Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Review for Personal Park.

Sacrush, the creator of this level, didn’t get a review for his level. It took quite some time to make, so I’ll give him a review so he won’t be sad. There really needs to be reviewed more in my opinion.

Introduction to Personal Park: Sacrush, an IC member, made this level for r3p’s contest. This contest has ended already, and this level didn’t get a prize. Probably because it was too big for duels. For 2on2s the level worked fine in my opinion. I had a few games in this level already, and I enjoyed it. Now it’s time to go to the actual review! I’m trying some different reviewing style again.

Layout and flow

The level is pretty big for a CTF level. Although it doesn’t have much platforms. The layout is symmetrical and thus it’s balanced too. The flow is good, but you can bump against walls sometimes. There are one ways and tubes to make the flow better, and there are warps in the left and right corners. The spring placement is pretty good as well.

Other gameplay

In a 2on2 it’s pretty easy to be ready to score because you can see when your opponent is coming. The way to the base is pretty much run left and run right, which isn’t a big problem here. Defending can be easy too, but if you want to kill an opponent before he/she can capture the flag you need some skill. You need to defend at the right time and chase opponents, or something.

Eye candy

While there is no real eye candy in the background and foreground layers, the sprite layer eye candy is excellent. I found this tileset pretty hard to use when I tried it, and Sacrush really put some effort into it when he made this level. There are lots of trees in this park, and combined with the other stuff in this tileset I really like the eye candy here. Almost every layer is used, only layer 1 isn’t but layer 1 isn’t used a lot.

Ammo and Power-Up placement

I almost never say the ammo placement is bad, and it isn’t in this level as well. The ammo placement is just how it should be, with some nice shapes of ammo and a good Power-Up placement. There is a Seek PU in the middle of the level, there is a Bounce PU in the left corner of the level and there is a Toast PU in the right corner of the level. There are some Fast Fires throughout the level, they can be helpful for Bouncer or something. Most weapons that are used often don’t work with Fast Fire, like RF(be glad it doesn’t work) and Seekers. RFs are very good in this level. You can easily shoot RFs at your opponent if he/she is at low health and waits for the carrot to kill him/her.

Carrot placement

There is only one carrot in this level. A second Full Energy probably won’t work with this layout, but 2 +1s could work instead. The Full Energy can be shot down by RF if you have enough skill. You can also just camp it and hope you kill your opponent before he/she gets to you and grabs the carrot.

Overall I think this is a very nice level. If it was smaller it could have won a price in the J2MC contest. The winners of the contest had more than 1 carrot, because it makes duels not so campy. But now that tournament isn’t a duel tournament anymore. Anyway, I think this is one of Sacrush’s best levels. I give this level a big fat 8.2 and of course it gets a download recommendation.

-DS

Hmm, I’ll review this level. ‘yur mam’ or ‘Randomizer’ it’s your choice. Really funny level name, but the level shows why it’s named that way. Prepare for a review!

The level is really small and it has good flow. The main concept of the level is freezing a spring and warping to another base. But you don’t know to which base you warp. Hence the name ‘Randomizer’ it’s an original concept, but I doubt if it will work. In a textstring you’ll find the message ‘trust your luck, btw’ which has everything to do with the warp to a base. You can still get stuck at the springs you actually have to freeze though. But if it happens in a game anyone could always kill you. It’s not a big problem. There are some pathways that you will have to find out, because there are no signs that they’re there. It’s not a big problem though. You can run around the level and shoot Bouncies which are the most used weapons in this level. I’ll explain why later. It’s pretty short from base to base, but the level is small so no wonder.

The eye candy, which is pretty basic in this tileset, does its job. The Aztec tileset isn’t a tileset you think of when you think of a tileset with lots of eye candy, but Snooze used it pretty well(and he said he made the eye candy pretty fast ;p) Well, good job then. It’s a small level, so making the eye candy doesn’t take too much time. It could be better, but it could be much worse. I have seen levels with this tileset that had worse eye candy. The level is 7 kb and it’s so small so I’ll just say that you did a good job.

Ok, placement is next. The level has only one PU, which is the Bouncy PU. It’s the main PU in the level(Duh!) and the main weapon. The PU is found at the bottom of the level, and the left base might be closer to it. Dunno about that though. The ammo placement is good.. there is no RF because RF would be too good in this level. Especially when you’re at the top of the level. But you can chase opponents with Pepper Spray instead. There are 2 +1 carrots, which is enough for the size of the level. 2 Full Energies was too much, it would have been too hard to kill your opponent. 2 +1 carrots work well. With only one PU you can go from carrot to carrot if you are fast enough and you can survive. This is pretty hard if your opponent is skilled enough. There is also some food and you can even get a sugar rush if you get enough of it. This is not too hard although games in here should be fast. If you don’t get a fast game in here you are extremely bad in killing opponents or you just can’t play well in the level.

To conclude this review, Randomizer is a pretty good level by Snooze, although it’s pretty small. A bigger level next time would be nice, although not too big. Especially good if made in 3 hours, because I made a level in 5 hours or something. I give the level a 7.7 and a download recommendation.

I’ll review this level as no-one else did. I saw that this level was unrated and if someone doesn’t get a review for a level, it’s not fun.

This is a level using Swamps of the Sleeping Jaguar and it’s made by Cheese. The level’s name looks interesting, so let’s find out what this level is.

When I first looked at the level, I found out that the layout is a bit weird. There is only one way to each base, and there are dead ends near them. The distance between the bases is quite a lot. It’s hard to get around in the level, and it’s not too easy to see everything because of a bit confusing eye candy. However, there is a nice spring placement and some One Ways and Float-Ups to get around the level. The gameplay is not very good, but it’s decent. Although there is no good border around the level. This surely has to be fixed to prevent a flag bug.

