Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Okay, well, i do find this…interesting. “Bloody Battle” is about 55*55 tiles small and uses Disguise’s nice little “Darkened Landscape” tileset (which i have never seen until a minute ago, shame on me).

The design of the level is okay, nothing special. Kinda open with some nice gimmecks like springs, sucker tubes, good use of one-ways and even pinball events. The “elevator” thing at the right is original, but doesn’t add a lot of gameplay in my opinion. Ammo placement is okay, very slightly above the average maybe.

Same with the eyecandy: nothing spectacular, the typical lack of foreground elements and some nice ideas in the background layers (really, the idea with the eyes is neat).

But the thing that annoys me most in this level is the background music: “Deserto Action” by JSZ Jazz is not really the Scream Tracker hit of the month, it sounds more like a set of wild electric guitar and other samples. Sorry, not my style.

The value of this level derives solely from its originality. It’s worth a look because of some nice ideas, but not really something you’ll like playing for hours. “Bloody Battle” gets a high 6.5 from me (again, i tend to 6.5 instead of 7 because of all the overrating taking place).
And btw, i have no idea how people can rate this 8.7.

So, victory!! I beter from my brother!!![This review has been edited by JSZ Spaz]

I GET 10 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DONT THIS SEY TO MY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, fist of all, the beginning of the music sounded like a car alarm (no offence) and then it sounded to backward-forward like the music was signing properly, the went backwards, thats what is sounded like. Then the melody got screwed and those cymbals, bleh, ths isnt a very good music file. It sounds to repetive and the tunes dont sound good and they dont fit together. Sorry, no d/l reccomendation.
Nuff said.

I don’t see very much change from the original, only the instruments were changed. The instruments don’t mix, and because of that the tune is out of tune and doesn’t sound right. It lacks reverb too.[This review has been edited by FQuist]

I’m sorry. This is not that good at all. The different tracks don’t mix at all, there are things out of tune, the tempo isn’t right.. I suggest you practice some more before uploading anything. You need to try making the tempo right and making an interesting melody.

Top 10 Most Wanted [DEMO]
====================
An average single player level using the overused diamondus tileset by Epic.

The first impression of the level I got was: “empty”. You could’ve added a textured background and some background tiles. Then I spotted some tile bugs e.g. (20,19). There are also too much floating lizards up in a bunch. I played on and then found out I should take that row of diamonds instead of that road that leads to nowhere. You should’ve added a spring on (43,32).

Uh.. You also overused the cheese event on one point. The things you need to do with the trigger crates are neat. Now, you can get out of the place you just got in with the row of diamonds. Guess who you find there? A lot of enemies.. A bit too much. And an 1up. And a wall. So you have to go back. Bah.

Whee, pick up the bouncy and destruct the blocks. Play a little, and what!!? The wall on the right is no more :P It suddenly stops. Uh, yay. Go on.

Now you see an overdose of trees, some chickenlegs (he oughta be hungry) and Eva. Together with some text signs and an exit, this is pretty much the level.

+ PROS:
Shows a little interest in the storyline, author put some effort in scenery blocks (triggers, destruct scenery, stomp scenery).

- CONS:
None to a little eyecandy, no background scenery, tile bugs, overused enemies.

VERDICT:
An average single player level, but too short and simple.

RATING:
6.2[This review has been edited by Electric Ir]

This is just gurreat.
First a sign to Foolish acid:
Acid: You must play this in MP. Acid (again, lol): Okay. nm then :P

Okay, lets begin.

There are all just great levels. Good use of tilesets, but you must download them all, with music, before you can play AND have the music.
Yup, BlurredD Rock. Nuff said too. DOWNLOAD THSI NOW. Grmph.

@Salamander: Don’t lag too much ;P

Edit: You uploaded the music, tilesets. I’ll make a 9 of my 8.7. Catch![This review has been edited by Taz]

Never mind, the tilesets just didn’t move into the folder! Thwacks tilesets

These are pretty good levels, but for some reason they don’t appear in the home cooked levels list.

