Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Wow. These levels are huge.

Firstly, I’ll mention the few bugs these have so I won’t forget them.
- Spaz can reach a lot more places then jazz, and in some cases, places he’s not suppose to reach.
-In starlight sparkle I can reach the bonus area without getting the required coins by simply TNTing the stomp blocks and RF climbing my way up.

And now, the reasons why I found this enjoyable:
-Music choice was good.
-Levels were long and took effort to beat
-Difficulty was good. Not too hard that you’d get frustrated, but hard enough that I found myself at 1 h a few times, and even died once (thank god for save points ;))
-The levels didn’t feel empty, there was always some pickups, baddies, or something else to keep you occupied.
-Eyecandy was basic, but nice. Stuff tiled etc.

Conclusion: A nice small pack of levels, that are all around designed well, and fun to play, especially on a rainy day or when you’re bored. I was thinking of giving this an 8.2 or an 8.5, but then I found that these levels use difficulty, and the readme is well designed, so I decided on an 8.5. These are old, but still fair well to today’s standards, so if you don’t have these already, get them.

Download Reccomendation
~BR.

You’re alive, AcId? Man, you really need to remember about logging in! I couldn’t contact you for few months!

(review used from JCF Contest Reviews)

Wonderful Waterfalls
Satan was the only participant in the contest who already uploaded his level to J2O before the level contest was over, and since I don’t want any other participant to see what my opinion about this is I decided to make my review after DarkSonic gave me the green light. It will be on J2O soon, too. Let’s go:

EYECANDY: 1.6 out of 2.0
Let’s start with the eyecandy in the first place. Satan used the JJ1 Jungrock tileset, an excellent conversion made by Labratkid. He used almost all eyecandy available in the set, and the level looks really good. There is a light dim available in all the caves which adds a certain dark atmosphere to the level which I really like. A thing which is perhaps one of my favourite things in the level are the rain effects which pop up randomly, also a good point for the originality, although it could have done a bit more natural. Overall, eyecandy is good, not perfect, but certainly more then decent.

AMMO: 1.6 out of 2.0
Now on with the ammo placement. The level is symmetrical, which already is a good thing for the ammo placement. Satan has yet again chosen for a 3-PU placement strategy, with a Seeker, a Toaster and a Bouncie, which is common but well worked out. The only carrot in the level is a Full-NRG carrot, which could be a little too less perhaps if you want to play bigger matches (like 3vs3’s or something – the level is big enough for it) I don’t have to say anything more about the smaller amounts of ammo, everything is allright. You need 20 coins to open the secret pathways in the level and this is really recommended since it gives you a good advantage – it’s the only way to get a Seeker PU and it gives you a new way to the bases. Overall, placement is allright.

LEVEL STRUCTURE: 1.1 out of 1.5
Structure then. The level has many ways to go and especially in matches with less people (for example, duels) it could take a long way before you’ve exterminated your opponent so I recommend this level once again for team play. The openings with the coins are quite original and they are necessary for a good game. Don’t really have much to say more.

GAMEPLAY: 2.0 out of 2.5
The gameplay in this level is allright: there is a decent flow, it takes a while to explore the entire level although it’s symmetrical. The rain effects are funny applied and the music file is allright.

ORIGINALITY: 1.5 out of 2.0
Now finish this with the originality: there are indeed a few things which make this level original: for example the opened pathways as soon as you enter the bonus warp, which certainly adds a new dimension to the gameplay since you have to deal with new techniques once someone opens up new pathways. The rain effects are nice and albeit the fact that the are a little bit squared-off, they look natural enough. 1.5 for originality from me.

RATINGS:
Wonderful Waterfalls is a nice CTF level which is perhaps not good enough for in the next Anniversary Bash but it still deserves a lot of funny games.
Score: Count all up and you’ll see a nice 7.8.
Download: Yes.
Host: Not too many times, now and then.

OOMG YOU MADE THIS WITHOUT TELLING ME >(((

The intro to the song was really cool, I liked the way you had the ‘static-y’ carol of the bells (Or whatever the original original was called) start skipping and then be replaced by the real song. The way you had the drums so overpowering at first was a real nice effect, it really showed how much this was a complete takeover.
The old melody is still intact, the same way it was back in ’95, however it had been replaced by an odd combination of overdrive guitar chords, pianos, and… The Slime Time (Sluggion remix) lead? I have often found myself at loss for decent guitar samples as well, however, so I can’t criticize you on that part. Unfortunately, the combination ends up quite a bit off-key in places.
The overall effect of the song was really good, in my opinion. The samples were well chosen and contribute to the overall feeling very nicely. When I reached the mid-point, I thought you were just going to repeat yourself similar to the original Candion, but I was pleasently surprised by the amount of variety in the song. It definitely constitutes an interesting listen.

The final verdict:
The effect of the song could not have been better, it contains just about the perfect amount of variety, but you might want to watch the clashing just a bit. I’d say an 8 and download reccomendation.

“Jungle”
Hmm. I don’t have really high expectations from this level since the level name is pretty basic (many times you can see the level quality from the levelname – SPACE ISLAND LEVEL not included) but I still give this level a chance. Let’s see it.

