Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

First of all, this is a TSF level. Kindly stop labeling 1.24 levels as 1.23. It causes confusion. Bjarni: You can’t open it because it is a 1.24 level, and not a 1.23 one.

This is another long-ish level with very little to distinguish it from other levels. There are quite a few tile bugs which severely damage the overall quality of the eyecandy, but gameplay is OK. The problem with this level is that there just is not anything that makes me want to play it again. It’s much like the levels the author has previously uploaded in that it is a longish but solid level using a common tileset. Snore. It’s the same formula here, except with somewhat weak use of eyecandy. This level is a tad fatiguing in that it just doesn’t offer much interesting. There isn’t much more to add, so I’ll let off with what is by my standards a very short review. Overall a seven and no download recommendation unless you really, really, really want a single player level and don’t care how interesting it is.

+ PROS: Solid level. Was interesting enough that I almost mislabeled “pros” and “cons.”

- CONS: Not interesting at all. Nothing new. Same old, same old. Tile errors.

VERDICT: A 7 and no download recommendation except for those who are desperately searching for a new single player level to play. There just isn’t anything new here to keep anyone interested. Start using some more unique ideas in your levels and I’m sure you can get very good scores. Until then, I have to say that this just is like every other level you’ve uploaded so far. Longish, good, but not new enough.

EDIT: And, by the way, I suppose that the author summarized this level perfectly: “Kind of interesting.” Cheer up, though, you’re good – you just need to make something a little more different than your current creations.

[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

First, I want to echo a few points Violet said.

>>First, don’t use such generic
>>filenames. Both the level and
>>the .zip overwrote earlier files. And
>>don’t say it’s 1.23.
I agree. I’ve had countless really good old and impossible to find tilesets overwritten by new common ones (same goes for levels) because the author did not go to the trouble of choosing a creative filename. I hate when people do this.

>>One of the things that strikes me
>>about this level is that it’s kind of
>>a remake of Colon1, in that several
>>areas in the level are directly from
>>it, and others look based. (The coin
>>warp is even for 50 coins)
While playing, I did notice this. It seems that some of this level was directly stolen from Colon1 while other parts took great influence from it. I don’t know exactly what to make of it. While Colon is a hard tileset to use, I dislike when people rip off of levels. But you don’t often see a case where someone takes such great influence from a level outside of a direct edit. I’m still not sure what to think about this, but I would have preferred to have an original level.

So, on to the level. This reminds me a lot of what the author has previously made – especially his Colon level. That’s because there really isn’t a huge amount that is new from them. Sure, the level is different, but there isn’t anything to distinguish this level from any of the other levels that he has so far made. An improvement I did notice, however, was that the eyecandy was better than in the last one, so there’s certainally improvement. It’s just another somewhat long level using Colonm though. While I’m not sure if “a start, an exit, and stuff inbetween” does justice to some of the interesting features of the level, it is unfortunately true. There isn’t much here to differentiate it from all of the other levels the author has made, which is disappointing. Still, this level does show improvements over the previous level, and improvements are always good. There were a few areas where layer 3 was used badly, notably in a section where it concealed an enemy, but that’s not a terrible thing.

In summary, this is an OK but uninteresting and long-ish Colon level. Very little more. If you liked the first level and don’t mind repetition, you’ll like this, as well. But don’t expect anything new.

+ PROS: It’s a solid level and shows improvement.

- CONS: Parts are ripped, and the level just isn’t anything new. Annoying layer 3 use.

VERDICT: If you have nothing better to do, play this level. You probably won’t find much new from the past level, other than that it has improved somewhat. It’s a solid level, that much is true, but it’s just nothing new – and that’s the level’s weakest point. Other than that, it’s a good level. If you didn’t see the first, download this one instead. Overall, a 7.2 and download recommendation for those who haven’t seen the first. Those who have, however, probably won’t find much new in what could be very accurately summerized as “just another solid Colon level consisting of a start, an end, and some stuff inbetween.”