@Taz: That was the first thing I tried! 2 player treasure hunt split screen![This review has been edited by Acid]

Edit: Everything after this text is Trafton’s fault. (AND HE STILL GOT THE LONGER REVIEW I SHALL THROW FISH IN AGONY)

Welcome to the second review of Lost Gemz Volume II (Survivor) by Violet CLM. As in, the second time he reviews it.
Lost Gemz Volume II (Survivor), created by BlurredD, level maker supreme IMHO, is a pack composed of 20 Ground Force levels, so make sure you know what you’re downloading here. And now for my ridiculously elongated review, which is still shorter then Trafton’s because he went into more detail about each level then I did.
Let us begin by taking a look at each of the 20 levels.

Level 1: Thermal Scorch
Ground Force levels were quite the rage when this level was made, I believe, and this level appears to be the author’s way of getting in on the fun. While there is good eyecandy, the actual level is mostly just a bunch of randomly placed platforms. The reason for this is that shortly after you hit the crate at the top, lasers shoot all but the bottom ten or so tiles, then a volley of TNT crates fall. Thus, the actual arena is a small area, but still is well made, if not as original as some of the later ones.

Level 2: System Clogged
This is more like the original Ground Force levels made by ET, as in it’s more flat then tall. There are a bunch of structures of blocks with the blue bubbles of Mez02 hanging around to connect them, or just to look cool. In this one, there are three crates, all located near the bottom so you need to be kind of careful if you destroy them with TNT. Each launches a volley of TNT crates, and if you hit them all, you are left with an arena composed of several islands, which is always good for endgame playing.

Level 3: Waste Drain
BlurredD is still experimenting with different kinds of layout here, I think. This one is built more like a standard battle level, except that there are no slopes (not sure why) and all the walls are destructable. Nothing incredibly special about this level. Still, the TNT crates will leave several gaping holes in the ground, letting you fall into the green slime beneath from the freeze enemies that also come down.

Level 4: Heaven Sent
Same thing as Waste Drain, basically, except for the nice looking arches near the bottom which make the whole thing more realistic, somehow. TNT crates and freeze enemies come down from each of the crates, trying to get you to fall in. Still, if the author had used more of Heaven’s tiles, and not just the weird brick stuff near the bottom, this would probably have looked better. Even Ground Force levels benefit from some additional eyecandy.

Level 5: No Escape
A flattish arena, but the platforms look kind of cool (not all completely solid blocks). After someone hit a crate, it is more up to luck then anything else on if you survive or not, so try to find somewhere built up to hide inside if you start feeling pangs of lag. Of course, the lasers that tear through the level before the TNT crates don’t help you in that matter. Not an incredible amount of eyecandy can be done with this tileset, but the author tried his best (take a look at the warps at the bottom).

Level 6: Electrical Wipeout
Interesting background, but I think he did about the same thing in scecircuits.j2l. This level is similar to Thermal Scorch in that once the crate is hit (this can be dangerous to do, as most of the bottom is collapse scenery, and the crate is on some of that), a decent percentage of the level is removed by lasers and a TNT crate volley comes down to erode it a bit more. People will take a while to die in this one, though, as the level remains pretty built up even after the crate. Also, this level contains springs, an idea I’m not paticularly fond of.

Level 7: Polar Chill
This level is close to what ET probably had in mind when he first made Ground Force. It uses ET’s tileset called Ground Force, in fact. All the platforms have slopes, so you can run around freely without shooting your way through everything. The only things you need to shoot to get are some caches of Seekers and TNT, and the crates. There is a crate on each side, and each launches two or three Concentrated attacks of TNT crates. Once both crates are destroyed, you’re left with a fun area that will involve jumping from platform to platform to get at other people. (Endgame stuff)

Level 8: Tri-Sides
The sides of the level are also warps in this one, as the name suggests. This is a feature not repeated until (I think) Level 18. The level consists of a bunch of probably randomly placed blocks, some ammo, and some frozen springs. You have to melt the springs before the crate is hit, because the areas below the springs get lasered once the crate is gone. As people tend to hit the crate early, I don’t mind this use of springs paticularly. (They’re also right next to the warp walls, adding further danger) All in all, this is a good level with some cool features, and one of the best of the first half.