EYECANDY: 2.1 out of 2.5
Wheew. Good game. Once I open the level, the eyecandy bashes into my eyes like a battering rm. You said you would try to give this the look of a real jungle level, and I think you succeeded in this over 100%. In fact, I would say that there is too much eyecandy sometimes! Really, sometimes there are so many paths crossing each other that you can’t really see the direction you need to walk to. That, and some minor tiling bugs (which are logical with so much eyecandy) make me lower my rating with 0.4 points. Anyway, good job!

ENEMIES: 0.8 out of 1.0
The placement of the enemies is also well done. Instead of some other levels, there are many different kinds of enemies and other forms of annoying creatures. Monkeys, turtles, bees, even crabs, all are included and the boss is a Schwartzenguard (don’t know how to spell it right). One bad point about the enemy placement is the fact that the overdoses of eyecandy sometimes makes the enemies invisible, which results in a painful life loss.

PLACEMENT: 1.2 out of 1.5
Now on with the placement of the other stuff, like foods and ammo. On this area you also did a really good job. There are multiple forms of ammo placement all almost al of them fit perfectly to the atmosphere of the level. There are but a few carrot but most of them are especially placed on the moments you need them, good thinking. Unfortunately, the placement has the same problems as the enemy placement: the loads of eyecandy make them invisible sometimes.

LEVEL STRUCTURE: 1.6 out of 2.0
Not much critique possible on the level structure, although there are a few problems which need to be pointed out. In the first place, there are some troubles with the eyecandy (again) There are so many paths visible, especially in the beginning, that it’s not always clear which path you need to take to get to the end and sometimes you feel a little bit locked in by several object. Those were the bad sides, now the good sides: the level structure is very diverse, it looks exciting, and there are many different modes of going around the level (spring placement, buttstomp) The saving spots are also placed at correct places, especially the one before the boss. Nothing is worse than getting killed by the boss and having to do the whole level again.

GAMEPLAY: 2.3 out of 3.0
The gameplay in this level, just like the other things, is just good, great even perhaps. There is a good flow and since many effects are used (good eyecandy, mixed light) you really feel like walking around in a real rainforest. The music file is basic, but at least it fits to this level. I can’t really say more about the gameplay. The level is quite original too, since I’ve not often seen a Jungle level with such good eyecandy.

RATINGS:
To be fair, it’s long ago since a level surprised me as much as “Jungle” by IJskonijn. The level is just very good, it offers really good eyecandy (more in the beginning, later the eyecandy slows down to just good) combined with good placement and structure. If you’re a fan of TSF and natural levels, this level is absolutely recommend to play, and if you’re just a single player fan, too. You’ve got an 8.2 from me, and I look forward to later levels.

Score: 2.1+0.8+1.2+1.7+2.4 = 8.2
Download: Yes, for sure. It’s a (very) good singleplayer level.
Host: I think the passages are a little too narrow for coop, but at least it’s worth a try.

Greetings,
- ChippieBW

DreamSectioN made Mysterius Times. I’ll review this later.

This is quite good.

I have it…. But why dont you change it with TEC?

Craccoboy TEC is illigal remove it from your review

Oh I don’t even put passwords on them, I always “save as” when I make a new level so they’re probably using passwords from the 1999 or 2000 levels, which I don’t even know myself.

(Apparently illegal software removal? I guess. If it’s not illegal, at least it’s not very nice to hack into passworded levels without getting the permission of the level makers. ~Violet)

Why do you always PASSWOORD your levels…

I don’t know what to say about the level since I’m not a level reviewer.: P
But anyway, nice level, probably another one of the good battle levels that you don’t see much around. I also like the placement of the powerups. And the way you’ve used the tileset is well done, too. Seems to fit well with the dark, quite atmosphere.

I don’t know about the choice of the music because I really can’t hear it because my soundcard is still dead.=P

But anyway, good job. To me, this deserves a 8.2. It’s still a good level.=)

Gameplay : 1,1
Gameplay is fine but it would need some time to get used to the lvl.

Event Placement : 0,9
Maybe to much of the same, i didnt really like it.

EyeCandy : 1,6
Is good. a lot detail on the platforms

The level itself : 1,4
The lvl is quite open. But the way its maked is good, WR used a lot of layers and the bg, makes this athmosphere of a blood lvl.

Tileset/Music Selection : 1,2
The tileset is simply good, and the music wasnt bad either.

Bonus : 0,2
The name fits with the lvl and is kinda original

Extra :
+1

Total : 7,4

The music is great for singleplayer lvls. It starts off quite slowly and doesn’t set the pace for battle or CTF lvls. At first I could only hear a few instruments, maybe just 1, but the more I listened the more the music came out to me. It doesn’t sound as good as music like White Hare or the other Xmas JJ tunes because the whole thing is very loud and it doesn’t sound that happy or Christmasy until about the middle and then it still sounds like…well…big drums…invading army…mushroom cloud in the horizon… lol… I don’t know! :-P I recommend DLing this music if you want something new apart from the official JJ Christmas tunes.