This is a fairly old gameplay, but it hasn’t exactly gained wide acceptance within the community, namely because there aren’t many really good levels using it. Judging by the first few ratings, one would think that this was finally the level that would make the gametype popular, but I doubt it. Simply put, while the gameplay is interesting, this level just does not show much effort beyond the technical parts of the gametype. While the gameplay is fairly addictive and enjoyable, the server does require a certain amount of “maintnence” and you’ll have to bare with a morass of players complaining about not knowing how the gameplay works. That’s what you get for hosting a fairly unknown gametype, though. Once you get beyond that, the level is fun…but not extremely well-made. The tileset does have the bare necessities, but just looks sketchy and ugly. As with many CraccoBoy tilesets, masking problems abound. I accidentally became stuck several times, which is unacceptable, especially in a level which relies on the players finishing the game. There are a few small bugs such as misplaced text signs and incorrect text events, but not much. Still, the biggest fault of this level is that it seems to be thrown together fairly quickly. While it isn’t a bad level by any definition, it just lacks any factor that would make people want to play it. When you remove the gametype, you find little but a very small and uninteresting place to play a quick battle game. Not much more than that.

+ PROS: The gameplay is interesting…

- CONS: …But not widely played nor known. Also, the level isn’t very well-done and shows little creativity. The tileset is badly masked and looks sketchy.

VERDICT: My rating is a seven. I can’t figure out which group I would recommend this download to. Those who are interested in new gametypes already know about this, and it requires several people to play. It’s not yet very popular, so you’ll end up explaining how it plays over and over. The level isn’t extremely creative, but I suppose is “OK” for the game mode. Still, I can’t recommend this for download except to people who are interested in new gametypes but have never played this one and people who already really like this gametype and don’t mind if they aren’t seeing much that is new.

This is, in fact, a 1.24 level. Please change the label.

First levels are, as Violet said, generally not the best of levels. It’s a good time for experimentation and to learn how to use JCS, but rarely do you see a really good level come out of it. This was a surprise, though it is nothing ultra-amazing. A fairly simple single player level, Toxic Evil (toxic evil.j2l) has some very interesting aspects. Still, there are a few common mistakes in first levels that are here in abundance. I like how Violet calls the overuse of pickups “pickup overdose.” It fits perfectly. There is no need for this extreme amount of pickups, notably food, and causes players to get sugar rushes constantly. It’s a fairly long level compared to many, and uses the fully masked (I believe) version of the fairly good tileset “Deckstar.” There are a lot of secrets contained within the level, and it’s good to remain alert for subtle clues to where the secrets are. Gameplay is definitely the best part of the level. When you look at eyecandy, you start to notice some problems. There are quite a few small to moderate tile errors that could have been fixed if more time and energy was put in the level. Still, it looks OK, but the gameplay is much better than the eyecandy. For a first level, this is pretty good and I recommend you keep working on levels. Still, with the “overdose” of pickups and the not-so-good eyecandy, there is some work to be done here before the level is ready for prime time.

+ PROS: Pretty good gameplay, very good for a first level.

- CONS: Bad eyecandy, and a completely overboard amount of pickups, especially food.

VERDICT: A 6.5 and a download recommendation for those who enjoy seeing good first works. All in all, this level falls into the “above average” category but isn’t exactly up to the “good” mark. Still, it’s surprisingly well-done for a first work. Keep on working on levels, but make sure to spend more time on them, especially on the eyecandy parts. Also, you don’t need as many pickups as this level has. Still, this looks promising. Good job.

Wow. I have to say that this is not worth a ten, but it certainally is a very good remix. I recommend that the author countinues to make them. This is a fairly catchy tune, with a start that (like Blackraptor said) is very abstract but not so abstract that it becomes annoying. The rest of the song has a good beat and is catchy. It shows effort, which many remixes these days do not. Definitely worth a look – err listen – especially if you are looking for a good selection of space music. There were only a few things that sort of bugged me. The first thing is the highly audible screech, which is very annoying. Still, it isn’t enough to detract from the overall quality of this work much. The background sounds add in an interesting mix to the music and prevent the music from sounding flat and dull like many remixes do. Getting a good score on music from Moonblaze is an accomplishment (he rates fairly low. Not a bad thing, but he’s very picky about what kind of music he likes) and getting an overall eight or above is also an honor. There are a few parts of this track that I do not like, but it’s catchy and addictive and definitely deserves a download recommendation.

+ PROS: If you need space music for a level or just to listen to, you can’t go wrong with this. The background sounds stop the music from sounding annoyingly bland and flat.

- CONS: The screech is annoying.

VERDICT: An 8.2 and download recommendation. Probably the best JJ1 space-themed remix out there. Keep making remixes and maybe even levels; this is quite good. Download recommendation? Definitely, especially for levelmakers who need more music that is space-related. Even casual listeners who aren’t using it for levels would probably enjoy giving this remix a spin.