Level 9: Diablo’s Outlook
This vertical level has two vertical arenas which join together at the bottom, where you can jump from one to another (there are Medivo vanishing platforms inbetween them). Each side has a crate that mostly demolishes the OTHER side, so this level can require some strategy to do well. There are also some frozen springs near the bottom. The crates are surrounded by stomp blocks, to make them dangerous, and there are several caches of cool stuff near the tops surrounded by bouncy blocks. (Weapon blocks always make good things to stand on)

Level 10: Uncharted Territory
This is the first of the levels that was not in what I think of as BlurredD’s original levels. This one is kind of evil in that one of the warp targets is directly above a pit, so if you fall straight you die by default. The blocks appear to not drop anything when they are destroyed, but this is untrue – sparks fly out of them. TNT a cluster of them and you’ll see what I mean. This level has a good design and the crate brings down a lot of TNT, so I have no complaints. (Nice use of the pipes, by the way)

Level 11: 26 Second Frustration
The level name is, as Trafton said, based on “24 Hour Coffee” which used the same tileset. This horizontally based level has three warp targets, each of which are inside a box of destruct scenery, which make really good places to hang around later in the game (they are not totally destroyed by the TNT crates). Three crates also ordain the level, each near the bottom, and they bring down a hefty attack of TNT crates on their own general area. (There is also a chocolate bar in this level for, I presume, some sort of inside joke) Once the TNT crates have done their work, the level is still kind of substantial, so there will be a decent battle in this. This level also has some nice eyecandy.

Level 12: An Insidious Illusion
Maybe it’s just me, but invisible stuff is cool. In this level, anything that you see the textured background in is solid, and the rest of the stuff isn’t. However, the stuff that comes out when you shoot an invisible block isn’t too cool. The level also has a decent layout, though if the floating platform in the middle was destroyed by the TNT crates, I think I’d like it a bit more. There also is a bit too much TNT in this level, IMHO.

Level 13: Safety Precaution:
Quite possibly the most original level of them all, Saftey Precaution is a short, horizontal level with a bunch of platforms that keep seeming to get in your way. What makes this level interesting? The bottom is protected by red springs, so if you fall in, you’re safe unless you’re blinking at the time. Every half minute or so, lasers fire right above the springs, so if you’re keeping safe by hiding underneath all the platforms and bouncing up and down, they’ll probably hit you and make you die. As Sal used to say, Wheefun. Good eyecandy, too.

Level 14: Mechanical Clock Chaos
A vertical based level, this one mostly relies on its eyecandy to get applause more then the actual level. There is a turtle shell at the top and the crate/some springs at the bottom, and inbetween is a tall level with lots of blocks. After you hit the crate, TNT crates will drop every two minutes or so for a few times (got bored, so I’m not sure how many times, but at least 3). It takes a while for the level to get down to anything small, though, so you’re likely to survive for quite a long time in this. The eyecandy consists of some stuff at the start which looks kind of like the inside of a clock, and a giant clock in the background of the arena that goes all the way around every fifth of a minute. (The author Could have made it go around every minute, had he wanted to, so I’m not sure why he did that)

Level 15: Chain Reaction
In this level, you come down at the same times as a large volley of TNT crates, which take out most of the middle of the level. If you care to go down with them, you get hit by smoke ring stuff, which gives the background a really cool effect if you have high detail on. Once that is done, there are two islands on either side of the arena \ . /, with the . being a small amount of land left in the middle. In less then a minute, though, the two islands get worn away. There’s also one trigger crate on each island, but they don’t seem to do anything at all. All the blocks are green, which is odd. I’d have made one side blue, one side red, and the middle green, personally, but to each their own, I guess..

Level 16: Vacant Mine Shaft
This level really goes with the title. You start on a flat platform with some turtle censored, and there’s no way down into the level other then the turtle censored. (Sadly, if you stomp all the censored, you’re out of luck, and there’s no way to play the level) The turtle censored, once shot, bore a path down through the ground, then go down a shaft which is cleverly placed to recieve it. Once all the censored have gone down, you have a series of shafts going down into the ground. There’s also a crate that will blow off most of the top and any censored you left unshot. While it looks kind of hard to die in this without a lot of players or stupidity on your part, this is a fun level with great planning and forethought invested. (There’s also a spring for some reason) I’m biased towards this level because it uses my tileset.

