Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

LabratKid is cheating! Anyway…

GAMEPLAY:

Good flow, good balance, and an evil twist—the three things I like in a CTF level. The first two are self-explanatory. The third one is what makes this level stand out a tad bit. I’ll explain the twist more later on in my review.

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy is probably as good as it gets with this very limiting tileset. It does its job. The level has a nice mine feeling. The name of the level is “Moree Mines”. Need I say more?

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

And now, the twist. Instead of the traditional full energy carrot, some substitutes were used. One of them is a shield (gasps) located at the top left of the level. Contrary to popular belief, shields can be placed in levels without completely destroying gameplay. Of course, the only way to do this is to either make the shield hard to access or make somehow make it less useful. In this case, players can only use the shield for 15 seconds. This is hardly enough time to cause a lot of chaos especially when there’s water and the shield only inflicts one heart damage. Moving on, the other subsitute is the +1 carrot somewhat near the bottom right; no one’s going to complain too much about that in any case. And thus, I present to you the twist. Enjoy. As for everything else, ammo and powerup distribution is good, and I don’t feel like explaining why I think it is; just guess why instead.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

I would say so. This is an 8.2 and anyone who disagrees can take it up with my PMs (which I rarely check anyway).

The Edit: Top left. Top right. It’s all the same when I don’t bother to do my routine proofread.

ignores any other mistake in the process

BTW, all of those [This review has been edited by labratkid] tags are driving me crazy.[This review has been edited by BlurredD]

By the way, the name does suggest it would be a race level, but it’s not a race level. It’s a test level, just like the Balloon Races and the Practice Races. So don’t get the wrong idea, I’ve never created any race levels and I probably never will.

Nooo, my reservation review was deleted >(

Eyecandy – Okay / good
What the part of the tileset the author uses offers is there, basically. But, this still isn’t much. The cave walls, especially underwater, look very plain. The sprite layer eyecandy isn’t much. Just the ground, which is platforms. The background looks nice, however.

Gameplay – Very good
Nothing wrong with the gameplay here. The level seems fairly balanced to me, all though I can’t tell for sure since FS makes the teams unbalanced with his amazing CTF skills no matter what. You can only get 15 seconds from the shield because you are forced to use a physical attack on it, and since it’s a fire shield, you can’t use it underwater. The side that doesn’t have the shield close to base has a +1 carrot, and a seeker powerup that is slightly closer to them. However, it’s very difficult to get the powerup. Half of the level takes place underwater, which can be slow moving at times, but can also be really fun. There is little to no biasing here; if anything, it’s Jazz biased because of the vine at the top – Jazz can get accross that faster by helicoptering. Spaz can get around, too, by jumping, but not as easilly.

Flow – Very good
Good flow here. You don’t have to jump all that often, which is definetely okay. Some people dislike levels where you have to jump a lot, in particular, Defost. This level’s flow, and tendency for you not to have to jump is somewhere in the middle. Which makes the best flow possible, in most cases.

Ammo placement – Good / very good
Very original ammo placement. There’s a shield, like I mentioned earlier, and the seeker powerups closer to the base that doesn’t get the shield (and a carrot close to that base as well). There is a toaster powerup in the middle surrounded by several fast fires. I like how the pepper sprays on the right side of the level are placed. It must’ve taken a while to test them so they could be placed in such a precise path.

Layout – Very good
I enjoy… you don’t get lost often, and the level is easy to learn.

Size – Good / very good
Medium / large level. Not too small, not too big. Maybe a tiny bit too small.

I’ll leave the giant reviews to the other people who only tend to review really good levels like this, which is why I’m ending this review now.

