Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Well, it’s that time again – Anniversary Bash is coming this weekend (the 12th and 13th). This pack features the battle levels for AB (CTF will be coming in a bit). AB is Anniversary Bash, an event that occurs once every year on the anniversary of the release of the shareware version of Jazz 2. Since I did not make the levels, please do not rate this, though feel free to review them). Here are a few shorts reviews of the various levels in this pack (I will post extended versions once I get enough time to):

1. Officials Vs. Competitors (ab5btl1.j2l)
This is a good and fairly unknown Medivo level. I like it, so I thought I would include it. My apologies to whoever made it, as I’m not sure.

2. e-Line Circuits by BlurredD (ab5btl2.j2l)
This level features a very creative and well-done layout and some neat-looking eyecandy. Also, I thought that BlurredD should have three levels in here.

3. Mystic Forest Cave by Spy (ab5btl3.j2l)
This is a really good Jungle level, and far underhosted in my opinion. The flow is nice, especially for a battle level, and it is a classic.

4. Universal Warground by CelL (ab5btl4.j2l)
What would AB5 be without an array of levels based on Disguise tilesets by CelL?

5. Toxic Waste by Shadow GpW (ab5btl5.j2l)
One of my favorite all-time Shadow levels, and definitely a great battle level. Plus it has a lot of cheese.

6. Chocolate Lamp by Violet CLM (ab5btl6.j2l)
This level is nice, as it is a break from a lot of dark-like space themed levels. It’s an enjoyable, fun level with enjoyable gameplay.

7. Carrotus Squash by martin aka partydude (ab5btl7.j2l)
Definitely a classic. You really can’t go wrong with Martin’s levels, even if it does use Carrotus.

8. Shine-O-Rific Land by EvilMike (ab5btl8.j2l)
This level uses JJ1: Diamondus and is a fun level, especially when there are quite a few people. Even though it is small, it balances that out with good weapon placement. An old favorite.

9. Tribal Temple CTF by Cell (ab5btl9.j2l)
Something about this level just makes me want to put it in the pack. I really don’t know what that is though. In any case, this is a worthy level, and one with no serious flaws.

10. Sandstrand O’Hazes by spy (ab5btl10.j2l)
This is a popular level, and while I am not a huge fan of it, something made me want to put it in the pack anyway. So I did.

11. Green Beret by Bluez (ab5btl11.j2l)
Like six hundred people asked me to put this in the pack, and I like it, so it’s in.

12. Hectic Housewars by Disguise (ab5btl12.j2l)
I wanted to include a Disguise level, and this one was his most recent, so I elected to put this in. It’s fun and definitely a unique level.

13. by EvilMike (ab5btl13.j2l)
I included this half because it’s a great level and half because I like to be yelled at for including a level featuring a shield.

14. Forsaken by BlurredD (ab5btl13.j2l)
What can I say? A BlurredD level using Agama’s Egypt. I love Agama tilesets and this level definitely makes great use of Egypt.

15. Virtual Headache by Project Forward (ab5btl15.j2l)
Perhaps one of the best collaberation levels of all time. A great use of Jungle, and tons of fun to play.

16. Higer Fragging Rate by FireSworD (ab5btl16.j2l)
A great FS level. I had to include one level using 7th Lava Fall, and this definitely was the best this year. Nice gameplay, good weapon placement, and all-around a fun level.

17. 60,000 Feet Under by BlurredD (ab5btl17.j2l)
It’s always a good idea to have plenty of default tileset-based levels in AB packs for obvious reasons, and this is one. Well done with good item placement and gameplay. And it’s by BlurredD, so why not.

18. Rockingham II by Merlyn (ab5btl18.j2l)
It may be a Carrotus level, but it’s amazingly well-done. I feel bad for including two entire Carrotus levels, but well…this is just too good to resist.

19. The Dark Fortress by CelL (ab5btl19.j2l)
A fun and definitely unique Castle level. Plus it’s by CelL.

20. Spider Swamp by defalcon (ab5btl20.j2l)
A fantastic level using the famous Agama tileset. This was apparently a first level, and a great one at that. Fun to play, and even more fun to just sit back and look at.

21. Chemical Reactionz II by MidN aka Chimaera (ab5btl21.j2l)
By (in my opinion) the most underrated levelmaker of all time, this is a great Labrat level. I had to put something by MidN in here, and this is a great level, not to mention fun to play.

