Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

A really fun xmas themed level. Level design is extremely open ended, it’s almost designed like a regular multiplayer map would be, obviously bigger. I think the level flows really well. You can go whereever you want, and as far as I’m aware the only point of no return is with the boss fight, this gives you time to explore the entire level and check out every corner you want, since the level design facilitates (or more appropriately recommends) having a look around.
The difficulty is pretty much my cup of tea, where it’s not extremely punishing, but you still need to play attention. Plenty of pickups to look for, as well as secret areas. To be honest, I feel like the single checkpoint you placed in the level is unnecessary though. When I died, I would have preferred a clean start from the beginning of the level, since it’s designed in an open ended fashion anyway.

The music choice is fitting, it’s a calm and nice tune.

My only minor complaints are that the level could have had 1-2 more enemy types in it, and that the boss fight was sort of meh (though that’s mostly thanks to how bosses are pretty 1-note in the game anyway)

Overall I think this is a really well made level, worth having a run-through and exploring it. Definitely recommend everyone to give it a go.

A pretty good level pack, a bit too difficult and dickish for my liking. The level design visually is awesome, with equally fitting music. It’s pretty obvious that the level designer worked a ton on the aesthetics and the item/enemy placement also looks like every single placement was thoroughly thought out, so basically every dick move in the levels are completely intentional (bats in front of death pits, checkpoints after difficult platforming areas rather than before, no saving allowed, death pits that aren’t obviously death pits due to the game resolution, copter lizards in very awkward spiked areas etc)

Though I’m not the target audience for this level pack, I can’t look past all the things that I loved about it. The humor in the text messages are funny, and an enjoyable read. The levels look pretty as hell. The level design/layout itself is well thought out apart from the deathpits. The choice of music is great and fitting.

Despite the difficulty not being my cup of tea, I’m pretty confident in recommending this since all this work deserves to be seen.

 “Jazz Jackrabbit 2,5 – The Big Rescue” is one of the best JJ2 single player level packs to come out in a while. With 7 lengthy levels and one boss level, it manages to implement lots of gameplay mechanics and set the story and tone for the future parts to come. Instead of covering each individual level in this review, here’s an overview of my thoughts on this pack.

• The visuals range from pleasant to gorgeous. The level creator clearly knows how to make a level look pretty.
• Good introductory level. It’s simple enough for someone new to the game to understand the game mechanics, yet still fun for more experienced players.
• Fitting music choices for each level.
• Little to no tile bugs.
• Diverse gameplay mechanics that don’t overstay their welcome.
• Sign text is both witty and informative.

• Instant death pits. They can be tolerable, but not in this level pack. 1-UPs are scarce and the pack is already pretty challenging as is. One slip of the finger and you might end up having to replay the entirety of a lengthy level.
• The gameplay can be a bit unfair at times, with unexpected collapsing scenery and obstacles that are too difficult to avoid.
• There’s no way to save your game. You’ll have to finish the entire episode in one sitting.
• Invincible ghost enemies in a claustrophobic area of the game. Ugh…
• The text has some typos here and there. The most obvious one would be “2,5” instead of “2.5”. This is just a trivial nitpick though.

• The README file says that this pack was made with 640×480 screen resolution in mind. I played it in 800×600 and I believe this resolution works just as well as the intended one.
• Sugar Rush and Fast Fire events were removed from these levels. I think this was a change for the better, but different people might disagree with me.
• This is a challenging level pack and you will most likely die a bunch of times. I recommend playing it on Easy difficulty if you’re not very confident in your skills.

The maps are really big and hard but with a lot of eyecandy, very fun to play, I can’t wait for part 2 :D

abgrenv: this tileset is expected for use in JJ2+, which lets you put traditional skyboxes in any level, so there is no need to include them in the tileset:

	jjPIXELMAP skybox(TEXTURE::NORMAL);
	for (uint x = 0; x < 256; ++x)
		for (uint y = 0; y < 256; ++y)
			skybox[x,y] = (skybox[x,y] - 176) / 2 + 192;
	skybox.makeTexture();
	jjTexturedBGUsed = true;
	jjSetFadeColors();

it’s a pretty nice tileset, though I feel a lack of chemistry between the background layer (layer 8) and the rest of the tileset, separate they both look great, but combined they sort of differ in artstyle and look like they belong in 2 different games

other than that it’s nice, plus Violet informed me that the classic background is always available in JJ2+, so that issue is also negated

A small and nice conversion with some usability, but also fairy limited. It definitely requires the levelmaker to do some extra work (like tileset merging) in order to create unique levels. The artwork itself is nice, but to me the soil and the sublayer backgrounds don’t look great, although I understand the uploader decided with a direct port.

Beautiful

Very pretty. It’s a solid conversion that looks easy to use. Can’t wait to see it used in a full-fledged level someday.

I had lots of fun playing this during AB23. Pretty visuals, original gameplay, fun with any number of players. Ribbit.

