Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Lots of cool stuff that I’ve always wanted to see in JCS ever since I started using it (12 years and counting).

EDIT: Removed what was a bit too harsh.

9 years later: I realise the title means “Dark Wood Jungle”

Great! the old level Editor!

[I don’t think you quite understand. Original rating 5.5. ~cooba]

I always loved customized enemies and bosses. I couldn’t be more satisfied!

Violet kicks all of our asses in angelscript, but not quite with the basic jcs. We, generally speaking are all very amazed by the ridiculously cool script. But if you take away the scripting part, the level itself is far off from evilmikes SP works in JCS. There is more to offer for the jj2 future!

violet kicks all of our asses in jcs it seems

Amazing level that shows many of the new AngelScript features the new plus has to offer. I never could have imagined to see such a gameplay changing level.

This level is a YOLO. Download!

Outstanding, plain and simple. This level really raises the bar when it comes to making use of AngelScript.

If this is an example of what is now possible through JJ2+, then I’m looking forward to seeing more uploads in the future.

Nice

Offtopic question; why don’t you rather upload these videos on Youtube? It would raise JJ2’s popularity.

[]

Barrier shattering, record breaking. Incredible all around.

This overlooked level provides a unique little puzzle challenge. It may be frustrating for some players. The music choice along with the pallette is questionable given the level name. Lori can kill the boss stupidly easily by spamming kick and fire against the block. Give it a try though, the flaws are minor.

Even though it feels odd for a new comer to comment like this… I kinda ref this from the other reviews >>

This is the first single player level pack I ever downloaded on J2O… and wow, up until today, JJ2 seem like this nice casual gun game. Now, I can feel the UMPF! in it :D.
This level pack is difficult, definitely difficult, but also very fun, every map has it’s own unique touch to it, if anything, it is bias against Lori players. I took 5+ tries to clear the entire episode without cheats WITH LORI. And just one try to clear it with Spaz.

Design-wise(i think this is called eye candy? >>)
The pack was very well build, there was very little places which I can wallclimb and there was no actual boring areas in the game. But this pack is probably not made to admire graphics, since it was over populated.
(3/3 points)

Enemies-wise
Seeing how everyone else comments, the enemies sound hard to kill. But in my own opinions, the enemies were strategically placed yet does not overthrow the levels, maybe just makes sure you can’t sit still whenever you like ;D/
(3/3 points)

StagePlanning-wise
Bias. Super Bias. I probably stated earlier but: unless you can run-double-jump the game is difficult. But as a Spaz, it is very fun, I find these maps very….“I WANT TO BUILD SIMILAR” kinda feel.
(2/3points)

Overall-wise
This is fun, challenging, and fun. Very well build, very hard levels. Very fun.
(bonus 1/1 point)

Download Recommendation Yes!! :D

Oh, we see 3 different programs which making JCS more useful.

With Episode Manager, you can make your Jazz Jackrabbit 2 or something like that, but I’m not sure that we really need JCS Launcher and JJ2Launcher, you can use the folders with F3 button.

Anyway, DL recommend – good job.

Edit: I NEED THEM ALL. 10!

Uterus Boss came to me, while I was playing the game. I didn’t even go to boss arena…

Stronghold is the latest contribution to the JJ2 scene by veteran JCSer and player Superjazz (also known as Vivando), produced as a result of the recent JJNet Season 8 CTF contest. Such contests have been responsible for some of the finest new levels to date, and Stronghold does not divert from this trend.

Whilst this isn’t a technical marvel in the visual department, it’s still among the best looking levels in recent years. The tileset usage has managed to convey the theme of the level without resorting to the typical eyecandy spam in order to effectively “rape” the tileset. Conceptually, this level features a fortified castle situated in the middle of the desert. I love the clean look that this level has – the tile usage is mostly very similar throughout the level, yet there is enough variety to keep things from getting too homogenous. It definitely has a more polished and professional feel than SJ’s other Deserto level, The Sun Fired Blanks. The .j2as file included provides a visual enhancement by altering the background colour to a “diamondus blue”, which is rather pleasant considering the lack of colour variety in the tileset, giving this level a more vibrant feel without detracting from the theme. It also matches the colour of the aqueducts in the level corners.

