Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Actually I think I kinda promised to review this once it would be uploaded, after I had just betatested it. So here goes.

As you probably know already, this is a single-player level pack, that can’t be called an episode literally, since it is more like a medley of different levels that aren’t properly in connection between each other. So basically, the pack has got an ending, and doesn’t have any unfinished levels, but the author intended to make this a full-length episode in the first place. It however turned out as a shorter medley of different levels like I said, since the author quite retired. If you have played Jazz Unleashed Demo by BlurredD, you know this is a similar case.

The “episode” here however, is quite the best piece of work in a while after Episode 5: The Fortress of Ruin. This isn’t of course even nearly as hard, as Episode 5, but it’s certain that the difficulty might not be suitable for everyone either. There is no clear storyline on here, since the thing is still unfinished, but apparently there was a bit of an idea about the plot. If I’ve got it right, you play as a character, who goes to ‘City Centre’ to buy some drugs. For the rest of the pack, you’re sort of hallucinating/dreaming and play in that state. This will result in facing a lot of surreal/weird scenery and things through the pack.

There really is a lot of atmosphere put in the levels, which makes this pack really enjoyable and interesting. The graphics-quality is very high, meaning things will more or less look realistic and you can always see some more scenery than in any average single-player episode. That doesn’t mean it would ever be too confusing, although in some levels the graphics are there to add difficulty. There’s also some very atmospherical music, that “drains” you into the level, and keeps you interested in adventuring through it. For example hear void.it used on ‘The Pride’, which creates a perfect creepy and mysterious atmosphere, that fits the theme.

Gameplay is no worse either, although there are no big gimmicks or super original ideas in it. However you are going to face some things that you probably haven’t before. There are overall 5 bigger levels, with a few cutscenes and bonus-levels. Each level does have at least some unique things, smaller or bigger, such as themes/scenery/puzzles/quests/secret areas. Because the levels are mainly as large as they are, you are able to explore and adventure around a lot, which already raises the replay-value of this pack. Just saying, that the gameplay isn’t only about tunnel-running or linear platform-jumping. To reach your goal in the level, you often need to search for something, and that way it may get a bit frustrating at times. There however are hints on your way, so you just need to look around carefully. I won’t be revealing more here, but just reminding you that this pack has no practically impossible levels. If you want true challenge, try playing on Hard mode like I did. It really has much difference compared to Easy/Medium.

Myself I liked this episode a lot. Definitely should get the featured download of the month-award. The fact that the pack was made for TSF, and that it might be unplayable with Lori, are no excuse from preventing it. To be honest, there aren’t a lot of other as high quality TSF works as this. I truly recommend that you at least try this out, since it is worth playing, although it is unfinished. It is also a very inspirational piece of work. Some people say they prefer ‘Phantasmagoria’ as their own favourite level of this pack, and so it might be in overall. However, my personal favourite theming here is ‘The Pride.’ What’s yours? Go download and play!

SJ

dude all the levels in the pack are finished, you dont have to use ANY cheats to beat the levels :P (unless maybe youre playing as lori, and in that case i dont really care) i just didnt feel like feel like doing the rest of the levels like i planned in the story since i have no interest in this game anymore

i never had any bugs when playing through these (esp. ones that crashed my game) so its prob a problem with your game, but if you find something specific let me know i guess and i’ll get around to fixing it…

also, i know the levels can get frustratingly hard sometimes. i didnt make this with the intention that the people who play this, beat it in one sitting. try focusing on beating a few levels at a time, its much more rewarding imo :)

-blacky

Alright, I’m going to make this brief, as usual.

I reinstalled JJ2 on the new laptop I bought just to play this level pack, really. So, after going through the trouble of downloading TSF (sorry, guys), I finally installed this.

So, let me just start out by saying, this pack has no apparent storyline, and no theme other than pretty much you’re drugged up the whole time, and hallucinating. If you’re looking for a solid storyline or a full episode, this is not for you. If you’re like me and just want to play through some JJ2 levels and kill lots of badguys like the old days, this is definitely what you’re looking for.

My favorite thing about this pack is that it’s just so old school, and at the same time, it’s not. Most quality single player levels these days are very story oriented, and rely on new concepts. This level pack, however, will take you back ten years with the added bonus of some relatively newly found JCS tricks, and absolutely gorgeous graphics design.