Special thanks to Bobby aka Dizzy, FireSworD, and Violet CLM for help along the way. Also thanks to the AB5 organizers and hosts. I hope you enjoy this pack. See you at AB5!

EDIT: Various longer reviews.

16. Higher Fragging Rate
“Higher Fragging Rate” was intended to bring some strategy into the fairly strategy-deprived world of battle levels. This is a step in the right direction, but there are a few more steps before battle is truly a strategy-heavy mode. The level may be gameplay-centric, but it is not short on gameplay. It has an elevator-ish background with a foreground that is sort of industrial (it uses 7th Lava Fall by Dethman, which usually ends up either looking like a city or some sort of factory, this time it is a factory.) Weapon placement is good, but not amazing. The flow is good, but there are some places where it is hard to move around. It did, at times, remind me a lot of battle1, with a lot less ammo. It’s definitely worth a download and the eight point two I’m giving it. Great job, FireSworD.

17. Rockingham II by Merlyn
I had the pleasure of playing this excellent battle level online and must say that while I am a CTF lover, this is one of those few levels that actually makes me consider playing more battle levels (not that I’m un-lazy enough to get around to doing so.) If you thought that there was no room for battle levels in Carrotus to get anymore (or any less, for that matter) innovative, you may want to rethink your assumpitons, let alone your entire world view. Most battle levels fall into a fairly narrow margin of creativity. A lot of them are fashioned off of the gameplay of Battle1, and these days the sight of one that truly attempts to put some strategy into the realm of battle is a rare commodity. While it does not go as far as to revolutionize the entire gameplay as a whole or introduce some psychadelic funky eyecandy set, it does what it does best: be a really, really, really good and solid Carrotus battle level.

When you first start playing the level, it is hard not to compare it to Every Other Carrotus Level Ever Made. After all, Carrotus levels have been stereotyped more than Michael Jackson has had pretend skin diseases. This level is not predictable in any way, shape, or form. That’s why it is so strikingly different from other Carrotus levels out there (I am not saying the tileset can not be used with interesting gameplay, it’s just that levels using Carrotus often are similar in gameplay – solid but uninspired, much like the tileset). Gameplay is always very good. Weapon placement is one of the two areas, however, that were not perfect and could have been improved if it was thought about enough. While most powerups were fairly well-placed, certain areas had an overkill of powerups that seemed a little too out in the open. While I can’t say that this effected gameplay that much, it still was just one of thost things that annoys me without actually mattering that whole too much. However, WCS (Weapon Clumping Syndrome) is annoying beyond belief, and this level has a very minor case of it. A few weapons moved around here and there would be nice. The second area that could use some minor improvement was eyecandy. Generally, the level looked solid and had sufficient eyecandy to keep you interested, but in many cases there were small overlookings in the scenery. A few tile errors here and there did not exactly help how the level looked, but unless you were specifically looking for them, it probably won’t bother you too much. Since I informally beta-tested it, I must say that I am disappointed that the author did not fixed either of the two mentioned tile bugs after we pointed them out, but nonetheless that doesn’t detract a huge amount from the overall feel of the level. Flow was excellent for a battle level. Flow isn’t as important in battle levels as it is in Capture the Flag, but that doesn’t mean I like to see levels just ignore it, and this one certainally pays due attention to this often overlooked aspect of the battle genre. Another interesting thing which may fall under the “pros” column or the “cons” column depending on personal preference is the use of coins and a bonus coin warp in this level. You don’t see this often in battle levels, since the “roast as fast as you can” additude of battle levels does not exactly lend itself to hunting for various coins to get a powerup which you will probably lose after being killed a minute later. Still, while few people were able to get this powerup, the coin price seemed fair, and its inclusion certainally did spice up the level a bit.

What you have here is an example of a Carrotus level at its best. While it may not echo every other Carrotus level ever created, it achieves the hard-to-garner goal of being new and lemony-fresh without being so revolutionary puritist players who refuse to play anything more revolutionary than Chemical Warfare won’t play it. It bridges the large gap between classic and innovative, and bridges it quite well. While it may have a few quirks, the amazing level of concentration, ability, and knowledge of how gameplay structure works in a new JCSer is about as common as unpoisoned water in Death Valley. Even if you aren’t a fan of battle and aren’t amazed by this rating, it is definitely worth a download just to see the great skill of a new level designed. I seriously recommend you download this pack, and I think that a 8.2 rating, while it may not seem extraordinary, is still quite high. This may be the highest rating I’ve ever given someone’s first officially released level, and I really hope to see future releases from this level’s author. Rockingham II is really that good.