Download reccomendation: Yayayayayaya.
Host this often: Yayayayayayayaya.[This review has been edited by labratkid][This review has been edited by labratkid]

BlurredD, the shield is at the top left. ;p[This review has been edited by labratkid]

“Cracco Balloon Races 2” is basically the quintessential sequel. It is, all things considered, well-intentioned. There is nothing to suggest that this pack was excessively rushed, nor that little effort was put into it before release. However, there is just something missing from it, or rather a number of things, that makes it not add up to the sum of its parts. To be truly successful, a sequel must only improve on the original, but maintain a lot of creativity. This sequel to the original “Cracco Balloon Races” succeeds on a superficial level. It features good gameplay that is, all things considered, fun. And it does remain true to the premise of the original. However, the dedication is perhaps too obsessive. There is little more, different leveldesigns notwithstanding, that makes this sequel seem sequel-y. Rather, it is simply about equal in interest to the original. And, after the time the original has been out and played, that simply is not good enough. The starburst-esque claims made in this level’s description perhaps do more damage to it than anything. This is not a gala event of any sort. It is a race level, and by all accounts, an excellent one. However, it is touted as being much more complicated than it really is. Each level has its own name, when honestly they are simply different-looking ways of doing the same formula. Take this level at face value and ignore the pitches. It is quite fun in that case, especially for those who have not played the original.

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: This level is 980×40, making it effectively 80×5 larger than the original Balloon Races. For those who have not already quite guessed from the name of the level or the previous release how exactly this level works, it goes a bit something like this: you hop from balloon to balloon, avoiding various obstacles, trying to get to the other side of the level. Each level features a unique look and unique roadblocks (for the most part) that try to stop you from reaching your ultimate goal. The levels are oftentimes character-dependent, although some of them can work with both characters (for those who enjoy trying levels with characters that supposedly do not work for them: do not try very hard; this level’s labels are more or less accurate on which characters can and cannot traverse certain challenges). If the balloon part of Balloon Races sounds generally like a ploy, it is. There is no reason for which this level could not feature another sort of obstacle, something that, while playing, occured to me many times. As nice as it is to have a themed race level, it would be more interesting if there was more creativity involved than simply different ways to stop the player from getting to the other side over balloons. Gameplay quality depends on your personal preference and the “sublevel”. NOOB is basically the test level for the game, and features nothing more than a few sucker tubes blocking your way. Getting past it is hopefully easy. FAKETREES is sort of like NOOB, except harder and, instead of just balloons, it features trees. GHOSTS features yet another one of those annoying disappearing ground tests that relies on good timing and luck as much as game playing skill. FROSTY is simply a windy version of the earlier simplistic balloon levels. EVVIL is kind of the opposite of the previous levels, perhaps because of the extra “V”, and here you try to jump from ledge to ledge whilst avoiding the balloons. SPRINGTIME features springs which you must freeze to get through. OWNED is the sort of race level that I have been complaining about since the dawn of time and will continue to until the end of the Earth. There, you try to find the balloons that are actually balloons. This is the sort of level that bothers me, mostly because a significantly higher amount of luck is involved than skill, but also because it is monotonous. MINI is the novelty level, featuring much smaller ledges. HOVER is another really annoying luck-based level, where this time you simply navigate pitch-blackness to reach your goal. STUFF is a trigger zone-based level but otherwise pretty similar to earlier levels. MIX is apparently a mix of previous levels, with both freezies and bouncers to stop you from reaching the other side. OMGDASDADASADSADASDSA or whatever it is consists of a decent puzzle, which will either be a breath of fresh air or the most annoying thing ever, depending on your puzzle-related disposition. I had a strong sense of deja vu for much of this, as if I had played similar levels in the last pack. And, in fact, many of the levels were at least loosely based on the previous Balloon Races. I suppose creativity does have its bounds. The next complaint I have is the difficulty level. I am tired of levels simply throwing in a high level of difficulty and then insulting any player who complains about it. I may be a bad player, or a n00b, or whatever you want to call me, but test levels like these are simply too hard. While I think Foo Races is a bit on the easy side, this is nonetheless a very frustrating level. Players tend to give up quickly on the first few levels, which is not fun. This is less of a race than a “can you finish?” sort of level, which there are already far too many of. It is more fun to compete with other players than to idle with them because you cannot get past one of the levels.

PROS: Challenging and fairly creative, considering the limited options. Does not do a carbon-copy of previous levels.

