Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Yay this sucks ;P j/k
Well, Fs strikes again with some nifty CTF levels. One, Termite Haven, which was entered in BlurredD’s contest. Also, one strangely funny thing is the music an-path (filename) was the same music I wasted time downloading from ModPlug just a few hours ago, and here it appears. Strange….Anywyas, back to the review:

Termite Haven:
The name is very creative, when I first heard it on the forums in BlurredD’s CTF contest winners post i thought this would use some new custom tileset or something. But it actually uses the beach set….The music fits the name and level, great choice. The eyecandy, although people may complain that it confuses the foreground a bit, is awesome. Never have I seen a level using the beach set be similar to this. Great work FS, the eyecandy amazed me in ways I cannot explain. It looked exactly like a nest for termites! All that wood and stuff, the eyecandy is certainly at/near its best! The tileset use is also great, maybe one or two things I thought could of been improved more, but nevertheless it is definately above average showing what you can do w/the beach set. Ammo placement was ok, not great or anything, but it was fine for the level. Though i may reccomend you to ‘mix’ the ammo a bit, because u usually have toaster ammo all together in a pattern, or RF ammo in a pattern all together, but never seeker AND RF in a pattern together, get what I mean. Although this wont drastically change your mark, it will add a bit more creativity to the ammo placement in the level. Gameplay was ok, in the previous version I remember there being a warp which annoyed me a bit, but i cant seem to find it and I think its been switched with a combination of a oneway or a spring. The gameplay was a little bumpy in some places, but it was fine. There was also another warp, the one near the RF, which i didnt like. Some people may not know that the warp is there, and may accidentally hit it before getting the RF powerup they wanted. And, the warp leads to a sector near the seeker powerup (very near), so the player can gain 2 powerups almost at once (if he/she is equipped with an electroblaster at the time). Other than that, i dont have much more to mention about gameplay. Layout was fine, no comment.
Pros(+): Great eyecandy, practically everything above average
Cons(-): Some things annoyed me a bit, eyecandy may confuse, ammo could be better.
Rating for level: I’d rate this level an 8.2, since the eyecadny is near 10, ammo is around 7, gameplay is too and music is good, the level is fun to play and great to look at.

Jungle’s Edge:
The name is also creative, the music is a bit strange, but its ok. I have seen this level hosted by the name of something like Demented Jungle or something. Anyways, the backround really impressed me, I havent seen a backround like it I think. Its almost as good as Termite Haven, it might even be better. All im sure is that the eyecandy in this level definately deserves top marks. Great foreground, amazing backround etc. Tileset use is once again great, I havent a problem with it, except for those strange and partially ugly leaves floating in midair for no reason. Those big ones. The placement of stuff is ok, carrot placed well. Ammo has the same problem as the previous level, needs a bit more creativity. Gameplay is ok, there isnt much to be said about it. some springs needed to be changed into ones that bounce you a bit higher, and i found out that if youre travelling under the log under your own base holding the opposite flag, u score a point. This makes it hard to defend the base, since players will have to cover both inside the log and around the base. Im sure this wasnt done intentionally, but it could have. Layout is ok, some places roomier than others, but there isnt any one tiled passages or stuff(if there was, it didnt bother me) and everything is fine with layout.
Pros(+): Creativity in eyecandy, great backround, layout good, has the material to be a great level.
Cons(-): Ammo lacks more ‘mixing’, some minor problems.
rating for level: probably 8, since the level has great eyecandy and tile use, above average gameplay and layout and average ammo placement. I liked it a bit less than the previous one though, so an 8.

FINAL RATING FOR UPLOADED FILE: 8.2, since these are some of the best levels around and they should be downloaded by people. Great work FS, these are some nifty levels.
Final comments: These levels completely rock, good music, fun to play. They might even make itin Anniversary Bash 5 CTF, who knows. Good job, these levels are a work of art! Definately deserves a strong download reccomendation!