The eye candy, which has some possibilities with the tileset, does its job. But there is some confusing eye candy like near the bases, which make it hard to see everything. This could be a problem, but not a major one. Anyway, the overall eye candy is good enough. I have seen better, but that’s pretty obvious.

The first thing I would say about the placement is : Too many carrots and too many Power-Ups. A level of this size should have 1 Full NRG, and maybe 1/2 +1 carrots, but not more. This level has 2 Full Energy carrots and 4 +1 carrots. That’s way too much. It would be hard to kill someone if you ever play the level, I guess. Anyway, the ammo placement is decent. There is quite a lot of ammo in the level and some boring shapes of ammo, but it’s still not that bad. The Ice Power-Ups aren’t needed in my opinion, because ice isn’t that good in CTF. It could always be fun, but 2 Ice Power-Ups is just too many. About the other Power-Ups.. they’re decently placed, I guess.

So, this was a review by me.. hope you liked it, because at least someone cares about the level. This is not a bad level.. but not good either. I give this level a 6.7. You can download it if you want, but it’s not a level you MUST have.

A review.. by me. Yeah, it’s been a while. But I think this level needs a review.

A brand new Battle level using Swamps. Made by IC. Should be interesting.. but is it?

This relatively small level looks nice af first. There is a simple use of springs, one ways, etc. to let you ‘fly’ around the level. Although you have to jump sometimes, which adds a bit of strategy. I discovered the gem stomp pretty fast, and I think it’s a nice idea plus it’s fun, too. With few dead ends(which isn’t a problem in Battle imo) and some warps, the level is good to duel in, or just shoot around you when you’re playing in a public server. Overall, the gameplay is nice.

The eye candy doesn’t have any problems. Myself I dislike Swamps because I just can’t use it properly. But the eye candy here is good. Very good. The use of trees and leaves is excellent, and the backgrounds are just like almost every other Swamps level. The translucency of the leaves makes it possible to run through them, and it prevents confusion because otherwise you wouldn’t see yourself if you run through them. Overall, the eye candy is very nice and so the level looks nice too.

The placement is where things are different. There are some good shapes of ammo, and good selection of weapons, too. But there could be some ammo in the trees on the right side of the level, or, some fastfires. Anyway, the Power-Ups are placed on good places. It took me a while to find out where the Seek and the RF Power-Ups are. The RF PU is hard to get in my opinion. You would need some skill to get it. The carrot placement is alright in my opinion, and like I said – the gem stomps were really fun.

The music is a bit too speedy in my opinion, but I like it. The background of it sounds good enough. The level is not VERY original, but it does it’s job. It’s hard to make an original level nowadays.

Overall I think this is a nice level that should be hosted/downloaded. I know it’s early to brag over the next Bash now already, but this is one of those levels that has a good chance of being in. I give this level an 8 and a big download recommendation. So get it if you didn’t yet!

This is the beginning of another tileset review.

Grove Shrine is a tileset by Labratkid/LarK of OLC. I downloaded it and after I saw it I immediately made a level with it. This level still wasn’t completely finished when I was writing this review. But now I’ll start with reviewing the tileset and I’ll tell some of my experiences as well.

Possibilities
I looked at the tileset and I immediately liked it. It’s really simple but has everything I’ll need for a level. So I was starting a level with it. I’ve looked in the example level and I saw some tricks with the tileset. I’ve included them in the level as well. The tiles in the tileset are well created. It’s not that bad if you flip them. Some of them are the same when you flip them. It wasn’t so hard to do eye candy. The example level showed alot of the eye candy you can use in the tileset.

Easy to use, or not?
This tileset is fairly easy to use. The platforms to walk on are easily made, and they have 2 different slopes that are perfectly for a good layout in a level. The eye candy in the tileset wasn’t hard for me. Shouldn’t be too hard for others either. Finding the exact tiles for the platforms can be annoying, but I haven’t had alot of problems with it. The tileset fitted perfectly with the idea I had in mind for my level. I think that this tileset is a good one for people who don’t want to use an overused tileset.

Eye candy
To go further about the eye candy, there is enough in my opinion. Some stones and flowers can be placed on the ground. There are also trees, pillars, waterfalls etc. It’s possible to transluce the pillars and waterfalls. There were also unmasked versions of the pillars and other things. The backgrounds are simple. The mountains are easy to place. The sky that should be placed in layer 8 is light blue. All other stuff I didn’t mention was nice.

Masking
There were some invisible tiles in the tileset. Those invisible tiles aren’t very useful, but there are invisible tiles in several tilesets. The masking of alot of tiles is really simple. There are messages in the sky and some of the tiles under it. LRK likes to put them in there, I guess. The other tiles look good enough.

Conclusion
This is a very nice and simple tileset. I like it alot. I don’t make levels with a tileset alot after I just saw it once. But I were just willing to make a level and I had a theme in mind. The level will probably be in a pack, but I will probably ask several other people to beta test. If it’s good enough I might want to upload it. Now back to the tileset, it fits a level based on fruit, and it’s good to use if you just want to make a level based on nature. I recommend anyone who wants to try something original to try this tileset, and do a good job with it.

Download : Yes!
Build with it : like I said, yes.

Final rating : 8.6

I made a level with this tileset and I just wanted to do a tileset review. So here it goes.

Possibilities
What you can do with this tileset is already clear for me. Levels with this tileset will probably have something to do with water(the levelname). Levels made with this tileset so far had words like sea, harbour, bay and coast in their names) and the tiles are of high quality. The tileset has some tiles I find unneeded, but that’s probably me. Eye candy isn’t that hard to make with the tileset. The caves could be hard to link sometimes, but I don’t think it’s a real problem.