21. Spider Swamp by defalcon
This is a very nice battle level using Agama’s excellent Swamps tileset. When I saw someone using Swamps, I was in dobut, since it’s a somewhat hard set to use. But neither graphically or play-wise does this level fail. The level excels especially in ammo placement, which is near perfect. It also flows very well. The only problem is that the level is very small. It takes a long time to make a large but very good level using this tileset, so I won’t knock this level that much for it. However, this level would not be suitable for multiperson duels or the Battle Server (though I would have no complaints if the Battle Server accepted it.) All in all, and excellent level, definitely worth a look. A big download recommendation.

I hope you enjoy these levels. See you at AB5!

- Trafton[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

I like how you’re saying that you don’t know of any bugs and you want to change that.
STORY: From attempting to read the end text (which needs some @ symbols), I’m guessing the story is as follows; Bubba has a playground with diamonds but you don’t like him having diamonds so you kill him.
Pros/Cons: There are some times when Pros and Cons are completely useless. Let’s just say I don’t care about the story and leave it at that.
Rating: N/A

TILESET/TILESET USE: The author uses, as I’m sure you know, the Dam Nation tileset. Layer 4 is used pretty well, with no apparent tile bugs (other then a few masking troubles), but I can not say the same for the other layers. There are some boney skeleton things hovering strangely in the foreground, and transparent lava doesn’t look right in the background. There is little that is inventive or interesting to speak of here.
Pros: Layers 4 and 8 fit together.
Cons: Poor other layers, nothing interesting, the bridges look weird.
Rating: 3.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: I suppose this was ok. Nothing bad stuck in mind, but nothing good did either.
Pros: N/A
Cons: N/A
Rating: 5.0

ORIGINALITY: Well, there are giant red gems in the walls around the playground.
Pros: Some originality.
Cons: Not much.
Rating: 3.2

DIFFICULTY: This level is rather easy, to tell the truth. What with the blaster powerup and the lack of any serious threat from enemies or the level, Bubba is the hardest part and he’s not dangerous at all.
Pros: N/A
Cons: N/A
Rating: 4.0

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: This level is kind of fun to play, but I find it unlikely that I would play it again unless I come across it while randomly selecting levels while bored. It is just not paticularly interesting.
Pros: Not bad to play.
Cons: Not paticularly interesting.
Rating: 4.0

OVERALL (not an average): This level is.. ok. However, it suffers from worse-then-average eyecandy and nothing interesting to speak of.
Pros: Some good,
Cons: some bad. Eyecandy needs work.
Rating: 4.5

Well, I’ll have to admit that the Evil Forest was much better, but this is still a good level.

Eyecandy: 4/10 Could’ve been much better, especially in the foreground layers, and some edges.

Enemy placement: 5/10 There were hardly any enemies! When people reviewed the Evil Forest and said there were too many, they didn’t mean to get rid of all most all enemies… The enemies that were there were placed well, though.

Ammo placement: 8/10 Couldn’t have been too much better (or worse) since this is such a small level.

Bugs: 6/10 Well, unless you downloaded Fanden’s level pack, your game will crash. Also, some of the warps are hard to find; some of them you have to guess that one will be there.

Fun: 6/10 Pretty fun to play, actually. The endboss was quite boring because it was a very small rectangular arena.

Total is 5.8, but I can’t do 5.8, so 5.7.

TILESET/TILESET USE: This pack uses Labrat for one of the levels (presumably the unfinished one), and Tubelectric Day for the other three. I can not say I paticularly like the eyecandy in any of the levels. The tubelectric levels are probably the best in the eycandy department, as it’s hard to mess up its background eyecandy, but the walls are still messed up (and some of the shading). The Labrat level is just tile buggyness.
Pros: The sucker tubes fit together, some other things work.
Cons: Not nearly enough work here (“You shouldn’t really have too much” indeed)
Rating: 3.0

WEAPON/ITEM/BASE PLACEMENT: Let’s go over these in order. Weapons were very sparse, and the items consisted of carrots laying here and there. I personally would advise replacing two carrots together with a full energy carrot in CTF, but oh well, to each their own. As for the bases (in the levels that were CTF), they were ok, semi-opposite ends of the level. Still, I felt they could have used some work.
Pros: Ok bases, ok carrots.
Cons: Little more then ok, sparse weapons.
Rating: 4.2

