Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

I quickly played through this today to get motivation to use jcs again and I liked this pack, so I will review it :P

The levels here were designed generally well. Not terribly innovative or boundary pushing, but the quality was solid and the visuals always maintained an above average level. Most of the obstacles consist of enemies and various hurt events, with some occassional death pits. There is a great deal of story that drives this pack, which in this case improved it, because the story was written well enough (and with mostly proper english!) and because of the way it was incorporated into the levels was good. Most of the levels were fairly short, but this episode is still time consuming (took me maybe an hour to play & win it) because of the non-linearity of some of the levels and the difficulty.

However, there’s a couple of things I noticed that bothered me and lowered the rating of this somewhat. Maybe I just don’t play JJ2 often enough and I suck at it, but I found these levels quite difficult to beat fairly. After a couple of game overs I just resorted to cheating or running through parts that bothered me. Early on, the enemy placement bugged me a lot, especially because bats would often be placed in narrow corridors hidden behind foreground scenery, or would blend in to the scenery way too well in the dark diamondus B night level. Sometimes hurt events were placed quite liberally, especially in areas that would be revisited later, and in combination with the regenerating enemies (which I didn’t mind too much, usually I hate them) made it really tedious to navigate and beat certain levels. I think this could’ve benefitted from more free health lying around.

Also, some of the levels I felt were too short. It’s a good thing that I liked them enough to wish that they were longer, but they definately could’ve used more obstacles and creativity to make them longer and more memorable. I liked the non-linearity of some of the levels a lot, but I felt that maybe it wasn’t used to its full potential (there were some pointless dead ends, and some non-linear levels required you to visit most or all the areas anyways or go through them in a linear fashion). However, it was really nice and I felt sort of appreciative of when a non-linear level would be thrown in after a series of linear point a -> point b levels.

Overall, the visuals and the quality of the levels warrant at least around an 8. There’s also a good story and multiple levels to back it up. Only the drawbacks I mentioned above prevent me from giving that rating. This was fun to play and I recommend downloading it

-blacky

Many bugs, low originality and difficulty level which didn’t bring me even close to death. Eyecandy and music choice are good but don’t really make up for kind of annoying gameplay with many hidden or generated enemies. It attempts to be non-linear but still forces to find certain passages, or visit all of them. Nothing special, just an SP pack.

Please, don’t use any of the Triggers and Scenery events on mirrored tiles.

THAT causes access violation!

Why not give 10, fools? It’s teh best episode i’ve ever played.

This was quite an enjoyable episode. Whilst it’s not particularly innovative and suffers from a few bugs which I didn’t get enough time to mention whilst testing, the levels are well designed for the most part, look great and above all are fun to play. Sometimes, that’s all that matters. Give it a go.

It’s fine enough. The story is fine and the levels are alright, though there are eyecandy and text string bugs.

Hell yeah! Now i can finally begin a new SP pack :D

Making of “Caves” level was really fun.

I agree with TW

Eyecandy:alright, but nothing spectacular.

Music: Fits quite well.

AMMO PLACEMENT:odd becuase all you did was take one base side and flipped it around,but other that theat the level looks good

I had a better review but my PC shut down and i had that one perfect and i was running out of time so this is all i can say and yes i did download the level cooba.

OVERALL:8/10

DR:if you are in a “i really want to play on a REALLY GREAT LEVEL“then yes

Damn, this is good!

I like this map. And I have nothing against the pit version.

Dah review. A simple review this time…

Eyecandy: Is allright, but nothing spectacular. However, no bugs or whatever and it works.
8/10

Music: Fits quite well, and is not annoying and I never heard it before.
10/10

___________Gameplay:
Flow: Well, everything works. It reminded me a bit of SILWI but I think it is a bit better especially for duels, but the pit can be crippling if you’re not careful. But well, without ruining the concept there is nothing which can be done about it. The level is symmetrical and thus balanced.
7,5/10

Pickup placement.
Very balanced, because it is symmetrical. The Ice PU’s can help you shooting players down easily which is a rarely tried but working concept. The C can be shot down, which can be annoying. Fastfires are a bit weirdly placed, I don’t think someone is going to collect them there unless the E is definately not near you.

