ability to jump in certain places); slippery platforms; sticky platforms (that slow you down), and even floating vehicles that you can commandeer and fly (which look very much like the birdmen’s floating bikes from the 1980 Flash Gordon movie).

The first four levels in Rick Dangerous 2 can be played in any order, with the fifth and final level only being unlocked when the rest have been completed. That said, the chances of you ever getting to that fifth and final level are pretty slim – unless you cheat – because the game is so frustratingly difficult.

Rick Dangerous 2 definitely looks better than the first game, and does have more variety, but it is held back by its “f**k around and find out” approach to dealing with traps. There are no warnings for any of the hidden traps, so you’re once again forced to die, re-play, and hopefully remember where they are next time. Which is not my idea of fun.

More: Rick Dangerous 2 on Wikipedia