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: The levels have varying design. The Tubelectric levels (two of which are the same level only one with CTF bases) consist of a bunch of rooms connected with small passages, sucker tubes, or annoying warps. No, not like in Auqa Zone or Rat Race. The Labrat level is a bunch of tiny platforms with money where you buy shields and powerups (more on that later). I really can not say I like the design for any of these levels, except for TubeCTF.j2l which is kind of ok.
Pros: TubeCTF kind of ok, some saving graces.
Cons: Most of the levels are substandard, not enough freedom of movement.
Rating: 4.0

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: You could have some fun here, but I’m unsure enough to not give any rating to this factor.

OVERALL (not an average): This section doubles as a bug report. The main problems (other then the levels themselves) are that not one of the levels has a working next level setting (several don’t even have anything put in), and that in the Labrat level, if you buy the bouncy powerup you’re pretty much able to get all of the other things for sale without paying. The walls are just that thin, and there’s nothing preventing you from shooting through the sucker tubes. Anyway, the levels aren’t too good. Work more on eyecandy, scrap the Labrat level and fix up the two double levels a bit and I might rate this higher.
Pros: Some things are good.
Cons: And some things aren’t.
Rating: 4.0

Old or not, this game mode is just boring(which doesn’t mean I don’t encourage people to make new modes. New modes sometimes rock).

I won’t rate the level, since it’s only some sort demo level for this gametype. And, since the gametype already exists, I won’t rate it either. Which means there’s nothing left to rate.

So, no rating from me.

no time to write a review, but indeed, king of the hill is a sooo old gamemode…

Well, I’ve seen this hosted many times and since Darkhelmet asked me to review this, I guess I will.

TILESET/TILESET USE: The tileset used was castle. The tileset use, I found some of it interesting. Like the layer 5 (or at least it looked like 5 to me) with those backround eyecandy things on top of the brown backround brick tiles, that was really cool. Though there was a deal of backround eyecandy missing (no layer 6 or 7). There wasnt much foreground stuff as well, but at least it was basic.
Pros: Basic eyecandy, the layer 5 thing amused me.
Cons: Just basic.
Rating:6

PICKUP/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Well, the author has included some powerups here, and they were placed ok. The ammo could use more creativity in some places, other than that there werent much inconveniences. Springs were sometimes placed annoyingly.
Pros: Basically ok
Cons: Nothing really extraordinary.
Rating:5.7

ORIGINALITY: Well, its hard to be original since there is so much castle levels out there. The top was somewhat original, but nothing else. For a new levelmaker using overused tilesets, originality is quite hard for them to master, so I wont ratethis level on originality, but good job on the layer 5 top thing.

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: I found some flaws here. There were some small ones like the fact I wasnt particulary fond of the left side, since the bottom of it was a big dead end (the only way to get out is to go back up, since there is a wall to the left and columns to the right, as well as a floor to the bottom) I did’nt like the fact that I sometimes bumped into the sucker in the wall and it jutted me back, some triggers could of solved this but it wasnt really a big problem. I also wasnt particulary fond of where the warp in the bottom takes you.
Pros: Basic gameplay
Cons: Many things could of been better, and some small downfalls.
Rating: 5.5

Replay value/fun factor: The level is easy to move around at, and would be fun to play with more people, except for the small gameplay downfalls.
Pros: Fun to play
Cons: Some annoying things
Rating: 6.5

OVERALL: A small nicely designed level, with no real complaint except for some small ones which don’t hurt the level toobadly. Its ok and quite good for your second level.
Pros: Nicely done, basic and fun to play
Cons: Some small errors such as lack of eyecandy, potential dead end, warps not really needed, ammo was sometimes strange, somethings could of been fixed.
Rating:5.7

Final Rating: 5.88=I’ll give this a 6 and good job on it.

One more thing, the next level setting is to a different level which isn’t included in the pack. This isn’t good, since the player may not have the other level. Sadly, the rating was dropped by .1 point and was rounded to a 5.7. =([This review has been edited by Blackraptor]

I will use the same reviewing method that Violet and Trafton use, since it works the best.