8,5/10

Replay value:
It is like SILWI but a bit more complex. It is probably also a bit better but the pit can be annoying especially for Spaz users because it kills, and therefore the non-pit version is more suited for ladders and duels I think.
7/10

41/50

Penalties: none

8,1/10

DR: Yes. This level does not suffer from any serious issues. It has a solid gameplay and Laro ‘played safe’ with this level.

Fine enough.

King, in your profile you can select your rating system. It is possible to select a box where you can type in the grade yourself.

Now my own review:

Eyecandy

I’m positively suprised by the eyecandy here. The level is dark overall, but still contains a lot of diverse eyecandy. The layer 5 background has been used very nice, many holes and bushes were added to give it a mithical atmosphere. I also like the lower part where the layer 5 ends and you can see the layer 6/7 again. Those mountains in the background aren’t really spectacular, but they suffice.

Gameplay

This level can be confusing for the first minutes you play it. Everything looks alike so you sometimes don’t know where you are. The warps are also hard to learn how to use and they don’t really seem to be an asset to this map. I also wasn’t really happy about the flow in this map, in many area’s I couldn’t run at high speed, but bumped against tiles instead.

Originality

I like the placement of the powerups and the carrots. One would say that putting the seeker powerup symitrically with the bouncer powerup would make the map biased, but I think bouncers are more useful in most parts of the map, so they even eachother out.
The layout of this level is also original, it combines battles in small and larger area’s, still it isn’t really a revolutionary shape.

Eyecandy: 8,2
Gameplay: 7,5
Originality: 8,3

Final Grade: 8

GJ and HF in XLM.

Yay, j2o deleted this upload when laro tried to edit something, and now i have to write the whole review all over again. Please fix this issue so this kind of problem doesen’t happen again. Kinda annoying…. Anyway, the review

Eyecandy
Amazing, simply amazing. The way laro used this tileset is very impressive, alltough tileset is rather original, it still looks awesome. Basic theme of the map is a cavern full of plants, pumpkins and carrots, and lets not forget few waterfalls with trees in walls which looks fantastic. Background looks very amazing. Also adding that rain in the foreground was an excellent idea. The only bad part of the eyecandy are those pumpkins at the bases which are hidden behind layer 3 plants. It wouldn’t actually look bad, but every single pumpkin is hidden by mostly the same plant tile, and it kinda looks a bit lame. You should have freed some of the pumpkins. Still, it looks very good, and the eyecandy is definetly the strongest point of the level. Good job.

Overall: 9.5/10

Pickups
Very nicely placed. I don’t have any much complains about pickups. The only complain is the fact that i think its a bit unfair to have given the left side Seeker power up and the right side has bouncy. In most cases Seekers are overpowering bouncy, but in this map that’s rather several anyways. However the most dominant ammo in this map is definetly the toaster, so that somewhat fixes the Seeker-Bouncy issue. Carrot placements are okay. It was a good idea to put a pit because of players shooting the Full NRG carrot down and burying it with toaster, making it fall down trough that grassy tile and unpickable by any player. This way it will now respawn if someone tries to do that. But i think it would have been a better idea to use full masked tiles and then cover them with those grass tiles in layer 3, because, what about players doesen’t have plus? The pit idea might not work for them (or is it just server that needs plus? I dont know, but to be sure, i think my idea would be better). Anyway, there are some fastfires and they are very well placed, not too much of them but not too several either, so thats a good thing.