Master Sven’s notion that this level is “nothing special” perplexes me, as I found this to be one of the more interesting levels out there. Although it contains no completely original elements per se, the overall build of the level is quite unique. Despite the large size of 160×70, the actual playing area and the style of the layout are more suited to smaller games, although the level can most likely accomodate games up to 4vs4 (or more perhaps). There is essentially a division of the layout into a lower and an upper section, with most of the action centered around the middle section – the “stronghold” as per the namesake, if you will. A lone Full NRG carrot resides here – it’s fairly easy to defend due to the limited number of approach routes (two to be precise), but it’s also more attackable than in other one-carrot levels like Jungle’s Edge, Galactic Warfare and All Your Base CTF, because you can use EB as a counter-camp tactic. Such a carrot concept makes this level unsuitable for dueling in because you can stay at the top and hit anyone coming up from below infinitely, but it is good for team games because it encourages good communication and timing to control effectively. The top part may be a little too easy to DD in though, but it’s not a major issue. At least camping in the carrot platform itself can be dealt with by bouncer spam.

The base areas are one of the more interesting aspects of the level. As they’re very open, they’re easy to defend yet also vulnerable to attack due to the lack of cover. Being RTS can sometimes be quite challenging as dodging bullets is difficult here, and so airhits may occur, but approaching the base can also be difficult, especially from below where a rain of bouncer fire can virtually deny entry to the base. Thankfully, SJ added an extra route in the most recent update, making it more feasible for players to attack the base from the upper level, without having to traverse the potentially risky carrot area. Below each base is an escape route tunnel, which is a useful feature, enabling you to avoid much of the crossfire. There’s also definitely a risk-reward element associated with them however, as you’re left momentarily vulnerable as you exit the escape tunnel, so use them with care.
The weapon placement is well thought through and balanced. As this level is symmetrical, team imbalance is not really an issue, and the power-ups that are present (Bouncer, RF, Toaster) all have their fair share of uses. I find I have just a sight preference for bouncer in this level due to the importance of the y-axis in this level, although RF is still incredibly useful for chasing players along the bottom level, and for performing tricks (such as jumping up to the bases from below, a useful tactic in order to make a surprise score). I’m glad SJ did not place a seeker PU here, because the open nature of the layout would’ve led to a high lag factor. Ammo is rather plentiful here, which helps the level support larger games and reduces the chance of tedious blaster wars breaking out.

All in all, this is a high quality level by one of the top quality JCSers out there. It may take a little time to adjust to the style of the layout, but this has the potential to provide tactical, enjoyable gameplay for competitive and casual matches alike. Don’t be misled by MS’ questionable review – downloading and playing this online is strongly recommended.

Raised the rating after further contemplation.

Useful, but I think you should add something more. ^–

The concept was a nice thought, but just doesn’t work well in practice. What results is a painfully slow paced level where blaster skirmishes are frequent. The level tries hard be different, and I agree that ammo spamming should be discouraged. It may live up to it’s name, but the point is that this level is just not fun to play at all.

Gameplay: 2.1 / 3.4

Placement: 0.6 / 0.8

The powerups are placed on the outer parts of the level, which makes players go there more often, that has been done well. I think there are too much ammo pickups though, especially toaster and fireball.

Flow: 1.2 / 2.6

Before your update there were mostly only 2 ways to go, which would result in very monotonous gameplay. The update couldn’t improve everything that much though. There is still nothing special about it and there are many areas where it’s hard to have a decent combat. The only way to get up here is either with springs or going through cramped tunnels, which are also present in the bottom middle of the level. They said they were gonna watch gameplay the most, therefore I can’t believe they made us be stuck with this one in the mappool. The gamplay in Blackjack was way way better.