Level 17: An Insidious Illusion 2
BlurredD had to make a sequel to it. Another invisible block level, this one is symettrical, with funky formations on either side and a crate in the middle. Most of the level is taken out by the TNT crates, except some stuff on the far sides, and everything in the middle. (This is because nothing comes down in the middle, allowing people to hide in the huge block of destruct scenery that is present there) One thing odd is that while normal blocks where you see the sky are solid, but there are portholes where you can see the sky that aren’t solid. This can confuse the player.

Level 18: Mean Green Elevator Machine
This name is incredibly familiar. Anyway, this level is a squarish arena where ALL FOUR SIDES are warps. I found this out the hard way. ;) The main level is a grid of 4 tiles per grid square, some of the squares being solid and others not. There are small packets of ammo everywhere. If you hit the crate in the bottom right corner, all but a bit of the level is destroyed, and lots of stuff was destroyed before then, very little will remain untouched, I should say. The eyecandy’s also great, as it uses perspective to make it seem like the whole level moves down (layer 5 moves faster then layer 6, which moves faster then layer 7, and layer 8 doesn’t move) Well done.

Level 19: Crater Maker
There is no trigger crate in this one, I believe. All the big platforms are riddled with TNT crates, so if you shoot a crate, the platform mostly self destructs, which is dangeorus to you and anyone else on it at the time. There is also no ammo, you fly through several lines of ammo before entering the level and that’s it. (Although if you shot some down there’s a chance to get more, depending on where it lands) The eyecandy’s good, but while this is a good theory, it didn’t turn out incredibly well in practice. Still good.

Level 20!: Tower of Death
This level has a cool idea, though it’s not very original. At the start you are forced to hit a crate to get out (it has text telling you to CLIMB in red letters). Gradually, almost the whole level (the tower part) gets lasered, starting at the bottom and working its way up. It stops at the top, where the tower stops and you get an ordinary arena. In theory, this weeds out the slower players, but the lasers take long enough, most everyone would be able to get up, considering they HAVE to be Spaz. Indeed, it might have been a good idea to make this a Jazz only level, as the normal reasons Jazz is bad don’t really apply here, and it’s way too easy to get up with Spaz. (I took time to smell the daisies and still got up with plenty of time to spare)

Engine: How the levels are made
At the start, you are put through something that makes sure you are Spaz (Or Lori.. these levels don’t take TSF into account, as the helicopter ears are the thing BlurredD makes you be Spaz so you can’t use) This is done by having you sidekick through a bridge. If you can’t sidekick, you go on top of the bridge, and get warped. Once past that, you wait in a starting room for the host to start the game. (The host goes into a room in the wall of the waiting room before other people get there, and gets a coin so he can get to the other host room later) He hits a crate when everyone is ready (as in has finished downloading and is in the waiting room (or is idle)), which sends everyone into the arena. If someone dies, they go into a slow sucker tube loop, unless they’re the host, who uses his coin to enter a coin warp sending him into the second host room. Here there is a generating blue gem and an exit, so he can cycle the level at any time (no Controller.exe needed)

Disclaimer: Don’t get mad at me
All ideas and criticisms incorporated in this review were typed by Violet CLM and are not meant to encourage lawsuits. If you do sue me, you know something I don’t, because I see nothing bad in there. All refrences to players as He/His/Him/Etc are because I was too lazy to add a slash and a female counterpart, and was not sexism. This review may be copied/reproduced as long as it is not changed past the point of fixing grammar and/or spelling, there are no ridiculing comments by the author about my mental prowess, it is reproduced in full and I get full credit for the whole thing.

Credits: Source of stuff
“Lost Gemz Volume II (Survivor)” was created by BlurredD, and is his property to modify as he wishes. This review was typed by Violet CLM, because Trafton was showing off with his l33t long review writing 5k1llz. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 was created by Epic Megagames, and redistributing it without cost is illegal in ways I am too lazy to mention here.

