Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

I will also review this level, because it’s a CTF level.

Introduction: a level by ÄÉæÛÕ, with the Mystic Isle tileset. Not his first upload here, and considering the ratings, it’s not a bad level. I will find out if it really isn’t.

I’ll start off with the layout. This level is open, and has alot of vines and stuff that can help the flow a bit. There are some things I dislike, like the hooks in the level, which you need to get to the warp with the full energy. Some one ways in the level will help the gameplay too. There are also tubes in the level, that will help the gameplay even more. One thing that’s a bit bad is that there aren’t many springs on some places. It’s not too hard to get to each base, like WR said, it’s pretty easy for Jazz-users. The triggers in the level can be useful, some aren’t.

About the eye candy, it’s pretty good. This tileset is limiting, but what’s used, looked good. I liked the figure in layer 2, there are good animations in this level. Layer 3 has ground tiles in it, and also water and some secrets which aren’t too hard to find out. Layer 5 also has some dark tiles, and it looks good. The background in the level isn’t bad. Almost every layer is used. Only layer 1 isn’t. Overall the eye candy is good, I have no complaints.

About the placement, the ammo placement is decent. There isn’t many ammo, but there are also some strange events, like a 1Up, Fast Feet and time clocks. There are 3 Power-Ups. The Bouncy pu is more at the left side of the level. The Toaster pu is placed at the right side of the level. The Blaster pu is in the bottom-middle of the level. I don’t see a use for the TNT in this level, but it can sometimes be fun. There is also food, there isn’t too many, so it’s good. The Full Energy is in the warp, that’s not easy to access. There is also a +1 Carrot in the level. That carrot is secret. The ammo is placed fair, I can’t say a team has an advantage. The ammo respawns too fast, though.

I can’t say alot more about this level. It’s decent. I can’t say this is download recommended, but it’s also not a level that isn’t worth it. So I’ll give it N/A. About hosting, you hosted it already and I was there, but afterwards, don’t host it alot more.
My final rating is a 7.1.

Review time!

Starting off with the layout, it could be much better, but its still decent. The level consists of ten or so medium sized platforms. While platformy layouts usually aren’t a good thing, AEaeUO did a nice job here. For the most part, the platforms seem to flow together smoothly. There are, however, a lot of things about the layout that I dislike. Firstly, I think the full energy area is way too hard to get to. I also think that this level is somewhat Spaz biased (most platformy levels are, to be honest). There are also several places where I wouldn’t mind seeing springs, for example, the very bottom right of the level. As a plus, there are team based routes. There are triggered walls added near both bases that benefit the team defending that base by making the route to it much shorter and more efficient.

There are a number of suckers tubes inside the platforms that help navigation a lot. The problem is, though, there is no indication that they’re there. Once you’re aware of where they all are, though, you’ll dominate in this level greatly. I would’ve liked to see arrows or something where the sucker tubes are; this way you wouldn’t have to memorize so much stuff.

The minute I saw this level, Diamondus Warzone immediately came to mind. A lot of aspects seem to be borrowed from it. There’s the full energy area, which is essentially a hollow rectangle floating casually in the main part of the level. It contains three crates of ammo (bouncers, freezers, and RF missles, respectively), and a full energy carrot. It can only be accessed by a warp, and can only be exitted by a warp. Nextly, there’s an area at the bottom of the level where there is a plateau. You can run under the plateau and collect electroblasters, and you can also stand on top of it.

Moving on to the eyecandy, it is pretty decent, but, like the layout, could be better. The tileset is somewhat limiting, so rating too harshly on the level’s overall appearance wouldn’t be fair. Nevertheless, though, there are some aspects of the eyecandy that I absolutely adore. For example, as Violet called it, there’s a wonderful abstract cow. If you look at the bottom left of the level, some cave tiles in the foreground make up what appears to be a bull’s head. Look under the bull’s head and you’ll see a tile bug, though. I suppose the background is good enough, but I wouldn’t have minded if there was more there. There are two background layers; one consists of a series of interconnected vines, and the other is made up of a mountain range, with pillars sticking out of it. Layer 8 looks fine. It fades to a pleasant, dark blue color. Some areas of the level make good use of lighting effects; namely the areas around the bases. There’s also a good amount of moth events scattered around, which, as always, can enhance a level’s overall feeling greatly. While I would’ve liked to see some more eyecandy in the foreground and on the grass (flowers, etc.), the overall appearance of this level is pretty good. As for major bugs, I only found one: if you jump in the small area behind layer three above the toaster powerup room, you can see your ears.

The item placement here is interesting enough. If normal ammo wasn’t enough, AEaeUO included things like fastfeet, stopwatches, extra lives, and a variety of foods. As for ammo, you can find every type in the game here. However, the only weapons that get the honor of having their respective powerups added in are blasters, bouncers, and toasters. There’s one normal carrot, and one full energy carrot. The +1 carrot is sort of hard to find due to the layout, and is guarded by a text message condemning me as Ted. As for general placement, it is pretty good. Ammo crates and barrels are a bit overdone, however. Lag might be a problem here if there are too many players.

As for my closing thoughts, this level is good. There are some comical text events here, too (would’ve been nicer if “vanish” was set on them so you didn’t have to read them over and over again). The music choice is great. This level gets a download reccomendation from me.

Final rating: 7.2
Overall pros: Nice flow, good eyecandy.
Overall cons: Somewhat lacking layout, surplus text events.
Overall cnidarians: Alaska.

I didn’t reduce the rating because of the vine, but I still wanted to mention it, so I put it under Cons.

Rating changed to 6.7.

Ahh. Really fun level. Aeiuo had this up for some time, and I got to beta test.

Eyecandies:

Very well done. Smooth, not too annoying, and goes well. 8 of 10.

Music Selection:

Goes good. 7.5 of 10.

Gameplay:

Now here is where the fun begins. Aeiuo put in a lot of neat gimmicks, like a gem that runs away from you. Also, he used food. Not that many CTF levels use food. The level also has practical things, like great weapons selection. 8 of 10.

Hype:

Hype is basically the rating of the level prior to me rating i, which is 6.7 of 10.

Tilt:

Aeiuo is awesome, and this level only further proves that. 9 of 10.

Overall:

This is a level i’d love to play on any server.

8 + 7.5 + 8 + 6.7 + 9 = 39.2 / 5 = 7.84 = 7.8.

Download Recommendation.

Mario music plays
It’s a me! A Neon!
With an-a reveiw for you-ah!

First glance: Very nicely put together. Not much eyecandy but oh well.

Gameplay: I thought this level was put together well, Although space wasn’t filled up that much. Yet there was still good flow.

Eyecandy: A good amount, but not enough.
Mostly consisted of bamboo and dirt.

Weapons: A good amount. Not much to say here. But, there you go.

Final: 8