Eyecandy: 2.3 / 3.3

The eyecandy is the best thing of this level, although it doesn’t really matter while playing it. I still say there is nothing special about it though, the most remarkable things are how the different layers are overlapped by eachother and how the background is structured.

Originality: 0.5 / 3.3

As I said before, there is nothing special about this level and that’s also the only thing I can say about it’s originality. Im sure SJ could’ve done better, but don’t expect his work to be good instantly.

Final Grade: 4.8

EDIT: rating (4.8) removed – do not rate a level based on its creator, but on its own merits, and either way “nothing special” doesn’t quite match the 4.8 rating -Stijn

EDIT: I have not rated based on its creator but just explained that one shouldnt always expect high quality stuff from him.’ Ok, a definitely playable level, which is big and spacy’ doesn’t match a rating of 9.0 either, so either you are gonna check all reviews of all levels or you will give me the right to review the level based on it’s gameplay, eyecandy and originality. -MS

This level comes back often at JDC events and when it does, it is very fun to play. That said I also think this level plays best with many people. I’m not sure if this level would work with 3v3 or maybe even 2v2, but I’d love to try some time. On to the reviewing.

Gameplay – 52/65
First thing I noticed about this level is that it is very open. Because of this you’ll move around fluently and won’t bump into stuff easily. Also springs and vines are used well to let the player go quickly up and down. The warp is usefull to go up and get higher ground since it’s risky to go up the slopes at the right top of the level. The warp back down leads to a +1 carrot, it’s a bit more risky though. At the start the warps felt a bit useless but I think it’s something you got to learn in this level.

Another good thing about the gameplay in this level is that rf, bouncer and toaster are ballanced in this level. There are enough slopes and edges to prevent shooting rf’s too far and making bouncers more usefull. Besides that I think fire is most usefull in the vertical parts. I think the area at 61, 60 should be easier accessible. This is not because it is a campy area but I think making the passage one tile bigger will make it less bumpy. You could for example move the entrance down a bit so you can still have a safe area at the top. One more thing is the tube at the middle. I think this can be very usefull but the only problem is that it’s a bit hard to see it’s there, not a problem if you learn the level though.

The ammo is well spread through the level and there is plenty of it. The only area that seems empty is the left upper warp. A total of 4 carrots with small delay is probably the main reason this level is better with more people. The placement of the middle one and the right bottom one is excellent. Putting seekers at the right top one could make it campy, but I in this case it can be easily countered with bouncers and rf’s. I think the carrot in the water shouldn’t be in a dead end or at least make it a bigger area, it’s already in the water which makes it already risky enough to get it. Also the seekers at the right bottom in the level are a bit too hard/risky to get. Besides that I think the right side of the level seems to be a bit more filled with good pu’s/carrots than the left side, this isn’t that bad though. The bouncer PU is hard to get with normal bouncers, also I think in a tense battle it’s kinda hard to see but eventually you will know where it is.

Eyecandy – 23.5/25
Well there isn’t much too say about the eyecandy, it’s just great. Layer’s 1 to 3 and 5 are used very well to created nice decorations in the walls. Because most of this decorations are in the walls it isn’t distractive for the gameplay which is ofcourse a big plus. I was thinking about more decorations at layer 5 that are not in the wall, but I’m not sure how much this would improve the level and the background is good enough (and original too!). The tileset has been used before but not with this palette. The palette is pretty dark but I together with the music this increases the atmosphere. The level is open enough to not let the darkness become overwhelming.

Originality – 7/10
I don’t think the gameplay in this level is something completely new. One thing that adds to the originality is the water, not just because it has water but also because the gameplay around it is good. About the eyecandy, I think the background is very original and adds to the atmosphere. Besides that the good quality of this level’s eyecandy is not something most level makers can reproduce.

Total: 84.5/100
This level is definatly one of the better battle levels on j2o. Like I said it is used much in JDC events and I bet it will be used many more times in the future. Download recommended ofcourse!

Note that this rating is lower than my quick reviews, this is not because the level is worse but because I’m a bit more critical.