NOTE BEFORE REVIEWING: I would like to note that I like the new rules added to the top of the reviewing thingy. However, I feel the sudden urge to add both “yay this sucks” and “whee argh” into every review.

yay this sucks.
whee argh.

Now that I have that out of my system, the reviews of these two fantastic levels by FireSworD:

“TERMITE HAVEN”
TILESET/TILESET USE: The first level in this pack, FireSworD’s entry to BlurredD’s contest, uses the Beach tileset in very creative ways. Instead of the usual beach look, FireSworD instead used mainly only the wooden tiles. While one might think that this would turn out looking really bland, it does not. The level’s name describes the level very well. It contains a lot of wood that a termite might want to eat, which I assume is the inspiration for the naming. For a level only using a very select collection of tiles from a tileset, it looks quite good. The level’s background sort of makes the level perspective strange. The background of the level in proportion to the level makes it seem as if the area you are in is either quite big or you are quite small. If this was done in an attempt to make you feel as if you had the perspective of the termite, it was very well accomplished. A few of the “regular” Beach tiles such as the spikey creatures were used a few times, but it mostly is just the wooden planks. There were a few areas where the eyecandy felt kind of strange to me, but they were not significant. One thing I notice while playing is that there are a few areas where there is no boardwalk (no pun intended) above the tiles (hard to explain – go to POS 91,9). It looks strange touching the “inner” tile bug this is not a huge deal. A warning to players with older and slower computers: this level does not play nice with low detail, nor most other effects that one would turn off to conserve speed. 8-bit is fine, though. This level also uses ambient lighting, though I have found turning it off does not make the player miss all that much. Still, for best experience, I recommend low detail off, ambient lighting on, and textured backgrounds on. Good use of layers were made throughout this level and I could not spot any noticable tile bugs.
Pros: Really creatively done tileset usage. This level has fantastic eyecandy all around.
Cons: The “exposed” part is a bit weird, but that is not much of a big deal at all.
Rating: 8.7

WEAPON/ITEM PLACEMENT: Item placement was unsurprisingly well done. While there were a few areas where I found more ammo than others, item placement was well-balanced and overall very well done. Basic ammo was not given an inferior treatment and was placed both strategically and in areas players are likely to pass through. There are a few secrets in this level which contain ammo, but you will have to find those for yourself – it is part of the fun playing this. While the carrot is out in the open, it was well-placed. Weapon and item placement was overall quite impressive.
Pros: Everything was placed quite well.
Cons: Very minute amounts of ammunition clumping.
Rating: 8.5

ORIGINALITY: This is truly where this level shines. The level is not so original that it contains “never done before because it sucks” things but contains a lot of really great ideas. The level reminds me in some ways of Stripe’s better levels with the secrets and creative tileset use. Creativity in tileset use, as opposed to that in gameplay, is really this level’s forte. I am not aware of any instance where the Beach tileset has been used like this in the past, and would be surprised if there was any instance where it was used in that way, let alone used this well. The layering features in JCS were heavily used and, of course, used quite well. This level strikes the perfect balance – a lot of originality, but nothing that has never been done before just because no one likes it.
Pros: Extremely original tileset use.
Cons: Gameplay isn’t that original.
Rating: 8.7

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN:
Pros: Gameplay in this level was pretty good, though it did not live up to the same standards as its tileset use originality did. The level features a layout mixing a fairly standard placement of bases, etcetera, with a few secrets that keep the level new and interesting and provide alternative routes to those who are creative in play. While at first this level’s interesting approach may be overwhelming, after you get the hang of this level, playing in it is very enjoyable. Because of the used tileset, there are a few masking things that get annoying, but in general getting stuck was not a major problem (though it is pretty easy to do so if you really try.) Flow was good, though there were a few areas in which springs did not always line up as they should and did not produce the desired effect. Still, both layout and flow were well-done.
Pros: Good gameplay, layout.
Cons: A few masking issues.
Rating: 8.2