Easy to use, or not?
At first I found it hard to use, but that was mostly because I didn’t check the masks. If you can make the ground well, you’ll have no problems in using this tileset. I thought I’d never use the tileset but I did. Heh. I think the tileset won’t be easy for everyone, I’ll say it’s medium. Don’t use it if you still have to learn alot in JCS. If you make eye candy layer 5 should be used alot in my opinion, or layer 2/3. In a level, layer 4 should have objects in the sand. Be sure to check the masking!

Eye candy
The tileset’s eye candy is very good. What I did with the tileset wasn’t even the best possible. I’ve seen better eye candy in the previous levels created with the tileset. Animations are possible too, they’re very nice! The backgrounds you can make with the tileset are pretty good. The clouds can be used, but also the water with objects in it. The objects even have shades! =D. By the way, the objects to put in the sand look nice too, but don’t overuse them or place too many of the same one too close to eachother.

Masking
The tileset’s masking is very nice. I had trouble finding the right masks, like I already said, but it’s fine. The backgrounds’ masks are nice as well, especially the clouds. They look very nice and fit exactly.

Conclusion
This tileset is very nice. It’s one of my favourites. I wouldn’t mind to see more levels with it. (Only 1 CTF, 1 Race and about 3 Battles are made, and of course the example level) The example level was great. The tileset is 3D, has alot of features and I recommend everyone who’s quite good in JCS to use it. It’s not overused at the moment. Any type of level can be made with it. Download the tileset if you haven’t already. My review comes quite late but I just wanted to make a tileset review. This is even my longest tileset review ever.
Final rating : 8.8. Very impressive.

Man, when was the last time I reviewed a SP level? I don’t know, but it was a LONG time ago. But now I’ll try to make a decent review for this Single Player level.

Introduction : A Diamondus level that’s quite old. Fun to see it nowadays. The level is small, and the name describes the level alot ; you have to jump alot.

Difficulty:
The level was quite easy for me(except the boss) I am quite bad in Single Player, but the level was easy. The boss was too hard for me, though. There weren’t alot of enemies.

Eye candy:
The standard Diamondus tileset isn’t the best one for eye candy but it could be much better. It’s quite simple, and almost no layers were used. The most eye candy is in layer 4 and there is a simple background with trees and so is the foreground. Nothing special, but also not horrible.

The level itself
The level is quite open and has a few secrets you’ll have to search for. The level has got alot of platforms and also a lot of spikes. The bonus is decent, but I couldn’t find 20 coins when I was first playing it. The ammo chosen is not bad at all, and the amount is so-so. There wasn’t alot, but the level is small so I guess it’s okay. The level could use one Power-Up except the Gun9 one, though. It hasn’t got puzzles or trigger crates. The amount of carrots is good, but there is only one Save point. This can be a major problem if you fight the boss and lose; you’ll start from there again. Although the distance between the Save point and the boss isn’t that long, I don’t like it. That there is a Bolly Boss isn’t a problem to me.

Overall, I think it’s a decent Single Player level. It has some good points here and there, but also has its bad points like the eye candy. My final rating is a 6.7.

Download Recommendation : I’ll give N/A although some people might want to download it because they’re Single Player fans which I’m not. I don’t really know why I reviewed this but I just wanted to test if I can still review. =P

Raging Resurrection

Here I start a review of this level. I’m not in a good condition and not in a very good mood, but I’ll review this anyway. A 6 looks too low in my opinion.

Eye candy : 2.4 out of 3.0
I’ll start with the eye candy in this level. While I run through the level I see alot of stuff on my way. The ambient lighting effects are nice, and I don’t understand that the reviewer above me can’t see what he/she does. Oh well. The backgrounds are nice, and the layer eye candy is nice as well ;P. The music gives the level a nice atmosphere which I like. A small con is that there are some secrets I don’t particularly like. There are some 1up events which I like as well(the shining effect ;P) Well, that’s all I can say. The eye candy is quite l33t in my opinion.

Gameplay : 3.0 out of 4.0
Let’s start with the layout. The layout of the level reminds me of ‘Titled Level’ but there are some differences. The level isn’t symmetrical but it’s balanced. There are some tubes, and the bases are placed on the left and right sides. You have to take a tube to get to the base, so this prevents a flag bug. The other flagbug can’t happen somehow. It’s very well done. The spring placement is nice. Some of them are hidden. There is some Spaz-bias near the bases, though. I can get up with Spaz there but not with Jazz if I tested it good enough. The triggers are useful(just like I did in my last level) The level’s flow is nice, and the rest is nice as well. I don’t really know what should be improved except what I already said.

Placement : 2.4 out of 3.0
Now I’ll continue with the placement. The level has only 1 Power-Up, but I think it’s good enough. The placement of it is good. The ammo is also good placed, but some boring shapes of ammo are used here and there. The level doesn’t have alot of Gun9, which is fun. You’ll run for some Gun9 so you can get the PU =P. I think the right side doesn’t have alot of ammo at the bottom, but the Full Energy is closer to the right base than the left base. Normally it would be a problem, but it also is strategic. Some shapes of ammo are good though. There is not too much ammo on the ground. The weapon choices are good enough. I would say there is a small advantage for the team that starts at the left side, though. The start positions are placed good enough.

Overall : 2.4 + 3.2 + 2.4 = 8.0. Good job!
Conclusion : a nice new level by Snooze. One of the better levels made for XLM. I hope I’ll see more nice levels like this one.

Host this : Yes. It’s a good new level to host now and then.
Download : Yes.
EDIT : After looking another time, I think the gameplay is a bit worse than I thought before. What EvilMike said about the float ups was true; thus my new rating is a 7.8. It’s still a nice level. ;]

Jungle Rabbit’s Cave

I start this review for the 2nd collaboration level for XLM now. It’s made by Satan and Yasco, but Yasco did the most important work. I like eye candy more, but placement and layout are better together. I have to say the layout is something different for once.