Perhaps by 2001 standards this was considered a great, innovative level. Comparing this level to modern levels with similar high ratings, I believe it aged like milk.

The first half of the level is just a narrow path with barely any space to jump. The only thing that makes this level stand out whatsoever is the layer trickery used to make it look like the player is piloting a submarine in the second half of the level. Enemy positions are spammed almost randomly. The visuals are mediocre, leaning towards bad.

Not worth downloading.

Loon brings us yet another party-sized epic. Strictly for larger games of no less than 5vs5, so best saved for special occasions. There’s some rather inventive things done with the tilesets, and on the whole the level looks dang impressive (but is worth noting that you may experience some framerate issues unless you have decent PC specs).

Featuring two of the strongest powerups (Seeker and Roller) and not many safe places to hide, the gameplay in this level is ferociously fast paced. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but will be a refreshing change for some. The theme of the level is realised well and suitably complements the gameplay style. Give it a go if you’re after a thrill!

What I particularly enjoy about this level is the degree to which it has distinct areas. Instead of being constants, elements like giant carrots or snaking vines or wooden platforms will appear in clusters, making those areas memorable and giving the player a feeling of progression. More such focuses keep turning up throughout the experience, including progressively larger cave areas, bigger uses of wooden platforms, and a lategame forest and underwater section. Besides that, there’s a good healthy amount of pickups all through the level, on the main path and in alcoves and in secrets, and enemies are varied even if never particularly dangerous. The layout and graphics do a lot to avoid becoming boring: the floor is constantly rising and falling as you move along, you change directions a lot, there’s some variety in wall thickness (although it would feel more Carrotus-y with some thinner platforms), various bridges and wooden things appear to keep things fresh.

Other than the rock pushing section, at the bottom, though, nothing in the course of the level ever feels unique… which, of course, is totally fine, it just means that the level isn’t transcendent. But I’d like to see more attention paid to how the level can feel distinctly Carrotus/Easter, particularly when using events instead of just stuff the tileset provides. Bird cages would feel at home here, for example. The wooden platforms and floors didn’t always feel great, due to a combination of how thin they are drawn and how inconsistently solidly they were placed (layer 3 vs 4). One area is covered in thorns that don’t hurt you, followed immediately by a small pit of thorns that does hurt you. Speed blocks are used in place of lock blocks. Diagonal carrots only ever sprout from the ceiling. Both(?) powerups can be obtained by shooting bouncers at them instead of using the intended warps.

It’s a good level with good, if never particularly challenging, gameplay, but it lacks a certain identity.

I love the fact you’re still uploading :)

Awesome level! Enjoyed playing it (hard mode)
Instructions/introduction were very clear.
Concept is creative and original, liked the metrovania-ish aspect of the level!

Very original! Enjoyed the level!

I liked the variety in the Lori enemies in terms of movement and weapons! Level design itself was cool too.

I kinda cheesed the boss(?), it kept spawning loris that jump in place that shoot rocks but I outranged them and simply stood still and kept shooting from afar.

Not sure how other feel about this, but I think most of the invisible springs are pretty pointless, and the version that removed them did the right thing (apart from the Marbelara secret level of course), in Jungrock 2 for example you can’t even get the invincibility powerups since the flowers act as very weak spring which don’t bounce you high enough to get the said items

also I’m not sure if this is an issue you are aware of but on one of the Ceramicus levels, a moving spring could get you permanently stuck. Do you intend to add the final bit of Tubelectric 2 back into the level btw?

Other then that, it’s a definite recommendation, and it’s awesome that you guys are actually fixing the game to make it the best it can be.

The aurora in layer 8 is quite lovely, but the rest of the level doesn’t charm me as much. The layers of mountains and trees in front of it are dull gray, neither silhouettes in front of the green glow nor illuminated by it. Frosted Peaks does a better job of blending these background colors. The darkest color in the blue grass gradient is still too bright, distractingly so. Electroblaster pickups are common but the layout does not seem designed for them. Barrels and masked trees appear because the tileset has them but mostly don’t seem to contribute to gameplay, instead getting in the way of easy movement. Multiple top right corners of walls can’t be jumped up against because of improper masking (and no One Way events). Most egregiously, innumerable platforms are simply too high up to reach unless playing with a double jump. Several in particular are placed ever so slightly higher than the highest point reached by a spring that appears to be intended to take you there, but, only if you are Spaz. Other springs bump you into ceilings or are hard to find, set not quite flush against the nearest walls. The design process seems to have prioritized graphics (though with some questionable palette choices) above gameplay flow, but both are important. The areas with bridges or vines are generally nice and interesting, but it’s frustrating to get around the rest of the level.

The aurora effects in this xlm level are perfect! 8.2/10!

Oh, the music (This Is Gonna Be Good) is made by Randy Newman, and is from the Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog”.