::Lack of Water:: by FireSword

LoH2O.j2l
desert.j2t
hell

FireSword uses Blade's Desert tileset for his level, which nicely accents the level's straightforward design. The level is symmetric in practice, which makes balance between teams a no brainer. There is a rather large incentive to camp at the top, because of the carrot and seeker powerup, and good chance of beating the enemy back to your base once you kill them. The four ways to get to the top make defending it somewhat hard, however, especially with the other powerup all the way down at the bottom. These qualities make the level especially interesting for 1v1 duels because of the good mix of structure and strategy: you're not going to win at this level just running around shooting, because if are thinking you have a good chance of predicting where your opponent will be.
In taking away so much of the randomness, however, FireSword limits the levels appeal a bit. The simplicity of the level makes exploring and getting to know the level pretty pointless. The austereness of the tileset is also a bit of a problem when coupled with the level's simplicity: where BlurredD's simple level is fun to explore because of the varied eye candy and sleek visual style, FireSword's eye candy gives the level a good feeling but stops there.

-great 1v1 and possibly 2v2, but the simplicity makes it hard to recommend for larger games
-perhaps too straightforward to be enticing

::Martian Megatropolis:: by URJazz

marmeg.j2l
Space.j2t
mofc.s3m

URJazz did an excellent job on this level. I fear I'm somewhat biased because it's the only level I tested on that I beat Dizzy, but I think that regardless it is the most enjoyable submission. The structure is easy to get around, the layout is great and nicely balanced, the eye candy is quite detailed, and playing it is just a lot of fun. The ammo is all on the ground, which would seem to do away with it getting knocked down (although the new patch makes this less of an issue). I did run into a problem with the spring to the left of the blue base, getting stuck or nearly stuck once. However when I tried to get stuck intentionally it seemed ok; by the looks of things URJazz probably did the best the level permitted.
Suggestions would be to get the relative scrolling background right, and to change "Megatropolis" to "Megapolis" which I think is what URJazz was looking for. :) While the eye candy is quite detailed, I would say both CelL and BlurredD did a better job stylistically. In the end though, if someone was getting sent to a desert island with nothing but one of these 12 ctf levels, I think giving them this one would be the greatest kindness. Congrats!

-URJazz, send my your address so I can mail you the $$

::Nebula Alpha:: by Another Jazz2 fan

NebulaCTF.j2l
Astrolumina-reverse.j2t
mrwsd.it

AJ2f was one of two contestants to use their own tileset for their level, and for this they get big kudos! I believe AJ2f made his in paint, and if so it is quite an admirable effort. The marquee is especially cool! The 3d effect used in the upper left is also quite cool looking. All in all the nice eye candy ideas more than make up for the tileset's rather obvious paint origins.
The layout is certainly one of the most interesting submissions. AJ2f split nearly the entire level with a sucker tube, which uses a foreground layer trick to seem as though a ship rockets you to the top of the level. The only way to cross sides, then, is to go through the passages at the top or bottom. I'm undecided as to whether the rocket is an annoyance... in effect, it makes the already large level even larger by separating it so effectively --making what would otherwise be a 10 tile distance between the bases a quite long treck. The powerups are definitely weighted to the blue (left) side, although they are not easier easier for the blue team to reach because the upper area can only be reached via the rocket. The upper right only has the rf powerup, while the left side has bouncers, seekers, and flamers. (you can get the flamers from the right side by shooting) The carrot is at the bottom, a bit easy to camp by, especially considering the importance of the bottom passage.
The structure of the level is in the end what holds the level back. AJ2f creates a few nice areas of the level but the bottom is almost entirely empty space with a few springs that only lead to one place each. If both players are fighting at the carrot, the one staying alive has a second or so shorter route up from the bottom than one dying. It is probably better shorter that way but makes carrot camping quite tempting.