Methods: How stuff was made possible
“Lost Gemz Volume II (Survivor)” was created using JCS, and is playable in JJ2 1.23, 1.24, and possibly earlier versions. This review was typed in a form textbox created by PHP, using Netscape 4.7, and not Internet Explorer of any kind. BlurredD and Violet CLM were created in the standard method, which I shouldn’t explain here as it’s kind of messy and is completely irrelevant anyway.

FAQ: Further information on related stuff
What is Ground Force? Ground Force, commonly called Survivor despite that being wrong, is a gameplay thought up by ET, based on “Survive” by CraccoBoy CC. It involves shooting blocks, as most all the blocks are destruct scenery, and endeavoring to be the last person to get warped out of the arena.
What is PHP? Pretty Hard Pants.
Can I make Survivor levels? No, you can’t. You are perfectly free to make Ground Force levels, but Survivor is the levels in this pack, and none other.

Help: Tactics and other useful stuff
Depending on the level, a very useful tactic can be to find a large block, shoot a path in, and hide inside it. It helps if the block is low down, unless it gets destroyed by lasers. This should keep you semi-safe, and there’s a decent chance you can remain there until most everyone else is dead. In fact, concentrating on staying alive in general is a good idea period, though if you’re at the end and there are only two of you, it can be not intensely practical. Also, make sure you have (assuming the level supplies them) a decent amount of TNT and Ice at the very least, and preferrably some bouncies and seekers. (See later in this section)
In the vertically based levels, one very useful tactic is finding a single floating block at or near the top, eliminating all blocks near it, then standing on it. Shoot up constantly until all TNT has fallen. If you did it correctly, and had some luck, you will be standing on a high up block with nothing at all anywhere nearby. This is hard to get going, though, as people have a tendency to shoot blocks out from under you.
Subesection Weapons: How to use the ammo (IMHO)
Blaster: For shooting holes in things and generally blowing up stuff. Generally keep yourself on this and go nuts if you want.
Bouncers: Paticularly useful after the TNT has fallen. You can use this to stand on one platform and destroy another person’s platform. Paticularly useful if they are frozen at the time, as it is harder for them to escape. I have had my platform injured/destroyed many times by bouncies.
Ice: More endgame stuff. Open some big holes in the ground with some weapon that can go down, then use ice to have people fall in. Ice is generally not plentiful, though, and you need a lot of it to get it right, so stock up.
Seekers: Seekers are best used for shooting people who are bouncing up and down on springs. Also, if you’re below the person you are attacking, you can destroy the block(s) they are standing on. You can also stand on one platform and fire seekers at high speeds off into the wild blue yonder, trying to hit something, but this is not always practical.
RF: Want to destroy something? Use this. However, RFs have this annoying rebound thing so never use it near a pit, as you are likely to get thrown in by it. Good for hurting people from a far distance (say, Safety Precautions)
Toaster: If you have no TNT and you want to destroy a lot of stuff, use toaster. While it’s not good for all that much else, Toaster can take out large quanities of blocks in a short time. Useful before and after the crates.
TNT: Yeah! Contrary to most gametypes, TNT is insanely useful, as it can destroy anything and everything. You can jump onto someone’s platform, lay some TNT and jump away fast. The platform will self destruct. Keep in mind that TNT, generally, will destroy blocks two tiles down, but no further. Also useful for simply blowing holes in walls, destroying hard to get at crates, stopping springs from working (very mean thing to do), getting through weapons blocks, and just generally blowing stuff up.
Pepper Spray: If you have no RFs or Toasters, you might want to use this to shoot something far away.
Electro Blaster: No idea. The only situation I can think of where it would be vaugely useful is Diablo’s Outlook, where you could use it to shoot blocks on the other side of the level.

Random: Fun facts and other such stuff
The original Ground Force level was created using one of Craccoboy’s tilesets, in January 2002. It was very horizontal, let you choose three weapons at the start and you’d get no others afterwards and had a few turtle censored and freeze enemies but no TNT crates.
Lost Gemz Volume 1 can be found at http://www.jazz2online.com/downloads/moreinfo.php?levelid=699
The type of Ground Force where the server decides what falls on the level and when is commonly called “Controller Survivor”, and is what Ground Force (quite possibly the most popular custom gametype) originally was.[This review has been edited by Violet CLM]