Overall: 8.5/10

Gameplay
Now this was a bit of a downgrade to the level. It’s not really bad, but you might have a problem playing it if its one of your first times. There are a lot of areas that are rather simillar looking, and at some point you will get the feeling that you are lost. At some points i thought i was in the middle of the map when i was actually in 1/4 of the map. There were even few times when i didn’t know if i’m in upper path of cave or the downer one. But the toaster and blaster powerups might serve as a sign to where you are, alltough its still a problem if they haven’t spawned. The warps you made are very usefull but only once you have learnt the level. The use of the warp ill once again throw you in the land of confusion. It just gives you the feeling “okay where did i end up now?”. If you remember those pumpkins i mentioned above, the ones at bases hidden by layer 3, i find it a bit annoying not to be able to see my footing clearly. It is such a shame laro did this cuz those pumpkins are very very usefull for S/R/D-ing the base, expecially if you have bouncy, come to think of it, i think this is one of the places where bouncy completely overpowers Seeks. As i allready said, the main and most dominant ammo here is toaster, i would strongly reccommend to use it in most of the cases. When going trough cave best ammo to use are RF or toaster but using RF will make you bounce of the ground due to unlinear footing. Oh i cant belive im saying this, but blaster works here pretty well too, hehe. Anyway like i said at start, gameplay isn’t really bad, its just hard to play in the level if your playing for the first times, but after that you will find those warps rather usefull. Be patient, and it will work out.

Overall: 7/10

Music
Music file is still broken for me, and idk how to fix it. If i ever fix it il rate the frickin music too :l.

Overall: N/A

Total rating
Summary: (9.5+8.5+7+N/A) /3 = 25/3 = 8.333333

Rating 8.2 (It still doesen’t let me put 8.3 :l )
Fixed, 8.3 now.

Download Recommendation?
Yeah. It’s an amazing level with fantastic eyecandy, even tough gameplay might be confusing at start. But, after playing it a few more times, you will see that gameplay is also really good.

EDIT
Thanks MS, didnt know it works that way, it would be better if this was selected as default… Rating fixed now.

A new version was uploaded. Reuploads cause files to be “bumped” to the top of the list.

[This review was referring to some people wondering how this upload got to the top of the list, regarding its upload date; their reviews have been deleted.]

Eye candy: 15/20
Gameplay: 17/20
Pickups: 16/20
15 + 17 + 16 = 48
48 : 3 = 16
16 : 2 = 8
8 + 0.2 = 8.2
Good job!

I guess it boosts the rating when you are a clan leader,if you get what I want to say.

Well, my first big review on a level ;P.

Let’s get started!

Eyecandy;
It looks nice, copied from a famous level, but there are more levels what have the same eyecandy like this.
14/20

Gameplay;
Well, in my opinion is the flow not good.., but if you know the level better you are getting faster and make better curves and moves. This level is better in 2v2 then in a duel.. There are many springs, but some people think that isnt annoying. Well, after a while it is.., it has an effect on your speed. The flow can better, but it’s your first CTF level. Its an easy level to learn, thats a +. This is a playable level for all jj2 characters.
16/20

Pickups;
Well placed, 2 pu’s. 2 carrots at good places.
there are some fastfires, that make it good.
20/20

Tileset use;
The tileset is good used, but I miss in the platforms in layer 4 some layer 3 tiles. (You can use that good in such tileset like this.)
5/10

Music;
Good choise!
10/10

65/80

(Btw, this is a mix of 2 levels ;P bbswing and disto)

nice

How could I miss this, a level with several 9 or close to 9 ratings?

Desert Fight is, as far as I know, Laro’s debut in the JCS scene, and a decent one I may add. However, “decent” is about the epitome about what can be said about this level, for there are no real aspects about it that have a certain plateau of polish and charm to justify giving it such high ratings. This does not necessarily mean I consider the level bad in any shape or form; I just think it does not deserve the tremendous amount of praise it has received so far.

