For many of us IT pros, laughter is a way of survival (indeed, if we weren’t laughing, we’d probably be crying).  A while back, I wrote a post about Microsoft Server Quest.  The original version of the game was written in Flash and was fun (at least for marketing efforts).  I just got word from Microsoft that there’s a sequel, called Microsoft Server Quest Episode II that’s now available online.  Here’s the official blurb:

The company’s  resident IT professional extraordinaire has just returned from a much-deserved vacation but, in a temporary spell of relaxed judgment, has jeopardized their reputation with a poorly placed email and forwarded personal holiday snaps to the entire staff. Now they have to excavate through the email chain to find the offending photos – all while keeping the office online.

In Server Quest II, the sequel to last year’s pixellated adventure, players must hone their technical prowess in order to prove once and for all why the tech pros take the cake.  From software support to sidequests, players will get behind the curtain and live the life of a server genius fighting for respect.”

The game includes several simple mini-adventures that can easily be played online.  The pixilated art style will do little to show off features of Silverlight (such as the powerful zoom capabilities), but players will be rewarded with eight-bit analog sounds and an easy to play game.  And the sense of nostalgia is unbeatable (especially for those of us old enough to remember such vintage machines at the Commodore 64).