Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Levels like these are the ones that scare me. Not because they are inherently bad or anything, but because of the way that they are rated. Back in the good ol’ days, when I rated a lot (which has nothing to do with it), most reviewers would not give this a 7.5, not to mention a score of above 8. And, as much as I try to keep up with the times, I just cannot bring myself to adjust my rating to the new rating field. Therefore, this rating may seem a bit lower, but it is not because I have any personal vendetta against this level. It is just simply that I think it is heavily overrated.

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: While it is not quite as hard as any of the reviewers previous to this have made it out to be, I would still say that it is difficult. Unfortunately, this first category is where this level seems to fall apart in every way. The first thing that frustrated me is when I tested what exactly the lava pits did by falling into one. While it worked the second time and nearly every single time after that, the first time I went in, instead of dying, I was stuck in the place that is supposed to kill you using the CTF base method. I am not quite sure why this happened, but it was very annoying. On the subject of the difficulty of this level, I must also say that I think it is more difficult than Enigma does. This is not necessarily a good or bad thing, but in this case the level is, as opposed to doing a good job of applying puzzles and whatnot to make the difficulty enjoyable, forcing upon the player many odd ways to die. There is barely a single tile not covered with an enemy, and the lava pits are a bit too common. There is nothing wrong with a difficult level, but unfortunately in this case, the level is trying too hard to be difficult and the strain shows.

PROS: A challenging level, but not impossible. The use of automatic death is not new, but is not seen often.

CONS: The difficulty comes from fairly annoying limitations. If you fall into a lava pit, you have to basically start over.

RATING: 6.0

TILESET/TILESET USE: The first thing I noticed when the level started was the little scenery that occurs at the beginning. This was actually quite nice, and did look as if the character was blasting through a wall to get into the level. The next thing I noticed was the sign noting the tileset’s maker that disappeared. Unfortunately, the disappearing sign is replaced with blocks that do not look the same as the blocks that are behind the sign. This ends up appearing very cheesy and strangely done. The rest of the level had decent eyecandy, although nothing that went all that much beyond the typical Carrotus look. This is a spinoff of Carrotus that features a few more tiles and a different coloring type. Those with 56K connections will be annoyed by this, as really this level could be accomplished with the normal Carrotus tileset. However, even though it may be similar, just seeing something slightly different for once is sometimes enough to make a level enjoyable. There are not many eyecandy bugs, although there are a few questionable tile connections, and the lava sometimes looks a bit weird. However, the eyecandy in this level shows a decent technical composure and some creativity on top of that.

PROS: Nice to see something other than Carrotus 1/2. Not many tile bugs. Some creativity shown.

CONS: The use of a weird Carrotus spinoff wastes bandwidth in the opinions of some. Tile placement is sometimes questionable.

RATING: 6.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: This is another area in which this level runs into a few problems in the realm of gameplay. Weapon placement is okay, as is item placement in general, although it does lack save points where they would be nice. Enemy placement, though, is what really does damage to this score. Enemies are placed nearly every tile in which there is any space for them. The entire level consists mainly of platforms, giving the player a chance to fall into the afforementioned lava pools, leaving little room for placing baddies. Unfortunately, the level author decided that the only way to make this level harder was to put foes with such quantity. I would rather see puzzles, or at least some creative liscence inputted into making the level harder. A challenging level is good, but the ratio of walkable-to-enemy filled tiles is a bit high for my tastes.

PROS: Challenging.

CONS: Few save points. Too many enemies, and too little space.

RATING: 6.0

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: This is a fairly small single player level, so there is not all that much of a replay value to it. However, it is decent fun. Challenging levels are typically much more fun to play over and over again than levels which are really easy, and this is not an exception. While puzzle levels do tend to suffer in replay since you already know the answers (unless, in very rare cases, they are polymorphic), enemy-filled levels rarely suffer in that way. Still, I would prefer puzzles, and the somewhat unoriginality of this level does subtract from fun factor. However, it also gets a boost in originality from the lava pits. While they do not always work, which can be quite annoying, they are an interesting aspect to gameplay, as weird as it does look to be first warped out from the lava pit and then killed.

PROS: The lava pit is an interesting addition. Challenging, which makes for good replay value.

CONS: Not all that interesting, per se.

RATING: 6.5

OVERALL (not an average): This is an above average level that has a number of flaws which severely detract from play. As previously mentioned, the main problem with this level is that it tries way too hard to be a difficult and challenging play. Part of being a great level is a smooth way of applying difficulty. Cramming the levels with enemies, making it very easy to die by falling into a pit, and reducing save points a lot is not necessarily the best way to accomplish this. It is a good play, but probably one that will not last. I can recommend download for one quick play, but beyond that this level is not extremely lasting. It looks fairly good, plays fairly good, and is fairly fun. Overall, the quintessential fairly good level with a few twists.

PROS: Challenging and with things, such as the lava pit, rarely seen in levels.

CONS: The difficulty of this level comes from a barrage of enemies, which is disappointing.