I’ll start with the eye candy this time. Like I said, Satan made the eye candy for this level. The level is pretty dark, and it uses some interesting light effects. One place is pretty light, though. This level provides a sort of cave, and I guess the name of the level fits it well, because a cave has to be dark. There are also some animations. Every layer is used in the level. The tileset use is excellent as well. The eye candy isn’t the best I have seen with this tileset, but I think it’s good enough.
Rating : 2.4 out of 3.0

The level has more height than width, which is something that doesn’t happen alot. The layout is quite original, and it has some ideas. The tubes in the level could use a sign to where they are, because I can run in a tube without knowing there is one. The base placement is quite good, but there is a small advantage for the red team. The blue flag is harder to defend than the red flag. The spring placement is quite good, and the copter is useful. The level is quite cramped in some places, but it’s playable for me. It takes quite long to reach the other base, but it’s no problem(or I am just slow) The level isn’t too easy to learn, but if you play it enough times, you’ll know it fast. The flow is good, but not perfect. It needs some work, probably because of the amount of tubes. The springs under the carrot prevent that people camp under it. It was hard to find all the different tubes in this level.
Rating : 3.0 out of 4.0

I’ll now go on with the placement. The level has some big groups of ammo, and smaller ones. The good thing is that there is no overuse of ammo this time. The level has 3 Power-Ups, and you need to get 2 of them with Gun9 once again. The 3rd PU is obtainable by a normal way. There is some fastfire that’s placed in the northwest area of the level, which is close to the blue base. The level has one full energy carrot that’s placed good enough. In my opinion, Seek PU vs. Bouncy PU is a bit unfair, but it’s no major problem of the level. The choices of ammo are good enough, but I wouldn’t place too many groups with different types of ammo in them.
Rating : 2.1 out of 3.0.

Conclusion : a quite good level by Satan and Yasco. I am giving this a 7.5 and a download recommendation.

The last time I reviewed, Surinam was not independent yet. Better said, a long time ago.

Santranigus V

This level was made by White Rabbit. Using EvilMike’s level guide, he made a level and uploaded it. I have seen this level in his server and I tested it a bit. Now let’s start with the review, okay?

EvilMike’s opinion is that eye candy isn’t too important to make a good level. I personally don’t like that fact, because I like eye candy alot. Now let’s see how the eye candy is in this level.

For this level, the Swamps Day tileset is used. This tileset offers you alot of eye candy, but in this level the eye candy is not the main part. The eye candy in this level is good enough, and I have no real complaints. The tileset and layer use is good as well. Almost every layer is used and alot of different tiles are used. I don’t know what to tell about the eye candy, so I’ll go on with the next part. The only flaw is probably that I think there isn’t enough, but it does its job.
Rating : 2.4 out of 3.0.

The gameplay is the part where’s focused most on. This level’s layout looks good. The level is not completely symmetrical. There are some good routes, and some ideas are used as well. For instance, the spider web wind turret at the top-middle. The spring placement is good, and there are no real dead ends in the level. The bottom has 2 warps you need to get something I mention later in this review. The flow in this level is good, which is needed. There aren’t alot of obstacles between the bases, but the wind turret is an example of an obstacle because it slows you down. The bottom area of the level is water ; like the warps at the bottom-left and right. Some one ways are placed here and there, and I don’t think the level is too cramped in some places. I think the gameplay here is a strong part of the level.
Rating : 3.3 out of 4.0.

Now let’s go to the placement.

When I saw this level the last time before it was uploaded, it had no food. Now it has alot of food. It’s not really overused, so it’s the first good part. Second part is that the ammo placement is good, and it’s good spread. The level has 3 main power-ups, and 1 gun9 PU at each side. The main PU is the Seek PU, which is hard to get if you don’t have a bad timing. You have to use the warp at the bottom-left and right and you have to shoot gun9 fast. The minor PUs are the Bouncy and RF PUs that you can find above the water, then at the left and right sides. The full energy carrot is at 61,65, and it’s just above the water. It’s possible to shoot it down. The +1 carrots are above the gun9 PUs. Some ammo is on the ground, other ammo is in the air/in the water. There are also some crates but they aren’t a real problem. The flaws are probably that the PU choices are unoriginal and that some people have trouble with getting the Seek PU. That’s no problem in my opinion, though.
Rating : 2.3 out of 3.0.

Others : this concludes a good new level by White Rabbit. I was trying to use a new system so you can blame me if this new system sucks. This level prevents alot of camping, but it’s still possible. I will now give you my final rating.

2.4 + 3.4 + 2.2 = 8.0 out of 10.0.

Host : sometimes. This level is something new you might want to try once. It’s probably a good level for 2v2.
Download : Yes.
I edited the review to mention what can be improved, but that’s one of the worst part for my reviews.
EDIT : I added 0.1. Just because.
EDIT2 : an 8.1 looked too high, now it’s 8.0 again.

Yay, you helped me for one time, the WINNER. =D
I might add that I updated the level, like mentioned in the description. This is mainly for Chip, because he hated some things that lowered the rating alot. So, maybe he can re-download the level and check again or something. (Unless he is too lazy)

Introduction : I saw Ragnarok still didn’t get a review for his level, and I don’t want to make him sad, so here comes a review! This is Rag’s first released XLM level, and he used WSF II for this. Personally, I like WSF III more, but that’s just because it’s more dark. Let’s go on now, ok?

It wasn’t a very original choice to use WSF for this level, but I don’t think anyone cares. You can’t do alot of original things with this tileset anymore, because almost all ideas are gone. Ragnarok still tried something, and I found something that’s a bit original. The blue tiles with some ammo on it is an example of this. Not a major thing for originality, but I haven’t seen a level with these tiles before. Ragnarok used tile 2,44 in this tileset alot in this level. The background isn’t very original, but there aren’t many other levels with a good background like this background. The level also uses the more hard parts of the tileset, and the lightning in the background looks good. The level has a turret as well, and I like to see it in a quite small level like this. I can’t say this fortress lacks eye candy in some places, so good job.