REPLAY VALUE: This level actually improves with play. At first glance, this level was a bit confusing, but after I got the hang of it, it was very fun to play. There are many routes that one can take to get from base to base so gameplay does not get stale. Also, the creative tileset use adds a lot to the replay value of the level as a whole. The use of the tileset, which I have never seen before, adds an interseting aspect to gameplay. No matter how many times I play the level, the look of it still does not get old. This is an excellent level to play many times, though any level can get boring after a while. This certainally is a fun, enjoyable level which can be played over and over without becoming old.
Pros: Not applicable.
Cons: Not applicable.
Rating: 8.5

OVERALL: As always, FireSworD has created a great level that is original but not in such a way that no one wants to play it. The creative use of the Beach tileset is something that I have never seen before, but I must say that I like it a lot. Tileset use and originality are not the only thing this level has going for it. The layout of it, gameplay, flow, and everything like that was also very, very nice. This is a fun level that will definitely not get old any time soon. Very good job.
Pros: Original and well-done.
Cons: There are no really overall complaints. That is, I have nothing that is so important it should be listed as an overall con. Look at the individual sections for an idea of the really small problems I encountered, none of which are very significant at all.
Rating: 8.7

I will review the other level shortly. My temporary rating DOES include the other level, which I have played but just need to write the review for.

A Two Level CTF Pack review:

Jungle’s Edge

GAMEPLAY: Balanced. Nice flow. But 3rd layer tree area in middle not too favored.
EYE CANDY: Good and a little innovative.
CARROT PLACEMENT: Full energy carrot at top. Good enough.
AMMO PLACEMENT: Alright.
HOST THIS OFTEN? Somewhat often.

Termite Haven

GAMEPLAY: Pretty much balanced. Alright flow and layout. Got stuck once.
EYE CANDY: Above average. Maybe confusing, but not really.
CARROT PLACEMENT: No complaints.
AMMO PLACEMENT: Good enough for me.
HOST THIS OFTEN? Probably.

Overall review: I liked these two levels for the most part. The only thing is, Jungle’s Edge has that tree area in the center of the level that I didn’t like mainly because of all of the 3rd layer in it. And in Termite Haven, I liked it more when you were able to get the carrot easily from the right side (unless if there’s another route I haven’t noticed). This pack is almost an 8.5 except for the few flaws I saw. So 8.2 will be my rating.

BTW, if I were you, I would have moved the bases in Termite Haven back to where they were before I asked you to fix their positions for the contest. It seemed to work out better before.