RATING: 6.2

GAMEPLAY: B -
Flow: C+
Layout: B -
Creativity: B
Bugs: B

EYECANDY: B
Tileset use: B
Eyecandy look: B -
Creativity: B
Bugs: B

PLACEMENT: C
Weapons: C+
Enemies: C -

THE FINAL GRADE: B -

THE FINAL RATING: 6.2

~ Traft

this level was to hard. i agree.

this tileset was a nice choose
next time more bigger and more ammo
the boss was hard with spike bolls and next time
use bubba ( Bubba is’t hard :) )
this level is good but hard.

i give this level a 7.7

dont make such a hard level(s)

-Some

(Fraudulent rating removal. -Trafton)[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

Stop this!!

Hot as well is good one, Hot Springs is harder and, finally, this one. Also hard.

Don’t make too hard levels DX! Nobody likes to die 100 000 times! Better you’d submit episode with Jazz Clones!

2nd part of Familiar World includes Thermal, so don’t make too many levels with it before it isn’t submitted!! :B

Hello everybody.

I am busy with my new episode, it have now
9 levels and my computer crashed. so i cant upload. its a big story line.
and hard.
So…….. i was thinking…
i am gonna make some more…..
( levels ) the episode has now A BIG!!!!!!!!!! storyline….

now you will see IF i will UPLOAD IT…

( its a big file )

~Ðx

[This review has been edited by dx dc]

my first review

Ðx i played HOT AS WELL and HOT SPRINGS, this level is yor best yes.

good eyecandy only lava and behind wall, the baddies arent hard but with the lava……
next time make it bigger, the boss is good placed.
food and gems arent, only some ammo.

next time put ammo gems and food in yor level(s)
and i will send a messegge to you.

Ðx my final rating from me…..

a 8.5.

Catch if you can.

(Personal attack/Rating removal. Do NOT attack other users on J2O. -Trafton)[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

ok. sorry. i thought you were cyromanus[This review has been edited by snooz]

Wow, I’m actually typing a review again.

Eyecandy: decent but basic. The tiles all fit together except for some occasional minor bugs (yet no eyesores). The level looks rather plain though, you could be taking much more advantage of the tileset here. Tilesets usually have a lot of stuff to offer, try using some more of it.

Gameplay: not as hard as some people here make it out to be, i’d consider it average. The amount of enemies is about right, but the level could use some more pickups, since the only ones that are featured now are two crates of bouncers and seekers. One remark about the part with the floating suckers near the end though: there’s a hurt event on the carrot in the middle, which is, in my opinion, completely unnecessary and not exactly fair towards the player, since there’s no indication at all that it holds any danger and people usually don’t expect a hurt event on a carrot tile.

Conclusion: this is an ok level, but i don’t quite feel like it deserves its current 8.3 rating (and don’t get me wrong here, i’m not rating it extra low to affect the total rating or something). It’s definitely a reasonable effort, but there’s still room for improvement. I’d say keep up the good work, just a little more practice and you’re there.[This review has been edited by Enigma]

Well, there’s good eyecandy, I can say that it’s great You have to put more ammo, gems, goodies and foods in your levels.
The difficulty was good was hard and good!!!
Well keep on working on your levels! You’ll be a wonderfull Jazz2 level maker at a near time if you keep on working on it;)
Note: Try to make your levels longer!!![This review has been edited by chandie]

WOW! It’s very hard to pas Hot Springs and this level from you: Lava Time!
DON’T MAKE TO HARD LEVELS DX! C’mon DX, you don’t like levels to that you CAN’T play out! Cooba has RIGHT and he’s allready a TOP-REVIEWER, ALLRIGHT!?
Oh eh… I was busy with a review…

-Very hard level(hard mode)
-Level to short(make things longer)
-Good endboss
-Very bad eyecandy(becose there IS no eyecandy:)
-Enemy placemend… well eh…GOOD
-Some ammo(put more in levels DX)
-Nice tileset, music and background
-Bad/good gameplay

Well, i give an… 7.0

this review has edited by Wadledee

(Personal attack clearence. Top reviewer does not mean higher quality, nor lower; it just means they have reviewed more. Regardless, it is not tolerated on J2O to attack others. Do not repeat this offense. -Trafton)[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

You have choose a very nice Tileset.

-Good layout
-Good eycandy (not much)
-Good fall out system

A nice sp!

I have decided to adopt a new tactic. Instead of playing the level once, then reviewing everything, I will play it once for each category, trying to only note those factors. How long this will last is rather dubious, but I’m going to give it a try.