This level is quite small, and it’s also quite open. The layout is solid in some places, but there are also some small platforms here and there. The triggers that are in the level are fun. This fortress has a jail as well. Funny to see it has, and also quite original. It’s not too easy to get to the area with one of the power-ups ; the Toasty PU. The one ways are useful, because it’s not fun to bump against a wall. Some places aren’t that easy to reach, like the left side with the Bouncy PU above it. You have to jump sometimes, and it’s Jazz unfriendly a bit, because Spaz can get up there faster. Best thing you can do is that you prevent to fall. The flow in the level is good, so is the spring placement, although the spring at 9,18 can’t get you up that fast if you are Jazz. You need to have good timing if you want to get up there fast.

This is a quite small level, like I said, but I don’t have a problem with the amount of PU’s in the level. This is, because it’s a Battle level. The level has 4 Power-Ups, but 3 of them can shoot 2h off someone. You can only get the Gun9 PU (if you don’t have it) by entering the tube at the right side. The other Power-Ups are Toaster, Bouncer and Seeker. The Bouncy PU is at the top-left, Seek at top-right and the Toasty PU which is quite hard to reach. The Seek PU is in a wall, but you’ll need the Gun9 PU before you can get it. The best way to get the Toasty PU is by shooting through the tube at 63,35. The ammo placement is good. There are some nice shapes of ammo, but also unoriginal ones. The groups of ammo aren’t that big, but others are bigger. The level has 2 carrots. Last version I played had 1 carrot, but that was not that successful because people camped alot(I did as well) The carrots are at 42,5 and 74,24. The one at 42,5 was the one that was the first in the level, and that one gave people the opportunity to camp alot. There could be some ammo around 73,34, but that’s just one of my stupid suggestions. Although the end of the platform at the top with one of the carrots could use a small group of ammo as well.

This level has some original things, even when it uses an overused tileset. One of these original things is the jail. Some placement was original, like the placement of the Toasty PU. There isn’t alot of original EC, but I think there is some. The music file used for the level is used in other WSF levels by Rag(for example Rag’s Stronghold) I liked the textstring about that you are prisoned =P

Ratings :
Eye candy : 8.2
Gameplay : 7.5
Placement : 7.5
Originality : 7.7

Conclusion/others : this is a nice Battle level by Ragnarok with good eye candy, quite good gameplay and placement, and it has some originality.

Host : sometimes. This is a good new Battle level, and I’d say you have to download this if you like WSF alot(like me)
Download : Yes.

Final rating : 8.2 + 7.5 + 7.5 + 7.7 : 4 = 7.725, rounded down to a 7.7.

Oh, and btw. I’d give you a higher rank in XLM if I were Chip =)

Introduction : YAY! It’s finally uploaded! This is a CTF pack by ChippieBW and I beta tested the levels and gave some suggestions about them. I’m glad to see it uploaded. I hope this will be the XLM release of the year, or at least one of the best XLM projects. Let’s see if it’s really true.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

This level uses Swamps of the Sleeping Jaguar, and this is one of the best tilesets around, although I find it hard to make no bugs with it. D=. The eye candy in this level is good enough for the tileset. There is enough in all places, and there is good use of layers. Making EC in a small level ain’t that hard.

The gameplay of this level is pretty basic ; the layout is a bit closed, but it has good spring placement and flow. The layout is not squared-off at least, and the level is 100 × 50 (which isn’t very big, but ok) I don’t see any Spaz-biasing or other bad things in the layout, so I guess this is good. There are some obstacles between the bases.

The level has 2 Power-Ups, and good ammo placement. 1 Full Energy is good enough for this level, and both Power-Ups are in walls (D=) There are some nice shapes of ammo and there is enough ammo in the air and on the ground. There are some fast fires in the level too – no problem.

Rating : 8.

Tigris Caves

This level uses the Oasis tileset by Blade(who uploaded a new tileset fyi) and Chippie used this tileset well. He wanted people to modify the eye candy of a level before and I was going to do this one, but he decided that he cancels the project. The most amount of EC is in layer 5, and layer 3 and 2 have some as well. The backgrounds are good enough, and I don’t think the eye candy in the level is too unoriginal.

This level is quite big, and it’s almost symmetrical. This is a good 2v2/3v3 level, but the border might be incomplete and cause a flag bug. There are some small dead ends in the level, but I won’t take a point of the level’s rating off or so(yay) The flow in the level is again good, and the copter is quite useful. The tubes might be too long, though, and they cause a lotta camping under it or people try something else to camp. This level is more open than the first one.

The level has 3 Power-Ups. The ammo placement is again quite good and it has some good shapes of ammo again. The Power-Ups are in walls again, but this time the Power-Ups of choice were different. A Blaster, Bouncer and RF were chosen this time. The level has 3 Carrot Energy +1’s, and one of them is invisible. This ain’t a real problem, because you would notice fast. The readme about this pack lied, because I read that this level was supposed to have 1 full energy and 2 +1’s. =P. But I don’t think there are major flaws in the placement.

Rating : 7.9.

EFIL CASTEL WIT WATER LOL!!!111

This level uses the Castle 2 Eclipse tileset, but it was the Night version before. This was a good move by Chip, but now, let’s see how the eye candy in this level is. The eye candy in this level is again good enough, layer 5 has pretty basic stuff and layer 3 has some stuff I saw more times in levels with this tileset. It’s not that the EC is that unoriginal, though. The lightnings and the rain looks quite good. This tileset is used for a lotta levels already(about 4 are made by me) so that’s why I can’t say there is a lotta original eye candy in the level.