Firstly, like people mentioned, the gametype isnt new, I’ve seen it before a few times. I have expected a great deal more from this level, hoping it was a fun king of the hill game, but its a basic level, nothinh special, and looks like the author was in a rush to show his “new” gametype and most likely only spent 5 min on his level.

TILESET/TILESET USE:
The level uses the diamondus set, as the above reviewers probably mentioned, thankfully, it uses the day version, which is a bit less used than the night one. The tileset use, though, is very poor. The slope you’re on when you start isn’t done very well (look at the edges plz) and hardly any tiles are used. I was quite dissapointed in this, since there isnt any eyecandy whatsover, the backround isnt even textured (!!) and well, you get the point.
Pros: More than 1 tile was used.
Cons: Many.
Rating:1

PICKUP/ENEMY PLACEMENT:
In levels like these, I’d expect some more ammo. All there is are some seekers and ice surrounding the platform you stand on (which is like 4 tiles wide). The ammo would cause chaos, and some ammo is placed really low so that only spaz can get it by falling and double jumping back up.
Pros: At least there is ammo, and the ammo choice could of been worse
Cons: A bit Spaz biased, all clumped (which is mainly because of level side I might add)
Rating: 1.5

ORIGINALITY: No. There could of been something new and interesting here, but there isnt.
Rating:1

Gameplay/design: I would give this a 0, if I could, but 1 is the lowest. Gee, youre on a single platform, with clumps of ammo surrounding you, a pit of water below which you cant get out of, and around 10 people in your server playing. Firstly, I don’t know how everyone can fit on a one tile platform, secondly, based on the size I’d say this would only last around 2 minutes, maybe less.
Pros: None
Cons: Everything
Rating:1

Replay Value/Fun factor: Unless you consider falling off a 4 tile platform into a pit of water and that you can’t get out fun, then I would give this a 1.
Pros: No.
Cons: Not fun, too short, not enough room to support many players.
Rating:1

OVERALL: A poorly designed level, which can only hold about 3-5 players, and that there is no way of winning this level unless you use controller (but that wouldnt do anything since THE LEVEL DOESNT HAVE A NEXT LEVEL SETTING!!!At least there is someammo here.
Pros: At least the author remembered to include ammo.
Cons: Poorly designed, bad gameplay, ammo clumped, no next level setting, bottomless pit which you can’t get out of etc etc.
Rating: 1.2

FINAL RATING: 1.116666667=I’ll be nice and give this a 1.2, since it could of been worse.

This level is just…no. That’s pretty much all that I can say for it. It’s a simplistic level using the Diamondus tileset, and at that, it’s a really, really, really bad one. It features absolutely no eyecandy, a gameplay that is nowhere near new, and well…it’s bad. The entire level is just one small enclosed platform with seekers and ice surrounding it. The idea is to shoot the person off of the platform, down into the water below. A simplistic and somewhat effective idea, but just not fun. First of all, one has to rejoin to play again. Secondly, this level has its share of problems. No multiplayer start, for instance. I can not imagine that this took longer than a minute to make. Now for the review.

TILESET/TILESET USE: The tileset used is Diamondus. What is there to say about the tileset use here? Perhaps that this is absolutely horrible tileset use. While there are not many tile bugs (not to say that there are not any – the platform looks strange), there is too little eyecandy for that to be a tangable benefit. This ends up being one of the most ugly levels to come along in recent history, and definitely not enjoyable to look at. The best-looking part of this level is perhaps the water, and the author did not make that.
Pros: None to speak of.
Cons: No eyecandy.
Rating: 1.2

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: All the weapons in this level are located slightly above the play area, where there are some seekers and ice to be used during play. There is not much to be said for this. Distribution seems random, though it would be hard for this not to seem like random distribution, all things considered. All in all, weapon placement is absolutely unacceptable.
Pros: None.
Cons: Quite a few.
Rating: 1.0

ORIGINALITY: There is nothing original about a platform with ammo and then water below. This gametype is no where near new, and it really can not be considered a full gametype.
Rating: 1.0

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Gameplay? Gameplay?! There is no gameplay! This level is a platform, ammo, and water. There is absolutely nothing more to it than that. What to make of this? Well, it is not fun. It is plenty glitchy. And you can not host it multiplayer because, well, there are no start positions. Gameplay was also unacceptable and this level should not have been uploaded.
Pros: NO.
Cons: YES.
Rating: 1.0

