Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Well, seeing as SJ wrote a review for Legends, I guess it won’t hurt for me to take the time to write a review for his and DarkSonic’s level back. Rumble In The Bogs is a solid, medium sized Pitfall Battle level using the lesser used Winter pallette of the Exoticus conversion.

I can remember DS hosting this in his server about to 2 weeks ago. It seemed to be an enjoyable level to play in, and when it was uploaded I was certainly correct. I liked the general idea of a Swamp theme be made with Exoticus. The background reminds me of Cooba’s Boomerang (which is a fantastic level so download immediately if you haven’t already) a lot, but thanks to the different eyecandy and atmosphere in general (and different gametype), the level doesn’t feel like a rip
off in any shape or form.

The layout is rather basic, but solid. There are no dead ends, and it all connects together well. No real gripes here. The gameplay also feels well polished, the springs take you to the right places and it’s quite fast paced. Unlike other Pitfall levels, I found here that the pits were very easy to fall into, meaning people die quite a lot. At the area around 88,31 there some celing springs which force you into a pit, which although was used to stop camping at one of the carrots, simply felt too evil for my tastes, and added quite a bit of frustration at some times. That’s not nessecarily a bad thing, but it just gets annoying for some.

The pickups seemed to be placed decently. However, I think there should have been some RF somewhere, as it would argueably be the most useful weapon here. I’d also like there to be more than 2 carrots, but at least they are both placed in unsafe spots. Also note that gun crates can crash a server; I’d replace the Ice crate with some floating ammo.

The eyecandy and the theme are my favourite parts about the level though. The music fits perfectly, it gives the level a quite, mysterious atmosphere, which I highly support giving to a level like this. There was no parts in the level that looked bland, and there were no parts that looked overdone or repetitive. The temple area compliments well with the rest of the level, adding to the “ancient” atmosphere of the level. In general, it’s the best eyecandy I’ve seen with this set as of yet. Nicely done.

I suggest this level for the upcoming anniversary bash, and for the Battle Server if it comes back online. Good work, SJ and DS!

EDIT: Seems that I didn’t find one of the carrots. +0.1

EDIT 2: After playing this level through the bash, I’ve realised the pits are just placed unlogically and are just way too easy to fall in, with them being almost impossible to avoid at times. Rating takes a huge hit.