This level is 100 × 70, and the layout of it is a bit closed. The middle of the level is open, and you can fall from quite high. There aren’t many ways in the level, but it’s good enough. The level again has good spring placement, and the flow is again quite good. This level is more squared-off than the previous levels, but this tileset is more squared as well. The sucker tubes are quite useful, and there are again some good obstacles between the bases. The level is not symmetrical, but it’s balanced enough.

This level has 3 Power-Ups. These Power-Ups are unoriginal placed, and the PU’s chosen are also quite unoriginal. All Power-Ups are in walls, and the PU’s used are Bouncer, Seeker and RF. These are the 3 best PU’s in JJ2, imo. The level only has some lines as ammo shapes, but some of them are diagonal, others are horizontal, and even other groups are vertical. The level has 1 carrot, and that one is a Full Energy. There was a problem with this first, but Chip solved this quite easy. There is enough ammo on the ground and in the air.

Rating : 7.7

Quasar Quandary

ChippieBW used Odyssey 01 for this level, which is quite overused(he could pick another version of Odyssey), but this level’s eye candy is very splendour. I was surprised about the filesize when Chip sent this for the first time, and that is already a good sign. The animations are very good, and the eye candy in the other layers is just fantastic, outstanding, marvellous or however you would call it. Chip even made something original out of this tileset, although it was used alot already(like for Galactic Warfare) There is even eye candy on places you can’t come. Chip spent a long time on the EC of this level, and he also said that the EC is almost as good as E.Prime. And Chip wasn’t wrong ; the EC in the level is one of the best I ever saw.

This level is the only level of the pack that’s completely symmetrical. The layout is quite closed, and it’s pretty much one way. However, there are 2 ways to each base(one by tube and one by running) There are warps at the very left and right side, and this layout is not what you expect from Chip. There are some other tubes in the level, and some of them are hard to reach. There might be some small dead ends in the level, but that’s not really a big problem. The spring placement is quite good, but the flow ain’t the best.

This level has 3 Power-Ups(again). This time, the PU’s are NOT in walls. The Bouncer and Toaster are both at a side, and the Seeker in the top-middle. There are fast fires in the level, and some good shapes of ammo. There aren’t many big shapes of ammo. The level has 1 Full Energy. This time, it’s on the bottom-middle of the level. This level won’t bring too much camping, but it’s quite frustrating to have no ammo while playing it in a 2v2 or 3v3. You’ll get killed continously most of the time.

Rating : 8.2

Ending comments : This was a great levelpack with some interesting things in it, like the puzzle. I really liked the textstrings in the levels, you are as funny as me! =D. You didn’t mention every name in it, but if you did, it would be quite irritating =P

Bonus points :
0.2 for this being a pack.
0.1 for the puzzle I managed to solve.

Final rating : 8 + 7.9 + 7.7 + 8.2 : 4 + 0.3 = 8.25 = 8.3.

Download : Definitely.
Host : Yes, this pack consists of some good CTF levels, especially QQ.

Introduction : A CTF level by Snooze. I’m glad to see a level he made. This is a XLM level, using a JJ1 tileset.

Starting with the eye candy, Snooze used a JJ1 tileset for this level. Most JJ1 tilesets don’t have alot of eye candy in it, but this one has enough. The level has nice animations, and I like the background as well. When I played this level in SJ’s server, it had flying moons in layer 6. This looked weird. So Snooze removed them. =P I like the stuff in layer 3, especially the things that are for example at 17,43. Snooze also made some original eye candy in this level ; like the animating tiles on the slopes. The sprite layer eye candy is the best part of the eye candy in the level. Some good light effects were used. Nice job.

The layout of this level is quite open. The level is 160 × 47, but it ain’t using alot of tiles of it. This is no big problem, though. I prefer that a level is bigger in width than in height. The level is not symmetrical, but it’s balanced enough. A 2v2 in this level won’t be a very bad idea. The level has some good spring placement and float ups. The level has some good obstacles, but it’s easy to move in the level with jumping. If you run left or right, you can’t get the flag without jumping or braking from running. The platform that ends at 84,31 should be one tile longer, so I can get on it after taking the tube at the right side. The level has some Spaz biasing in it, but it’s not a big problem. There are 2 ways to each base.

The placement is quite good. There are 3 PU’s in the level. The Seek PU is the main PU and is placed in the middle. The Toasty PU is placed at 40,33 and is in a wall. The Bouncy PU is placed at 121,33 and is also in a wall. The level has some fast fires, that’s a good thing. There are 2 carrots in the level. Both are +1. The left carrot didn’t respawn in the match I played, but I have that problem multiple times. The carrots are placed before a tube, and that’s fine. Some good shapes of ammo are in the level. Some ammo is on the ground, other ammo is in the air. You need to get Gun9 to get the Toasty and Bouncy PU’s. It’s slightly harder to get them this time compared with other levels(not all)

This level isn’t very unoriginal. I needed to download this to get the music for this level. The music fits the level fine. The level has some original eye candy, and I never saw this version of Scraparap. The gun9 idea is old, but I’m not someone that cares that much about it. Oh, you made a spelling error in the textstring. (Expect instead of except)=P. This ain’t a real Snooze layout level, and Snooze told me that he was trying to do another style of layout. I can say that he succeeded with this, so gj.

Ratings :
Eye candy : 8
Gameplay : 7.5
Placement : 7.5
Originality : 7.5

Final rating : 8 + 7.5 + 7.5 + 7.5 : 4 = 7.625 = 7.6. Good job. If I were Chip, I would give you a higher rating in XLM. =P

Download : Yes, this is some new Snooze level you have to check out.

Host : Sometimes.

-DarkSonic[si]

I played this level for myself and in R3p’s server. And I’ll post a review for this level.

Introduction : a level by LaBRaTKiD of OLC. He used his own tileset for this level. Let’s hope it will be a good level with his own tileset.