The difficulty of these levels is insane. I played the pack on medium, and I found myself getting pretty frustrated at times. I haven’t actively played JJ2 in at least four or five years, but I’d say I’m still really good at this game, especially single player. And let me tell you, this pack is hard.

Summary; this is a pack of lengthy levels that are all pretty much unrelated. If you want to play some old school style levels with a new feel to them, this is absolutely for you. Think of it like playing New Super Mario Bros. If you’re not so much into that idea, this might not be for you.

Overall I’m rating this 10.. Because Blacky deserves it.

This is what we like to see from Jazz2Online. This is by far the best single player episode that I’ve ever seen.

Difficulty-wise, I find it almost impossible. I’ve had to resort to using the invincibility cheat just to make it playable, and it could at least do the decent thing of being playable with Lori, but ultimately, that’s a small price to pay.

This pack clearly isn’t short of detail. The levels look like they took months to complete considering their size (50k+), and the insane levels of detail and animation. The ominous feeling is best experienced at 2AM, when it’s just you and the episode, especially the “Pride” level. You don’t know what true creepiness is until you try that.

Obviously, there are some less capable levels, but I find this is only true with the Mario-based levels. I, for one, find the “Hellfire” level unplayable thanks to the song alone (it induces hostility in the room, and can turn a player into a psychopath. Seriously guys, don’t ever use that song), but hey.

The star of the pack, for me, is the Phantasmagoria tileset. That is a must-have for anyone trying to make a dream level, since it’s just a big hodge-podge of places that Jazz has been before, and is a sure-fire way to make a good-looking dream level.

This pack nails an ultra-strong 9.5.

Now Im wondering, how did unfinished sp level pack without any story get 9.3? That’s strange…

I encountered a serious problem. When I enter the level “HellFire” (Roses1) I get Amensia error(out of memory). why?

It’s grand! It’s flashy! It’s not fun!

The fact that this level pack is rated 9.5 / 10 completely baffles me. It’s obvious that Blackraptor put a ton of effort into making the visuals but the gameplay itself is incredibly tedious. There is a lot of enemy spam to artificially increase the difficulty and length. Some levels’ visuals are overbearing and straight up confusing. Darn, I wanted this to be a quick review but guess I’ll do a short review of each level instead (secret levels not included).

- “City Centre” is just enemy spam. Tiles are often placed just to confuse you and make you question whether something is a solid object or it’s part of the background. Yes, yes, I get it, it’s supposed to feel ethereal, it’s a “dreamscape” after all. It did not matter to me, the level felt confusing and annoying.

- “Pride” is frustrating. Akin to Queen of Board, you’ll have to check for hidden walls non-stop until you find a trigger crate or something that will let you progress with the level. This is not about skill, it’s about how much patience you have to bump and shoot every object in hopes to get further in the level. The visuals are great though, can’t complain.

- “Quiessence” is a weird one. I’d say I like it if it weren’t for the One Way wall at the start of the level. I still don’t know how to consistently get past that wall, I just bumped into it until magic happened and I got over it. The level theme is interesting, music doesn’t fit (just my opinion here).

- “Phantasmagoria”… yeah, I hate this one. It’s an eyesore full of enemy spam, death pits and whatnot. Goes on for way too long and made my retinas burn.

- “HellFire” and “Crystal Mountain” are rather tame compared to the previous levels. They’re… okay. Visuals are fine, level design is pretty good. They share some of the issues I have with the previous levels but they’re less prominent here.

I have a feeling that I’m treading on thin ice by writing this review, because I’m tainting the rating of a “classic” level pack. Again, this is my opinion: I didn’t have fun while playing this. I get the pack’s theme but I dislike the execution. Judging by its size and visuals, it’s obvious that a TON of effort was put into making this level pack. It just didn’t click with me for the reasons I mentioned above. Oh well.

This is good mystical pack about travelling in dreams? Very good! Level was made pretty good, tilesets are nice, except Phantasmagoria…Diamond have some bug in color…Musics is cool…Mystical and some scary(i mean void.it)…Gameplay is some hard, but nice. Hmm…What about enemies, there are much enemies. And levels, i like huge levels, its one more reason why i wanna set rating up…Maybe this download must be featured, but i dont know…If you disagree with my review, i will delete it!

Results:
Rating: 8.7
DR: Yes, have fun!

I see a completely useless review…

Is there a reward for “0 of 11 users found this a good review”?

EDIT:Nice to see the review deleted.