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: The problem with this level is that there frankly is no way to replay it, in that the level crashes if you try to host it. Not that you would want to replay it in the first place. There is nothing interesting about this level at all. Period.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): This is an unoriginal and frankly terrible level. You have to add the start positions yourself, and even then the gameplay gets steadily more painful. There is no system to gameplay – you just have to rehost it when everyone is out. I think this level can be summarized with one word, and that word is “no.”
Pros: No.
Cons: Let’s see…it doesn’t work, it’s bad…shall I go on?
Rating: 1.0

GAMEPLAY: F
Flow: F
Layout: F
Creativity: F
Bugs: F

EYECANDY: F
Tileset use: F
Eyecandy look: F
Creativity: F
Bugs: D

PLACEMENT: F
Weapons: F

THE FINAL GRADE: F

THE FINAL RATING: 1.0

+ PROS: Absolutely none.
- CONS: Doesn’t work. Really bad.

- Trafton

First I’d like to say that King of The Hill is by no means new. It is possibly the oldest custom gametype around, though I’m not sure how sucessfully it has ever been engineered. What with one thing or another (such as the tileset being Diamondus) I did not have the highest hopes for this level.
It was worse then I feared.

TILESET/TILESET USE: Ummm… no background eyecandy, no foreground eyecandy, layer 8 not textured, a few tile bugs. That pretty much sums this factor up.
Pros: Layer 8 tiles, not that many tile bugs.
Cons: See above.
Rating: 1.2

WEAPON/ITEM PLACEMENT: At the top of the “hill”, there is a high number of generating Seeker/Ice ammo (which generates fairly fast). I do not even know why seekers are up there, as it seems sort of useless in such a small area. RF or TNT I could understand, but not seekers. Regardless, very little thought appears to have been spent here.
Pros: There is ice.
Cons: Very “click click click done”.
Rating: 1.5

ORIGINALITY: There is really nothing original about this level. If the author had added some cool automatic thing to give a point to whoever the winner was and then start a new round, that would have been ok. As it is….. just no.
Rating: 1.0

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: The level consists of a four tile wide “hill” with a pit on either end leading way down into some water beneath. There is no way to get back up for the next round, so the host (assuming there is one) would have to use Project Controller.. not that there’s a next level setting!
Pros: Hey, it’s King of The Hill..
Cons: ..executed poorly. The platform is way too small for more then two people, and the ammo doesn’t really help either.
Rating: 1.5

REPLAY VALUE: There are, simply put, better KoTH (or similar) levels out there.
Pros: No.
Cons: Yes.
Rating: 1.0

OVERALL (not an average): One fact not mentioned in the level uploading process is that this is a BETA. I suppose I should be relieved, except for the fact it means the author will probably post a second version later on. Anyway, this is a low quality level which looks like the author spent two minutes on.
Pros: The author managed to avoid placing invisible tiles on top of the pits.
Cons: The author managed to avoid placing quality.
Rating: 1.2[This review has been edited by Violet CLM]

Everything in the above rating I was thinking as I played this level, myself. I thought it was very creative to use most (or maybe all) of the background layers in the castle tileset. I’ve never seen it be done much.
Download? Yes (or you could just wait for somebody to host it :-])

I added .2 points just for the cool background usage. :-p

To small.

(A 1 because it is too small seems a bit…uh…overboard. Rating removal. -Trafton)[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

Very nice set from Wisey’s new PSP8. Seems waaay too detailed for me to use, but nice nonetheless. Plenty of eyecandy, nice atmosphere, and choice of theme. The night version could use something different from the day other than the palette though.

Download reccomendation? It’s Disguise, duh! :P Get it.

It’s a empty spot. Only enemy’s no tiles yust brrrrrrrrrr.
i think it taked you 3 minutes to make this level.

Not an interesting level.
It’s to short, and this is an Assault level, isn’t it?
That’s a sort of single player, I think.

PROS: Good for your first download, good eyecandy, almost no PROS…
CONS: Too short, too less ammo, not a good gameplay, shall I continiu?

OVERALL:

This is not a good level, you can’t play it over the internet with 32 players. But it’s good somehow, if you play it 1 against 1 or 2 against 2, but it’s just too small.
You’v got to keep practising, makin good and big levels, mabye you’ll get a high rating from me. :)

Download not reccomend.

Not too bad.

Tileset use: rather good. I saw bugs, but there weren’t many.

Layout: actually quite interessting. I have the feeling there’s something “new” in it, but I can’t tell what it is.