The eye candy looks good in first place. This tileset doesn’t offer too much eye candy, but LRK did a good job, especially for a level with a size like this. The background looks good, and the rain ain’t a problem. Layer 5 has enough eye candy, but the level looks terrible with low detail on. (not that someone would play with it) There are good light effects in the level. Layer 3 has enough eye candy as well. I can say I like the eye candy in this level.

The layout is quite simple. You run a straight and very long way to the base. The level has a high width, but it’s not big in height. This is expected with a level by LRK. This level’s layout is almost symmetrical. The flow is quite good. You really fly through the level while running left or right. Both sides have vines above the base. At least this is not something about springs. The destruct sceneries are original, but can be annoying when you need to get through something ;P I am glad that they work only one time, because they can be annoying if they regenerate all the time. Almost everybody has it’s own layout style, and this level proves that, because it’s a typical-LRK layout. There aren’t many platforms in the level. So the layout is very solid. The layout is quite open in some places, but is closed as well. There are 2 ways to each base, which is good. It’s not that hard to defend the bases, but it’s possible to kill a defender easily. A 3v3 would be possible easily here. The border ain’t complete, though.

The placement is a bit strange. There is alot of gun8 in some places, and there are too many crates. There is only 1 carrot in this level. There could be at least 1 +1 carrot in it. There are 3 Power-Ups. (No Seeker, yay) Toaster, Bouncer and RF. You do not use Gun9 to get the RF PU, but Bouncies. Unfortunately, there is no fast fire in this level. Some interesting and nice shapes were used. The big group of gun8 is something that lowers the rating, but it wouldn’t be needed if there was no ammo near it. I couldn’t find the Bouncy and Toast PU’s at first, but at least I found them. 1 PU in a level of this size is a bit too… few =P

This level isn’t unoriginal. This is the first level with the tileset used, and it has a good music file. I haven’t seen many levels with this size, and some good light effects were used. Some interesting shapes of ammo were original, and the level as a open and also closed layout. Good use of vines, etc.

Ratings :
Eye candy : 8.
Gameplay : 7.9
Placement : 7.7
Originality : 7.7
Final rating : 8 + 7.9 + 7.7 + 7.7 : 4 = 7.825 = 7.8.

Download : Yes.
Host : Sometimes. Not too many times, but it’s better hosting this than hosting the old levels I get sick of.

-DarkSonic[si]

Just a small comment….
I made a small Battle that’s supposed to be an example level of this tileset. I made it in all 3 versions. Could I use this for example level?

(I am not sure if you can officially have it be the example level, as you’d have to ask the author of the tileset, but you are perfectly free to upload the levels to some webspace and link to them, for the purpose of making reviewing easier. It’s not like there’s any rule against using other people’s tilesets. ~Violet)

Some fast review. Too lazy to write a long one.
Introduction : J2LC finally released something again. This is a 2-level pack with one level by FQuist, and one of ex-J2LC member Snooze.
Carrottus Square:

FQuist used the Carrottus tileset for this level. This tileset has quite much eye candy, but I find it quite boring and it’s somewhat frustrating to use it sometimes. Or that’s what I’m thinking. The eye candy in this level ain’t the best, but it’s better than the EC in alot of levels I’ve seen with this tileset. It’s pretty basic, but I can’t say I’m too fond of it. The backgrounds are pretty basic as well…. just decent eye candy here.

The level is 110 × 50, but the layout doesn’t make me feel like the level is small. 110 × 50 ain’t that small ; many levels are smaller. The level’s spring placement is good enough, and there are some obstacles between the way to the base. I don’t want to go into further details, so I’ll just continue the review. Btw, there are also some warps.

The level has quite much ammo, and alot of power-ups. It has a bonus as well ; with 2 power-ups and a full energy. There is a +1 carrot in the level, though. You’ll need 25 coins to get the bonus. The coins are well placed. The ammo placement isn’t very bad. I found 4 PU’s in the level. 3 PU in the main part of the level and 2 in the bonus. Yes, there are 2 Blaster Power-Ups in the level. I don’t understand why, though. Everything else is just fine.

There were some funny textstrings in this level, and the level uses a system alot of CTF levels don’t have. I don’t have the music for this level, so that’s too bad.

Ratings :
Eye candy : 7
Gameplay : 7
Placement : 6.8
Originality : 7
Overall : 7 + 7 + 6.8 + 7 : 4 =6.93333 = 6.9.

Deserted Paradise CTF

The level has interesting eye candy. This ain’t the easiest Disguise tileset to use, but Snooze made alot of nice stuff in the layers and also some in layer 4. I don’t have serious complaints… this tileset is hard for me, even. (not that I’m perfect) =P The eye candy ain’t that overused, there’s just enough of it. Nice background(s), btw.

The level is 145 × 53, but doesn’t use all tiles of that(well, duh). It’s quite balanced but not symmetrical. It’s quite easy to get around,like with tubes. The springs do their job. So, this means that the flow is good. The left side of the level is quite irritating, though(the part with the vines and small paths) The layout and stuff is fine, and it’s original compared with other layouts of Snooze(and especially compared with my layouts)

The level has 3 Power-Ups. The ammo placement is good enough in my opinion. I don’t really care about the freezers that much. The full energy placement is good enough ; no complaints. Some groups of ammo are a bit like a rectangle or square, though. There is some food in the level ; no problem with that.

The level uses a tileset that isn’t used that much. I think I only saw 2 levels with this tileset before. Too bad I also don’t have the music for this level. This layout isn’t really like Snooze’s other layouts, like I already said. So that’s a good point.

Ratings :
Eye candy : 8
Gameplay : 7.5
Placement : 7.5
Originality : 7.2
Overall : 8 + 7.5 + 7.5 + 7.2 : 4 = 7.55 = 7.6
6.9 + 7.6 : 2 = 7.25 = 7.3
0.1 bonus. So final rating is 7.4.