Gameplay, Design, and related fields:
Well. Ever since BlurredD released his SP pack, all of Dx’s levels seem to have been desperate attempts to equal the sheer goodness. In this case, Dx goes so far as to use Thermal K, in much the same style as it is used in Blur’s pack – I.E. lots of caves.
And, of course, the instant death. Which doesn’t work. About 75% of the time, I seemed unable to lose a life from the instant death you’re supposed to get when you fall into the lava. Technical side gets a low.
But what about the real gameplay? Rambling aside, the gameplay’s not too bad, but the level is short enough it doesn’t have much of a chance to grow on you. First you navigate some tunnels, not falling into the lava. Then you are a frog for less than a minute, not falling into the lava, and get hurt while turning back. Then you navigate a few more tunnels, not falling into the lava. Then you fight Bilsy, (and you guessed it) not falling into the lava. I’ll discuss Bilsy later, but in the meantime let’s look at the previous areas.
The tunnels try too hard to be hard, as Trafton said most admirably. This will be expanded upon later, of course. But with the high jump you need to climb on top of hurting fire to perform (a high jump in a TSF level.. for shame), when said fire is nearly invisible against the lava fall… things get a little annoying.
The frog is, of course, far too short. You jump three pits, two devils, then get kissed by Eva. And you get hurt. Did I say that already? Here’s a hint: give the player a carrot for those unavoidable ouchies.
Still, the gameplay is somewhat decent. With the exception of Bilsy. Because Bilsy is one of Those bosses, the ones who need support from their arena to provide a challenge. Like buttstomp floor. But in this level, you’re not even on the same platform as Bilsy! You never should be! No challenge at all! Feh.
Rating: 6.5

Graphic quality, use of layers, tile-to-tile smoothness, general eyecandy:
The eyecandy is, for the most part, ordinary Carrotus. Walls that don’t really fit together at all, large or small (in this case large) amounts of cave, and no plants besides the carrots, which are used simply as walls. All of these apply. About the only difference between this level and a normal Carrotus level is that, well, it uses Thermal K. So in addition to all that other stuff, there’s a moving lava pit (weird), lava falls in the background (too bright, and they blend in with the fire), and those neat little wooden platforms. Only once, sadly.
If you want other layers, you’re out of luck. Everything is Speed 1, and aligns perfectly. Obviously there should be something more, as you do see the sky now and then, but there isn’t. Alas.
And yes, the walls don’t fit together all that well. Black edge to wall edge, wall edge to black edge – all over the place. If only Dx had added some plants, at least…
Rating: 6.7

Weapon Placement, Item Placement, Enemy Placement, Text Placement… you know, placement.:
There are no goodies. There is only Zuul. Enemies, anyway.
Well, ok, that’s not completely true. Near the end you get two boxes of ammo, some seekers and some relatively useless bouncies. And… umm… well, I guess that’s it for goodies and all that. Well, I suppose it’s a small level, but some carrots would have been nice now and then. SUCH AS NEXT TO EVA.
But enemies. There are enemies. A few of the enemies are well placed, paticularly some bats who are in good positions to knock you into the lava. But many of the bats, and most of the devils, are just there to be shot. “Automatic carrot creators”, you could call them. There are two at the boss, for that matter. It’s not like they can pose any harm, so they just give you carrots.
Basically, there will be a bat in the ceilling if any of the following are true: You are in a long straight passage, you are just getting into a passage from a drop to the lava, you are leaving a passage to get over a drop to the lava, or you are going somewhere to be able to cross a drop to the lava. There will be a devil on the ground if any of the following are true: There is flat ground and there is not another devil for at least three tiles.
Besides the bats and devils, there is one more type of enemy. The Floating Sucker, which as we all know, has no real purpose except to be stomped. So Dx lets you stomp them to get across some lava. In a tight space. And only once. Why only once? Why not more than once?! ASDF.
So what’s the verdict? Placing enemies after you finish the level is not the way to go.
Rating: 6.7

Fun Factor, Originality, Replay Value… whee, I just changed the order around.:
Well, as said before, pretty much this entire level was taken from Blur’s demo thing. So what is original? Just a few things, sadly. There’s the disappearing author sign, the annoying high jump fire, and… I guess that’s about it. Work on your own brain a bit more, Dx.
As for fun and games and all that, I have now played this level about four times. My feelings for it have gone *bad, *ok, *ok, *eeh. I’m starting to lose interest. This shouldn’t be played too many times, but play it more than once, as your first impression is likely to be wrong.
And I have to admit, a few parts are fun. There’s something just strangely satisfying about killing the two devils on wooden platforms. Or jumping over the widest frog pit.
Rating: 7.0

Overall impression of Subject Level:
This level is all right, but it’s not too good. The music just seems wrong, and I don’t even have much of an ear for music. The enemy placement detracts from the enjoyability of the level a little too much, and the eyecandy can get tiresome.
But there’s something about this level. Something showing that no matter what Dx reviews like, eventually he may become a good level maker. I try not to rate potential, but this is actually in the level, so whatever.
So it is that I give it a Rating: of 7.0. Low 7, but 7 anyway.[This review has been edited by Violet CLM]

Well here is my review!!!

Eyecandy:
Good!!! The same as Hot springs Good.
Mere layers and no tilebugs

Enemy placement:
Okay!!! There wher enough enemy`s to keep it fun and the enemy`s are fitting well in the levels.

Item placement:
Not good not bad!!! There is a little bit ammo but no gems and no food.

Other:
Okay!!! The level lengte is okay and there are a lot of good obstacles.
I have the feeling that it is a little bit more a Spazz level but it was n obig mistake. It has also a boss and good music choice.

It`s good here a ***7.5***