Event placement: weapon placement was good. There was a sucker tube, but I didn’t get what it was doing there.

Eyecandy: average. Nothing special.

Overall: a funny level worth a download.

just very short cool bud at some places i kant get throug witoud cheating so its a 8.2

Well, a level that was started before his first and finished after his first. Is it better than his other? lets see…

The gameplay was ok, I enjoyed the few times I played this, however it’s based on the concept that most battle levels use: running around randomly shooting. And this level takes that to a high level as it’s platformy and small. It would be good for a mindless brawl but not for serious situations like duels, in my opinion.

The ammo and powerup placement helps the gameplay I described above. Although it’s not bad.

The eyecandy was average but there were some tiny things that caught my attention for a matter of seconds like holes in the walls and a thing that’s normally used in layers 5-7 that was used on 4. That’s about all.

Little strategy is involved here. It’s platformy and forgiving layout eleminate most of this aspect from the level. This is easily the worst part of this.

The fun factor is existant but like I described in the gameplay, it’s good for a little brawl every now and then. However compared to other battle levels i’d say it’s average.

Overall, this is an average battle level.

Download reccomendation: nothing really interesting/new, I wouldn’t reccomend it to thoose who have little time to waste it on something that’s a been there done that. However, I reccomend it to all battle fanatics to add it their collection.

Also try: unimatrix zero

- fs [This review has been edited by Fire Sword!]

This is an interesting Castle-based level from a relatively new levelmaker. It’s always nice to see new levelmakers, and this level definitely is promising. Regardless, it is a bit small, and does need some more work before it can be considered a full-fledged level.

TILESET/TILESET USE: The tileset used was the default “Castle” tileset by the Epic Team. Everything seemed to be put together relatively well, although there were a few somewhat questionable tile uses and the level was hard to place in a natural environment (what is it? A floating castle? What’s above it?). However, eyecandy was still nice. The Castle tileset is not exactly an amazing or underused tileset, but still this level managed to make okay use of it.
Pros: Everything seems to fit together.
Cons: Nothing amazing.
Rating: 6.0

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: This area probably needs some work before it can be perfected. Basic ammo placement was more or less good, but there was little powerups (which isn’t a bad thing for such a level). Other stuff was placed more or less well, with a few small inconsistincies that I noticed. Nothing big, though. Sufficient, and slightly above average.
Pros: Well placed.
Cons: Still not perfect.
Rating: 5.5

ORIGINALITY: Like many levels recently, this level is neither particurally original, nor particurally unoriginal. The level’s top eyecandy was something I have never seen before, but the rest was a pretty basic castle level. Needs more foreground eyecandy.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: The level is small, but what is there is enjoyable. Flow is, as always, less important in battle levels than it is in Capture the Flag levels, but this level has an okay flow. There were a few warp uses which seemed a bit odd, but nothing which hurt this level badly. Layout was good, and although the level was small, it was pretty fun to play, especially when quite a few people were playing the level at once (such as in an online environement).
Pros: Nicely done.
Cons: Small.
Rating: 6.0

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: This level is small, but it is pretty fun to play more than once. Especially when you can get several people into the game.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): This level is very much promising. It may use a fairly bland Castle tileset and may be small, but it is nonetheless not a bad play and worthy of a look. I can not see it being hosted very often but it definitely shows promise if the level author keeps making more levels and improving. This is a fun level, more or less, though it needs some work. A better atmosphere is needed, in addition to a larger level and some light improvements. Other than that, well done.
Pros: Shows promise. Not bad gameplay.
Cons: Still needs some work. Small.
Rating: 5.7

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

EYECANDY: C+
Tileset use: C
Eyecandy look: C+
Creativity: C
Bugs: B

PLACEMENT: C
Weapons: C

THE FINAL GRADE: C+

THE FINAL RATING: 5.7

+ PROS: Fairly fun and definitely a promising level.
- CONS: Nothing amazing, still. Small. Weird atmosphere.

- Trafton

First of all, this is actually a level pack using “JJ1: Diamondus” and “Forest” by Blade, NOT Diamondus.