To bijarni: The Exit is in the same place than before.:
Gameplay>Area>Ende des Leves (Anm.Rennen*) and second (Anm.Beamen**)
*:Jazz Runs away
**:Jazz will warp to the next level.

You know what? I also seem to remember something like this a while ago…

This is a funny race level!!!
not to short not to long.
Good animations like that viking that gets shocks.I think this is a good race level.

(Do not rate the levels of people you know higher. -Trafton)[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

Why can´t I find the exit!

Mad Teanager________________________56%
That´s because he is explose for us what heppens on night!

sonictth____________________________23%
Hey, is it [color=dark-blue]DARK BLUE[/color]?

Jesse Smith_________________________0.9%
Good question :D Is it dark blue?[This review has been edited by Bjarni]

That is cool for a 1st level.But tell your dad that he should put more eyecandy and put some stuff in layer#5-7.I would rate it 2.7 – 3.Keep practise .

Yup, it’s a nice first level.
The gameplay is overall bad, there are too few jumps.
Eyecandy is ok, but on most places you need ceiling.
Orginality: Really nice. To get 10 coins is a nice idea and some places are uhm.. orginal
Placement of items: Not bad, but we want more weapons and less gems.
Further: There are too much coins hidden and you must come back.
If i should rate this, it was a 4.0.
Say your dad to practise and he would be one of the nicest level makers ever ;P

I´ve question! How can we find the exit?

Wow…it seems that this level contains an entire spectrum of reviews from “this is really good for a first level” to “I would rate this 2.7 if I could.” So I suppose I’ll find out what I would rate it.

This level shows a decent ability to create a level, especially since it is your father’s first level on Jazz Jackrabbit 2. Despite the acceptable gameplay, though, this level’s eyecandy leaves a lot to be desired. There are many tile bugs, which I suppose is acceptable enough when you are a new player, but there’s still a lot. Since I don’t rate based upon how much experience someone has in levelbuilding, I can’t increase my rating just because they are new. Even though the eyecandy looks very messed up, the gameplay shows some promise. It’s good to master gameplay before eyecandy, since gameplay is often more important than gameplay (I personally would rather have a bad-looking but very good to play level than a great-looking but unplayable level.) Still, the gameplay is a tad linear. Regardless, this work shows promise. Tell your dad to keep working on levels and make some of your own, too! No rating since this is not by the actual uploader.

+ PROS: The gameplay is not the worst I’ve ever seen, though it definitely is no where near the best. Shows promise.

- CONS: Bad eyecandy, barely OK level design. Still needs work, but not bad for a first level.

VERDICT: I can’t rate this since it is not your’s, but I’m not sure what I would rate it if it wasn’t. Nothing above 5, nothing below 3.7, though. Probably around 4.5. So, out of confusion, HTML tags:

EDIT: Please do not rate this. It is not his level. You can not rate it, since it is not his level. ;-P[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

When someone puts in their download description “Just download it, it can’t do any harm,” I get slightly scared. Still, this is a useful tool (I guess) for anyone who is German and doesn’t know enough English to operate in a normal JCS environment. There isn’t really that much more to add other than please do not rate this. It’s not his creation originally, and it should not be rated as so. Still, if you really really need a German JCS.INI (I suppose for a few people, it could be a good thing), this is it. I can’t verify how well the German was translated since I go not know German, but I’m sure that it was at least decent.

Oh, and as a note: I’m not sure whether this fits into the category of Commercial Software for Download. It is a support file, but I know uploading JCS.EXE is illegal. Just keep a watch out.

+ PROS: If you’re new to JCS and German, I suppose this could be useful.

- CONS: It could be illegal. And ALWAYS BACK UP JCS.INI FIRST, regardless of what the level descriptor says.

VERDICT: Since it is not his creation, I can not rate this. Still, assuming it is legal, I guess German JCSers who are new to JCS“ing” and can’t understand what the English JCS text says could find some benefit in this. Still, I have a sneaking feeling that this has been done before. Hmm.

Eeeeeeeeeek…I was fine with the description of “plain and simple lvl,” but I have to say that the part about warps freaked me out. Honestly, I’ve came to the conclusion that warps just don’t work wonders in CTF. They’re kind of cheap excuses for not having a real flow. Still, this level is not as bad as it could have been. Then again, it’s not as good either. It’s an OK capture the flag level, but probably not anything I could recommend someone play.