The name “Desert Fight”, while being decidedly generic, is descriptive enough for this level – it’s set in a desert, and you’re going to fight here. Oasis was a good choice for this level, and is used adequately to create the environment one would expect to find in a desert. However, I found the level looking rather unnatural in places:

Yes, that’s right. Straight aka “squared-off” edges are ever present in this level. I don’t generally have a problem with this if the level has a theme which justifies the use of more regular patterns, such as an indoor technology based theme. Here, seeing so many straight edges just makes this level feel “forced”. I mean, tell me how many times you have seen a cave or cliff overhang with a perfect, smooth edge like that? It’s almost as if someone carved the level out of a colossal slab of stone. Speaking of which, an overview in JCS shows that it is highly probable that Laro created a simple box first, and then built the layout inside it. Is that really a good idea though, to confine your thoughts to within a box? He seems to have thought so.

It’s not exactly an easy task to see what Laro was trying to accomplish with the visual design here. From a first glance, it seems as if he was trying to make a barren desert environment, in comparison with other levels with this set which make much more liberal use of aspects such as the buildings and the palm trees. I prefer the subtle approach he takes to the eyecandy in that regard, from what he was trying to create. However, the “artificialness” of the structural design counteracts this ideal, so it ends up being a useless move, only making the level feel somewhat bland. A real desert would look curved and jagged, so why not at least attempt to make the level like that? Fortunately, this is MP so I can somewhat overlook that while I’m playing, but I still consider the general appearance of this level somewhat lazy. Meh.

Seeing as this level was an entry for jjnet’s duel contest, the gameplay here deserves more of a sharp focus. The design is basically somewhat diagonally based, with an emphasis on uphill climbing. This is generally a very risky design choice, because at most any given time, the player with height over another player is usually at an advantageous situation. Surprisingly, the balance here is met quite well. While I think there might be a slight favour towards red due to having more immediate access to both carrots, the blue has the advantage of having a much less exposed base, and a quick escape route via the RF PU and copter. Also, the lack of a Bouncer PU eases the bias somewhat. The two PUs which do exist, RF and Toaster, compliment each other well in this level, and both come in handy in many situations, ie chasing your opponents on the long straight corridors with RF and defending the bases with a flood of fire from Toasters. The middle section of the level, aka the no-mans land, will see heavy usage, for it is the central hub connecting the rest of the level together. It is quite open; not as open as something like Distopia but still could be annoying to navigate if the server lags. Fortunately, the lack of a Seeker PU does remedy this – the number one cause of airs in a server. However, expect Toaster spam there now and again. It isn’t that much of an issue, but just be careful. At least the items are well spread out, meaning just about every area in this level will get some use.

The carrot situation is alright, but not perfect. They’re both placed fairly equidistant from eachother in comparison with the bases. As I’ve said already, the red team can reach either one of them slightly quicker than the blue team, due to having to make nothing but a simple drop, whereas blue has to make a couple of tricky jumps in order to reach them. This can prove quite an advantage for red at moments, as being able to make a fast escape from the base after being hit while you’re RTS while the enemy is being RTS. Blue team does have the copter for quick access to the left carrot; assuming it has spawned that is. Speaking of the left carrot, it suffers from the same problem as the left carrot in BBswing – you cannot check to see if it has spawned without taking the risk and looking yourself, as it is obscured by the foreground. While the hole it is in can be shot with EB to check if it is there (it will fall), I still dislike having to randomly check if it has spawned or not – I should be able to tell for sure by seeing it. In duels, carrot control will be a vital aspect in this level, as it is for the BB duo. So far many of the reviewers have stated that it is impossible to camp them successfully. This is true to an extent, although due to them being placed on almost a straight line, it is possible to run back between them with relative ease, dominating the control over the level. Shooting down the left carrot helps with this.

Would I recommend this? Yes and no. While there is nothing particularly outstanding or innovative about this level, and it does have a couple of annoying flaws, I can imagine many players these days will enjoy the gameplay it provides, which is reminiscent of many popular levels. I did find it somewhat amusing to play in after all.

If you’re into online play at the moment, try it and see what you think.

EDIT: To be fair you did improve this level a bit, so it’s only fair I increase the rating.