CONS: A bit too much like the previous pack. Does not feel as fresh or new as the original. Unneededly hard.

RATING: 6.2

TILESET/TILESET USE: CraccoBoy’s use of his own tilesets and nothing else continues in full stride in “Balloon Races 2.” This time, the tileset in use is Cracco Party Casino (bad Elvis impersonators not included). It is more or less a good tileset, although the colors feel very fake to me (even considering that this is supposed to be a casino). The tileset is not supposed to be realistic, though. The colors have, however, improved since the original. Before, they appeared as unearthly hues that only a low-flying pilot could appreciate. Now, at least everything looks like it could reasonably be put in the same room and look like it fits. Not to say that it is completely streamlined and natural now, but at least it is improvement. The animation on the balloons is also a lot less jerky than in the previous version of this level, and while the level does suffer from the equivilant of visual verbosity, it at least maintains truth to a somewhat 8-bit casino atmosphere. The trees seem to float in the middle of nowhere (they are, after all, fake) and look suspiciously like balloons covered with leafs. The water in SPRINGTIME looks more like many blue shark’s fins, and there are many things that appear to just float magically, but it still looks realistic. Or at least more realistic than it theoretically could have looked. Oh, yes, except for the background, which is just horrible.

PROS: An improvement in realism over the original.

CONS: The colors are still just a bit too bright, the natural items just a bit too artificial-looking, and the scenery a bit too out-of-place.

RATING: 6.2

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: Ah, the saving grace of race levels. This is the category which is either life or death for race and puzzle levels such as this. Is it fun to play, or not? Isn’t that the entire point of a race level? In this case, this category is sort of a disappointment, but not a surprising one. Race level is not the title I would appoint to a level such as this, but that is what we have been asked to review it as. There is very little race involved here. It is hard to complete the final level, and this is mainly because the level intentionally makes it hard. It does, however, do a better job of balancing everything off than many other levels. It still, though, feels as if the difficulty of this level was added in simply so that many players could not finish it and so people would rate it higher just for being hard. This level is not any better for “highly skilled players” than it is for anyone else. Sure, they might be able to finish it more easily, but even for them, there is no fun in finishing if no one else can. There is a certain element to race that makes it more fun. The feeling that any moment, a player could come up from behind you and pass you. In this, you could theoretically take a nap on one of the higher levels and it is doubtful that many would pass you at all. The excitement simply is missing. This is like a game of chess without much thought put into it at all, and most players do not expect a game as long or difficult as chess from a race level. We want a fun, simplistic level. A fun level. And this simply tries too hard to be hard to be fun.

PROS: Challenging. This could be good for some. A decent replay, being a race level.

CONS: Repeat after me: hard does not mean good. Hard does not mean good.

RATING: 6.5

OVERALL (not an average): Aside from not quite being as new or creative than the first version, this level is much harder. While hard levels are getting high ratings lately, they are still being overrated. I would rather see a lot of creativity in a level than an artificially inflated challengingness. This level has its bright spots, and is by no means a bad level, but simply does not satisfy that wish for race levels that there will be another race level that will stop trying to be something bigger than it is. Race lovers have a simple view on playing. They do not care about the story behind a race level. They just care about going as fast as they can through a level. This level will find its fan base. It is not boring, but just not exciting enough. And, as many sequels before it, simply is too sequel-y. And way too self-important.

PROS: Challenging. Balloon racing is still enjoyable.

CONS: Slow and pointlessly hard to beat. Not much of a race level because of that. Ugly background.