GAMEPLAY
Flow: Flow was not anything special. I bumped into things a lot, and became aggrevated quickly. This level features nearly impossible to manuver around eyecandy. The flow of this level just is not good at all.
Layout: Layout is uh…bad. This includes base placement, which was horrible. Honestly, this would be better as a battle level by quite a bit. I’m not sure if it is the strangest level ever, but it certainally is weird. It plays like a somewhat decent battle level with a few bases stuck into it randomly just so it could be labled as a Capture the Flag level. It really isn’t.

EYECANDY
Tileset use: Well, the tileset used is Cheq. Need I say more? Frankly, the eyecandy is bland. I know that it’s hard to use Cheq to make good eyecandy, but that’s no excuse for having bad eyecandy. The author should have simply chosen another tileset. Block tilesets really just look cheap. Especially black and white ones. Considering the tileset that was used, I suppose this measure is OK. Still, it’s not good enough.
Tile bugs: It’s not easy to make tile bugs with Cheq, so there isn’t much to say here.

CONCLUSION
Honestly, this level would have been an OK battle level. But it simply is not a good Capture the Flag level. The bases seem randomly inserted, and the rest of the level is pretty much only slightly above average. Considering the tileset used, the eyecandy is OK. Unfortunately for the level’s author, I don’t rate only by considering the tileset used, so eyecandy was more than subpar. All things considered, this is a far below-average CTF level and a average level overall. There really isn’t more to say.

+ PROS: There aren’t any really outstandingly positive features of this level. It’s almost decent.

- CONS: Looks bland and bleached, doesn’t play well, bad base placement, I could go on and on and on and on and on and on and on…

VERDICT: A 5.0 because it is so average and no download recommendation. I actually recommend this level more (though that isn’t much at all) to battle affecinatos, since it is slightly above average for a battle level if you were to remove the bases. As a CTF level, though, I can’t recommend this to anyone at all. I’m sorry, but this level is plainly average.

I had a big, long review written for this and my computer, as it often does when I am writing reviews, crashed. So I’ll have to write a semi-short review on this level. This is a very good capture the flag level by FireSworD. It uses the fairly often used tileset Tube Electric Night in a way that you would not expect to see it used. It is hard to describe in just a review, so I won’t. You’ll have to play the level for yourself to get what I’m trying to say. Level flow and navigation is one of the absolute best aspects of this level. The level’s flow is outstanding. I rarely found myself bumping in to anything and nearly never wished that something was located elsewhere. There were a few minor qualms I had, but none were major enough to deserve mention.

GAMEPLAY
Flow: Flow was, as I mentioned, excellent. The springs were used very well in conjunction with the natural ground-based navigation and flow, and everything was very good here.
Layout: Layout was fairly standard with bases at opposite diagnol ends of the level and a warp at each end. The layout served the level well.

EYECANDY
Tileset use: Tileset use was good. There wasn’t a huge amount of “new” uses, but it was different enough to hold my attention.
Tile errors: I did not notice any plain tile errors. There were a few things that looked slightly off, but again, there weren’t enough to make much difference at all.

CTF ONLY
Balance: Balance was very good. Neither team had any unfair advantage that I could tell.
Flag Bug: The level sort of looks like it could have flag bug, but I could not cause it in testing.

CONCLUSION
This is an excellent level with great flow and good eyecandy. This level should be hosted often and probably will be. I can see that it will become a “classic” level of sorts.

+ PROS: Excellent flow, good eyecandy, all-around a great level.

- CONS: The eyecandy wasn’t ultra-amazing or new, but there isn’t any major con to speak of.

VERDICT: An 8.7 and download recommendation. This is simply one of the best Capture the Flag levels out there. I recommend everyone download this immediately. A fantastic level that is sure to become a classic.

Its very interestingto play it: It tellshis own story (+1 point) very great eyecandy (+4 points) the table talk level where you can meeting Moonblaze(+2 points) great tilesets (+3 points and much of fun by playing it! You have done PERFECT WORK!:
1+4+2+3=10!
But just what i want to know: Why the sentence ``Dont use Disguise Tieset if you doesn`t ask him´´? I must be a bandit otherwise!

Review by Sonictth

Tell your dad to practise. And tell him to make sure his eye candy is right next time. I’d rate this a 2.7. But since he made it. I won’t rate it at all.

I won’t rate it since your dad made it, and not you. Let’s just say that, as a first level, it’s not too bad.

Mad Teanager isn´t Jesse Smith! I haven´t made him at least!

1. No double posting
2. Have fun![This review has been edited by Bjarni]