-you don't need to make it cramped, but the bottom half of the level is downright featureless. at the very least, make the empty space worth falling or jumping through.
-some jumps and structural issues could be smoother

::Prehistoric CTF:: by ICEDKILLER

prehistoric.j2l
lwt13a.j2t
lwe_a6.mod

This level is perhaps the most non-standard submission, as it looks at first glance more like a single player level than ctf. This is due to one of the start points beginning far away from both bases and the rather two dimensional nature of the level. There are four powerups, three of which are located in good locations, spread out enough as to make camping quite hard. The fourth powerup, though, is in a "super secret" area and as far as I could tell is only accessible with Jazz. The water at the bottom of the level works suitably well except for the bug where a player gets stuck along the bottom- at the very least, some rfs or one sloping surface can at least provide a remedy for this. Although there are quite a few carrots in the level, they don't seem to prolong even a 1v1 too much because the linearity of the level makes encounters with the other players quite common.
This linearity makes for a somewhat different level than most other ctfs. Strategy, as far as anticipating your opponent's moves, exists but is fairly limited. Several more routes throughout the level, and possibly making the between-bases route less direct, would have made the level less predictable. One annoyance worth mentioning was dinosaurs on layer 4. They at least had a warp to get you unstuck from them, but why not put them on layer 3 or at least one-way them? The little guys were especially annoying.

-a bit less linearity would be a big plus
-leave more stuff on layer 3, dinosaurs, spikes, etc... all seem better off there
-more ammo, less fruit. sugar rushes are fun but ammo is more useful

::Swamped CTF:: by Flint

Swamped.j2l
SwampsD.j2t
ascent.s3m

Flint's Swamped CTF uses Agama's nice Swamps Day tileset, and it's distinguishing feature as far as levels in this pack is certainly the water covering half the level. The eye candy is decent, with some neat waterfalls and lightning, and plenty of attention to detail. There are, however, some small visual glitches, but where the level struggles most is that it is rather frustrating to navigate, because of several things. Many of the wooden log platforms with springs are quite small, and none of them are one-way, something that would make navigation easier. (the same goes for the tree branches at the top) There are also several places which unintuitively stop you, such as 51,30, and, although I understand the tileset was designed with both solid and non-solid posts, it's hard to discern which is which when you're running at top speed. Level balance seems fairly well done. The powerups and 2 one-health carrots are spread out enough, or would be if the rf powerup respawned. :(
If the layout was streamlined a bit or made a bit more player-friendly, this could be a quite fun level. As it is, it lacks a bit of polish that could make the level much more playable.

-make sure the you use lots of @ signs to move the text out of the way of the player list!
-let the player get around the level a bit easier

::Temple of Dreams:: by MoonBlaze

ToD.j2l
Heaven.j2t
FutureDreams.xm
*TSF

Temple of Dreams by MoonBlaze is one of I believe 4 levels that were made by first time ctf mappers. I'm really glad to have encouraged these new level designers! MoonBlaze's level in particular, though, exhibits some design flaws that make me say "If only he had had more experience, or even some more experienced feedback." First and foremost is not enclosing the entire level: for many years this was no offense at all, indeed none of the official levels are wholly enclosed, but I daresay that these days it is a well known fact that open level sides are the cause of the flag bug. Next, use of v- and h-poles this extensively is also generally frowned upon. I would not mind nearly as much, however, if one couldn't avoid the poles simply by going underneath them: this changes them from slowdown to avoidable obstacle, and one asks why they are there at all. The four h-poles on the far right used to go up are also excessive. Next up are the statues. I could be wrong, never having used the tileset before, but they look to me like they're supposed to go on layer 3. If they're not, in this level they should have, because they serve only to get in the way. The level balance is a bit off, with the seeker powerup being significantly closer to the blue team and full health carrot as well. One last problem is the music: the song is perfect for the level but it doesn't loop correctly, so after it plays through once there is only silence until you die. If you aren't able to edit the mod yourself then find someone to do it for you or find a different tune.
Perhaps the most annoying thing about this level is not its problems but the fact that they are easily discovered and remedied with a bit of testing. I'd love to see a rerelease!

-i'm too lazy... look above :)