Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

There are currently two reviews with completely different viewpoints. You, as a potential person who reads these things to be informed of what to download, may be completely confused and conflicted by this. “Which review is closer to the pulse of this pack’s quality?” you may ask. I’m here to say “Stijn is. Listen to him” as well as bring my own opinions to the table.

Dark Forest Adventures is comprised of four core levels and then two repeats that are actually quite good because they offer a different take and add new challenges to the original (fledgling level designers take note- this is pretty much how you can reuse levels and get away with it.) These levels mostly feature Mario-esque pixel perfect platforming and traps (Bowser would be proud of the way Devan refurnished Carrotus Castle) only in a JJ2 set of mind. Instead of the platforms going right floating over a pit, they’re strung across large expanses of forest, caves, and castles having the player explore an area in pretty much every direction. While its not perfect, its still a refreshing ride to play through these levels. Also littered about are some decent puzzles that give the pack a nice sense of variety.

Unfortuantly there is only one tileset used for this pack making the two castles and the outside bits look a little samey respectively but I think that can be outweighed by the fact troglobite went out and made it himself putting forth some extra effort very few level makers actually take by making his own set. Even if it isn’t really up to par, I can’t think of a pack in recent memory that had tileset developed specifically for playable levels. Further proof of this guy’s great creativity is the story giving proof to what I’ve been rambling about for years: You don’t have to be EvilMike to make a good Devan story, you just need a good story. The twist was unexpected and wonderful, and the fact that the villain had some actual motivation beyond “RAWR IM EVIL. TRY AND STOP THIS TEAM JAZZ!!!1” should be applauded.

In a time thats currently comprised mostly of decent one off levels and awful JJ1 remake packs, its great to see someone combine the ‘decent’ and the ‘packs’ bit to create something worth your download and time.

All right, judging by the amount of criticism I received for this, I decided to examine this pack a bit more closely. I discovered that it really wasn’t so bad after all, had a fairly creative plotline [Devan swipes Eva, you go save her, while the bad guy sneaks in the back and steals your home. So BEWARE OF THE MORTGAGE AGENT! gets slapped on cheek], but music and eyecandy were problems. Not much variety in the designs, music lacked, but now for some positive feedback. At the risk of sounding either like a copycat or a busted record, the level had some very interesting gameplay, with plenty of playing involved instead of sitting on your hands. Plenty of spread out levels [though not so spread out that you wasted time going back and forth], the plot was excellent, so this pack does quite better than I originally thought. I will give you around what everybody else gave you, which will be a 7.6, and a definite download recommendation!