Just a comment, Skype. =P. You stole my quote about eye candy. =O
Because this is TSF, I can’t review this.

This is the fourth level I review of Satan, and I found out something interesting. I saw the list of under-reviewed levels, and this is an old level, but I will still review your level.

Introduction to 25000 miles above the earth : an old level by Satan. This is one of his first CTF levels. I don’t know if this is a real XLM level, as I see the description. This is a symmetrical level that comes out of the Netherlands.

I start with the eye candy. The eye candy in this level looks really good. The tileset is quite small, but it’s having lots of eye candy for the size. There are some nice animations, and some holes with some eye candy in the walls. The sprite layer is definitely the main layer for eye candy in this level. Layer 3 provides no eye candy, only some foreground for tubes. The sprite layer is almost full of black tiles in the playable area, but there are also some stripes and empty tiles(if someone understands) =p. That made no sense. However, the eye candy really does its job for the used tileset, like Satan does often. The backgrounds provide moving rockets, and the foregrounds have falling meteors.

The layout of the level is pretty basic. Looks a bit like mine, and it has an expecting placement. Some places have a few space between the platforms. There are some tubes at the left and right sides, you can enter them by following arrows. The level is a bit squared-off, but that’s the tileset. The level has a nice flow and good spring placement. There aren’t alot of tactics in the level, but there is some camping possible.(like under the Full energy) There are one ways on some places, and you can bump between platforms sometimes.(especially if you miss the tubes that start at 61,17 and 91,17) I saw that this level is flipped. This isn’t a good thing. NEVER. The places above 72,39 and 80,39 are a bit hard to navigate. It’s not an original way between the two bases.

The level has some old shapes of ammo(rectangles) and some vertical lines of ammo. There are 3 power-ups in the level. The Toaster Power-Up is at the upper-right of the level. The Bouncy PU is at the upper-left of the level. The RF is at the bottom-middle of the level. The positions of this Power-Ups are almost always the same in your levels, especially the upper-left and upper-right positions. Two of your levels I reviewed before had this. Now going back to placement, there are 3 carrots in the level. Considering the size, it’s quite good. The Full Energy is at 76,34, and you can only get it by shooting it down with gun9. This is quite evil, because people can stand down there and get it, while you shot it down! The other carrots are at 22,49 and 130,49. This is balanced enough. There are also some fast fires in the level. They’re under the Full Energy.

No originality this time. Sorry.
Ratings:
Eye candy : 8
Gameplay : 7.2
Placement : 7.5
Overall : 8 + 7.2 + 7.5 : 3 = 22.7 : 3 = 7.5666667, rounded up to a 7.6.
This wasn’t your best level, but one of your best ones.
Host : Maybe a few times.
Download : Sure. This is a level that needed a review, and I gave you that review. Have fun!

I got a feeling this level is underrated. I hosted this level before to see something, and now I will review it. Finally!

Introduction to PIE ROCKS!: Here is another product out of The Netherlands. This level was made by Satan(who is a XLM member) and that’s probably the reason why I am reviewing this level and will try to post a detailed review. To comment on the levelname, I like pie, but depends on what kind. The tileset fits the levelname very well.

I start with the eye candy this time. This tileset has not very much eye candy to use, but this level has alot of SWEET things. Layer 5 contains alot of stuff. Satan used the tileset very well in this level. The backgrounds look nice as well. Even the eye candy is symmetrical in the level.

The layout of the level is symmetrical and balanced. The level is pretty closed on some places. A tube leads you to a +1 carrot and a PU at each side. Float up will get you up to there. There is a small exit from that place. The layout at least is something different. There are springs that lead you to up(where the Full Energy is) people will camp at this place and they can even shoot the car down. There are nice obstacles between the way to the flags. There is NOT one way to each base. You can enter either base from each side. It’s hard to see if this level is flipped or not. There is one way in some places, and nice spring placement in some places as well. There is not much wrong with the gameplay here. A flaw would probably be the small hole to get out of the area with a PU and a +1 carrot. The level has a nice flow as well. The vines are fine too. The text strings make people know that pie really rocks. That’s a funny thing.(not everyone likes pie)

There is not much wrong with the pickup placement. The ammo is placed in some nice shapes. Not all ammo is in the air. I don’t have problems with it that some is on the ground and some is in the air. The food in the level proves that the levelname fits it good. There are some pies and cakes in the level and I really think of real pie if I see them. It’s fun to get a sugarrush off all those food. 3 Power-Ups in the level. 1 at each side, left is Bouncer and right is Toaster. The RF placed in the middle of the level, and you should get it with Bouncies! This is something that isn’t used alot. The blue team can get the RF PU easier than the red team. The area with a PU at each side has a +1 Carrot as well. The Full Energy placed at the top-middle of the level. This can be shot down, like I already mentioned.

The level is a bit original. There aren’t many CTF levels with food these days. That you should take the RF PU with Bouncers is pretty nice. The name of this level is something different for once. The music used in the level fits fine, the file ‘Light.s3m’ belongs in a light level, and this level is.

Ratings:
Eye candy : 8.1
Gameplay : 7.8
Placement : 7.5
Originality : 7.5
Final rating: 8.1 + 7.8 + 7.5 + 7.5 : 4 = 7.725 = 7.7.
Download: Yes. This is a good CTF level made with a tileset that isn’t used very much.
Host: a few times.
The edit : Fixing the hole turned out to be a good thing you did. It’s much easier to enter this hole now, because the tube starts one tile earlier. This will change the rating of the gameplay a tad by adding 0.1 point to it. I added 0.1 to the eye candy as well, but I didn’t like the placement all that much. Changed the ratings a bit, but the rating will stay the same.