Well, admittedly Xan isn’t the reatest lvl maker in the JJ2 community, but he has improved a lot (just looks at his previous Coca Cola lvls! :-D). These lvls have very rough gameplay and flow, meaning that things seem to be in the right place but it’s not what’s there that bothers me, it’s what is not there. Many stuff do not have on ways (mainly in Intellectual Killer), more springs are needed, more ammo, more, more eyecandy, more bug-fixes, more, more, more, more, more!!! You never make good lvl by being lazy. Da man, you da man ;-P, you’ve already pretty much described everything I wanted to say, so I’ll summarize a couple of stuff and leave before I make Xan sad. :-(

Eyecandy – Some tile and placement bugs, mainly in Intellectual Killers, otherwise all right. Could do with less confusing foreground tiles in Bulletpoof.

Gameplay – More stuff needed! Not enough springs, float ups, platforms to make the lvls easy to play in. Also, some stuff, mainly float ups and very tall buildings, hinder the player more than they should.

Weapons placement – More stuff needed. There is simply not enough around. Also, the seeker PU in Bulletproof, and the toaster PU, is too close to red base.

5.5. These lvls could do with a lot of improvement, but, believe it or not, if Xan keeps the general lvl structure, fix all the bugs, add more stuff, he could push it all the way up to…a 7!! faints

There are 3 carrots actually, one is partially hidden. ;-)

Now if only I could get enough ppl to review this… and push it up to 8.6 or at least back above Golradir.

You are the most welcome to continue the story line. You may not use my levels without the permission. To get that, send me a private message.

Heh levels out of stoneage that still rock the globe!!
Bloodbunny was prolly the 1st level designer ever to reach and even beat Epics quality. I remember how no sane person played custom levels back in 98 cuz they literally sucked( xcept for the authors of course:)).
BB swing and BB lair are still one of the best levels and thats like 6 years later( bb city is nice 2)
Anyway deserves a 10+.
(Triple post. ~Violet)

ok a very short review. These levels are so liked and so played by everyone of us. That alone tells us how they withstood the test of time, and thats why I give the pack a 10, it deserves it.
GJ stripe!

these levels are so not played by anyone.
So i gues there is some overrating involved(never played any of them myself). It might just be they’ll get popular a year from now, as did bloodbunnys levels(which on the other hand have a lower average rating yet are very overplayed, especially bblair)

Bloodlust is finaly released in a 1.23 compatible version: so on occasion of this, here’s the first review I’ve written in probably well over two years. It’s been a long time, but here goes…

Bloodlust is a quite old (I believe it was first released in 2002) battle level, made using the Death Metal tileset by our favorite German tileset artist, Skulg. This medium to large sized battle level is probably one of White Rabbit’s finest creations, and as he is already one of the more talented mapers around, that should acount for something. I remember beta testing this level before it was released and loving it, and two years later I still think it’s a great level.

The level, as I mentioned before, uses the Death Metal tileset by Skulg, which is basically a combination of often blood-stained looking metal bars, and a lot of eerie looking skulls and bones. The tileset has a somewhat dismal and creepy look, and the same holds true for the level. Tileset use was basically flawless; I couldn’t discover any tiling errors, and even if I’d examine the level more closely in JCS I’m not sure if I would. The eyecandy, though offering nothing different from what you’d ordinairily expect from the tileset (which is ok, as this was one of the first levels to use it), looks great; the dark red sky, the mountains in the background, the skulls and bones and bloody pieces of metal give this level an enjoyable eerie atmosphere. The music, Shutdown by Teque and Trauma, is a rather old mod from the year 1997. It fits the level nicely, adding to the well-made atmosphere.

The level’s layout is quite good, not spectacular. The level consists of a number of platforms floating freely in the crimson sky. There is no aparent intended structure to the platforms that I could find, but that’s allright. The flow is generaly good, though not perfected; at times I find myself bumping my head against walls or narowly missing ledges. This is actualy somewhat of a good thing though; lots of levels lately are so well polished that, using suckertubes, slopes, spring and float-ups that sometimes the only thing people have to do to get from one place to another is change direction once in a while. This level’s platformy design style promotes a lot more jumping and overall conscious playing, which is a nice break from what most levels have been like lately. The free, open layout also makes for some Jazz-friendlyness, which is something that is always good to have.

Event placement is also well done. Most useful powerups (as in RF, seekers, bouncers) are present in the level. This isn’t really a bad thing; the level is large enough, and battle games have you start with five hearts in contrast to CTF’s three hearts, which warents a larger powerup arsenal. The powerups are scatered nicely across the level and all require you to have electro blasters to reach them, so it’s all good. The two carrots are both positioned at the left part of the level; it would have probably been better to put them at the left and right sides respectively, but with the large amount of powerups and easy to navigate layout I guess it isn’t too much of a problem. General amunition is scatered well throughout the level, not too severely clumped together but also not too sparce.

There’s not really anything more I can say about this level. It’s simply a good, enjoyable battle level you should certainly add to your collection. This level gets the rather high rating of 8.5 and a download recommendation from me!