Review time.
‘Jungle’s Edge’
First impressions: A level created by FS of OLC and DM, just like the other one in this 2-level pack.
Gameplay: This is an almost symmetrical level, with a nice spring placement. The level is quite big, and there is some one way at some places too(actually in alot of places). There is no complete border around the level, but it’s mostly closed, but I never saw a flag bug in this level. Both layout and flow are nice, the level is not too hard to learn and it’s easy to get around. The level is quite open, though, which isn’t a bad thing here.
Conclusion gameplay: Nice gameplay here. Good layout, flow, spring placement, easy to learn, easy to get around, thus everything.
Eye candy/Tileset use: This level has very nice eye candy. There is alot of eye candy in layer 3, which makes the eye candy here r0x. The background is very original, and I like it a lot. The tileset is used very good, and I love that.
Conclusion eye candy/tileset use: Very nice tileset use and eye candy. Alot of eye candy in layer 3.
Placement: The level’s ammo placement is very good. PU placement is as good as it needs to be. There is a bouncy PU at the left side. The RF PU is at the right side. The Seeker PU placed in the middle. The gun9 PU more close to the right base, but gun9 PU is not too useful here, so it doesn’t really matter. There is a full energy, of course placed in the middle, and you can shoot it down in this level, makes it easy to camp. There might be too little ammo in some places, but other places make it better.
Conclusion placement: Very nice ammo placement and PU placement. Carrot placement is as good as it needs to be.
Originality: This level is very original, first the music. Second, the wasy the tileset is used. Third: the background. Nothing else, but it are enough reasons to show the level is original.
Conclusion originality: An original level.
Fun Factor: The level is quite open, and there are alot of ways to the bases, I like that. The way to the base is a straight way, but with jumping.
Conclusion fun factor: A quite fun level.
‘Termite Haven’
First impressions: read what I said for Jungle’s Edge.
Gameplay: The gameplay here is excellent. The level is not symmetrical, has a nice spring placement and uses tubes to make it better. There is one place in the level that leads you completely from down to up for the most part. You take a spring, one way, spring, one way, spring, one way, spring, one way(you can go right if you are at the left side), spring, one way, spring, one way. You don’t have to do anything in that place, only go right. This is very nice. There is use of triggers too, and it works good. The layout and flow are again, good.
Conclusion gameplay: Very nice flow, layout, spring placement, trigger use.
Eye candy/Tileset use: This level’s eye candy is very nice. It uses all layers, which is a very good thing. There is alot of stuff in layer 3, with something else in layers 5 and 2. Layer 1 has something too. Layer 6 and 7 have a very original background, and I like that. The tileset is used very nice, too.
Conclusion eye candy/Tileset use: Very nice layer use and tileset use.
Placement: This level has not too many ammo, but it’s nice placed. Some ammo is close to the ground, other ammo is placed in the air, so you get them only by falling or taking a spring. The placement of the full energy is very interesting. It’s placed like it’s more close to the left base, but one way makes it very original. There are 4 PU, Seeker, Bouncy, RF and Gun8. The Seeker PU placed at the top-middle. The bouncy PU placed more at the left-bottom. The RF PU placed at the right-bottom. The gun8 PU is placed closer to the right base.
Conclusion placement: Nice ammo placement, nice PU placement, very interesting carrot placement.
Originality: This level is very original. First: the carrot placement. Second: the layout. Third: the way the tileset is used. Fourth: the music.
Conclusion originality: A very original level.
Fun factor: This level is fun to play. It’s again quite open, and the way to the base might be a straight way, but you fall to the base instead of just running to it.
Conclusion fun factor: A very fun level.
Others: This 2 level were awesome.
Host these: Yes.
Download: Yes.
Final rating: 8.5.
- DarkSonic of XSÐ, CC and XLM was here -
[This review has been edited by da man]

Yay! I got to review first.

Here’s something you should know about these lvls: the eyecandy rocks, but it lacks gameplay, example there is one spring positioned that will keep you stuck in that position. Try to avoid it. Music is good as well, and eyecandy, as I mentioned before, RULES.

—LEVLS—
Termite haven is Beach with the boat cabins as the interior of the house and some background tiles for a picture hanging on the wall. The Hor Red Spring is stuck in a position that can trap you there for a while. Avoid that 24/7. The other one I haven’t played.

—Final Score—
I give u a 7.5 because of the first level, Termite haven, but deducted some of the score due to the spring trap. I may start playing this on my server, if it’s ok with u!

—PS—
The 7.5 goes to BlurredD, who I like to call (BlurredD). I’ll see u round all

—Some more, last minute info—
I have made an edit of this level so you don’t need to worry about the spring trap.

(Personal attack edit. -Trafton)[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

Jungle

Gameplay : 1,8
Very good very good.

Choosen : 2
I dislike the tileset but its used very good here so it wont affect my rating, original and very good music.

Event placement : 1
And this really disapointed me, i guess there where to many power ups in the arena.

eyecandy: 2
This just deserves a 2 good use of the layers nice work. :)

general : 2

8,8 omg i havnt rated this high for age’s. Wel done.

Download ? you’l be sorry if you dont.

host ? yes and a duel or a teamatch in it woudnt be bad either.

term

The disapointing lvl i guess its after you see the jungle one, you expect another very good lvl.

Gameplay: 1,5

Choosen : 1,9
I dislike the tileset again but it wont affect my rating.

event placement : 1

eyecandy : 1,2
And this is what i mean comparing to the jungle lvl.

general : 2

7,6

Main download
Jungle : 8,8
term : 7,6
My rating is based on the jungle then, for the extra lvl you’l get 0,7 points[This review has been edited by BúññyÉlmér]