RATING: 6.5

GAMEPLAY: B -
Flow: C+
Layout: B -
Creativity: B
Bugs: B+

EYECANDY: B
Tileset use: B
Eyecandy look: B -
Creativity: B
Bugs: B

THE FINAL GRADE: B -

THE FINAL RATING: 6.5

~ Traft

REVIEW EDIT IN RESPONSE TO CRACCOBOY’S COMMENTS: I suppose I may have been the most tad bit confused by the name of the level, which sort of suggests that this is, indeed, a race level; regardless, the level is presented as a race level. I still maintain, in fact, my original rating even if this was a test level. I was afraid that it would turn out to be a test level upon this review, so I was more generous with rating. The eyecandy and general lack of originality are enough to drag this down to something in the 6.5 to 6.7 range. I am going with the former due to the classification of this level as “Race” and the name. I do, however, understand your position. It does remain, however, that this level is stated to be a race in several locations. It is a decent test, and if it was uploaded as such, I would probably adjust my rating to 7.0-7.2. If it is, in fact, uploaded as such, contact me and I will do so, although I do not have enough time to provide a revised review in such of a case.[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

I can’t really see how this would make a good race, but it’d make a good test. No race should be any harder than Foo Races, which are on the borderline. Bad eyecandy… not much fun to me because I don’t like tests. Frusturating… I never got past 20, which is when I got really bored.
Download reccomendation: If you like tests, this is a great example of what they should be like.
Host this often: No, but you might want to.
No rating since I didn’t beat it all, and don’t really want to.

An interesting idea, I wanted to install it on jazz.nimrod-online.com, but sadly it doesnt like my PHP setup.

Shame really, ill be working with spazzyman for a GIP script for the site then.

But I would recommend that if someone was really good at PHP, they could download this, and edit it a bit so it works on other php setups.

It works fine for me! =D

Again a not easy level.

-Good layout
-Good for high skilled players
-Good eyecandy (lol)
-Good Test’s
-Good 2nde part of Cracco Balloon

-Bad… nothing :D

Not a 10 cuz i lose always :P

Wowha! Very hard to pas those LVL’s from you, DX!
STOP MAKING SO DIFICULT LVL’s DX! It’s not funny when your are die’ing thousand times and you haven’t even REACH an safe-sign! I payed allready Hot Springs and Lava Time! That was even harder then playing the original game’s on HARD MODE! STOP IT!

OK, Good tileset, good eyecandy but there are NO carrots! Why!?
Good idea to make an endboss that’s behindt an wall!

This CTF level is, in my opinion, a gem. While it is rather small, and would suit no more than 10 players, I have found it incredibly fun to play, even on just splitscreen.
There is a fun little twist; coins are needed to get to the bases. Just two coins, but if there are a lot of players, this could be a challenge.
The eye candy in this level is not breathtaking, but it uses the tileset in ways I would never have imagined.
The weapon placement is good, and it’s a well-done level in general. I give it a thumbs up, although I can’t stand the music.

This is just the executable, the setup files and other files are availible in the original jazzforce 1.1 download. So labrat, you are correct. Unless, someone already has updated ocxs and DLLs

I seem to get a fatal error when I try to run this. It’s an error in the tileset. Oh, well.

I think you need JazzForce 1.1 to use this, Amstel.

doesnt work by me

OKAY :d[This review has been edited by Amstel]

This level is amazing! The difficulty is just the way I like it. Hard, but not the insane hard like on that Jazz Unleashed thingy. The eyecandy was AWESOME! The enemy placement was not bad at all and the music really matched with the actual level itself. This has got too be one of my favorites. :)

But one of the main downsides is that it’s a little short. But it till has a hard-earned 9 from me.

woops, sorry sorry, for the tyle-set!

OMG, HOTEL! AHH!! Well, hotels aren’t so bad but don’t upload them to J2O… hotels are meant to be updated all often like if someone buys a room or buys stuff to his/her room, it needs updating. And re-uploading all time wouldn’t be fun or the users who download this alltime… well, I stop yelling now and go to the rating..

WAT YOU DIDN’T INCLUDE THE TILESET! Can’t rate then. Include the tileset!! :p

You are asking for a bad rating : DONT SUBMIT HOTELS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!

Al these things are bad :
-Its a vile, always bad
-On 153,31 i get stuck
-You dont have include tileset
-Empty rooms

And i was thinking that DX knows that he dont must help by hotels, they always get a boring rating.

These things are good :
-Good ‘get-up’ system

4!