“The Evil Forest”
TILESET/TILESET USE: Definitely improved over the author’s past works. The tileset used is “Forest” by Blade. Everything comes together to look correct, but it just is not very interesting. There is not much extra eyecandy to keep people interested in playing the level, which makes it a little less fun than it could have been. Eyecandy here is more or less average – good and well-fit, but nothing beyond the basic requirements.
Pros: Everything seems to fit together.
Cons: Nothing amazing.
Rating: 5.0

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Like everything else, the author seems to be improving in this area. Weapon placement actually was not bad at all and seemed to be well-considered and everything. The same goes for enemy placements, though a bit less so. There were too-easy-to-get bonus items (mostly one ups), but those are excusable. For the most part, this area is improved vastly.
Pros: Well placed.
Cons: Still not perfect.
Rating: 6.0

ORIGINALITY: Not terribly original, but not terribly unoriginal either. This level does not have anything that seperates it from other levels like it, but that’s alright. There is not much of a storyline, either. Again, excusable.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Sufficient. There were a few places in which it was confusing as to where one would go (like where the sign ambiguously says to “go underground” – there is a place nearby where you buttstomp). Still, generally, the level was pretty plain as to the direction to be taken. Gameplay was made a bit less linear by the option of taking one of two routes, but they both ended up in the same place.
Pros: Interesting two-route idea.
Cons: Confusing at times.
Rating: 5.5

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: This level is not a great replay, mostly because it lacks anything spectacular. It is solid, and indeed enjoyable to play, but still – there just is not anything that would make people want to play it more than once. It is worth one play, but not way too much more than that.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): Improvement is the key to honing one’s JCS skills, and this definitely shows improvement. With a little more effort and time in JCS, the author can definitely improve. Over the course of the past few days, the author has raised his rating average quite significantly. It used to be barely a 2 and now is above 5 – well done. Still, this needs work before it can get better ratings. Some areas were confusing, and the level just does not have anything amazing. Still, with some more work, this is very promising.
Pros: Great improvement.
Cons: Still needs work.
Rating: 5.2

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

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

PLACEMENT: C+
Weapons: C+
Enemies: C+

THE FINAL GRADE: C

THE FINAL RATING: 5.2

+ PROS: Non-linear. Improvement.
- CONS: Nothing amazing, still.

“First Time at Diamondus”
This is the level using “JJ1: Diamondus”. The major bug I found is that the next level setting points to “The Evil Forest.j2l”. The correct filename for the next level is “Forest.j2l.”

TILESET/TILESET USE: Much like the last level, there is nothing extremely amazing about the eyecandy, but it all seems to fit together. There was obviously some extra work put into the eyecandy in this level. There are some improvements in tileset use, and I must say that this is fairly above average for tileset use. Unfortunately, there were still some areas in which tile use was questionable – more than in the previous level. Still, eyecandy was generally better than the last one.
Pros: Everything seems to fit together.
Cons: A few questionable tile uses.
Rating: 5.2

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: This area was a tad bit worse than the last tileset in this area, speciafically in enemy placement. Why? Mostly because the author did not use stop enemy. The enemies in this level go through springs and into areas they should not be in. This does not effect gameplay really badly, but still enough to knock down the rating in this category somewhat.
Pros: Well placed, mostly.
Cons: Enemies had problems.
Rating: 5.2

ORIGINALITY: Yet again, not very original. There just is not anything here that would make this level any different from your basic generic JJ1: Diamondus level. No storyline here, either, to speak of.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: This level seemed a bit shorter than the previous one, but gameplay was somewhat less confusing. There is only one route this time around, so it is a bit more linear, but generally gameplay was somewhat better. Overall, this level probably has as good gameplay as the previous one.
Pros: No major bugs.
Cons: Short. Nothing amazing.
Rating: 5.5

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: Pretty much like the last level, this is an okay level, but nothing amazing enough to warrant a second play. It’s enjoyable the first time around, more or less, but probably is not a great second play.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): These two levels definitely show that the author is improving, and quite well. This level specifically is okay, and probably somewhat above average. Keep improving like this and I’m sure you will be quite good someday. Keep up the good work and don’t give up! :)
Pros: Great improvement.
Cons: Still needs work.
Rating: 5.5

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

EYECANDY: C+
Tileset use: C+
Eyecandy look: C+
Creativity: C
Bugs: B

PLACEMENT: C+
Weapons: C+
Enemies: C+

THE FINAL GRADE: C+

THE FINAL RATING: 5.5

+ PROS: Well done. No major problems.
- CONS: Nothing really all that amazing.

OVERALL PACK FINAL GRADE: C+

OVERALL PACK FINAL RATING: 5.7

- Trafton[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]