Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

I refuse to review this due to the fact that it has exactly the same flaws as the Ice Episode. There is no need to review this again, if the author doesn’t do anything to improve his levels.

First of, minus 0.5 points for saying the level is 1.23 while it is for TSF only.

This level isn’t so bad actually. It’s very trigger based, you have to solve a lot of puzzles, like finding trigger crates, using the right ammo to blast a certain block or moving crates into TNTs while you’re Froggy or the bird. The problem: this has all been done before thousands of times. From the other reviews I expected worse though, and the level was quite challenging. I liked the bird part with bees chasing you (I managed to lure one into TNT though =P). The eyecandy was standard – just like any other diamondus level out there. No story or plot, but it was ok.

Overall this was an average level with some good ideas, which sadly, have been done before a lot. Puzzle friends will probably like this, fans of fast paced action won’t.

I would’ve given a 6.5, but I find it annoying how every third upload says it’s 1.23 while it’s for TSF only. A single click would have saved me some time.

Awesome music. Pointless level.

Playability:

Below average. At the start it looked like the level had some potentioal, with a switch making a crate fall down, but the rest was just a bunch of lizards, a trigger crate or two and then a dead end. I had no idea where I should go or what I should do, and after trying out stuff for three minutes I typed jjq.

Balance:

Too easy. Floating lizards rock when placed in the right location, but in the way they are put in this level they don’t prove any challenge. There wasn’t any difference between enemies either, only lizards. The few puzzle areas which involved triggers where easy aswell. I couldn’t finish the level though, it seems like this level was uploaded before it was even finished.

Creativity:

Hardly any creativity. The switch + crate thing at the start was not so bad, but the rest was just killing lizards and getting stuck in a dead end. There was no creativity in terms of eyecandy either, only a few blocks have been used to create an environment which looks just dull and uninspired.

Eyecandy:

The whole landscape exists out of blocks. The background is a blue sky texture. That’s the whole thing. Bland and unrealistic.

Fun Factor:

People with a slow internet connection will probably spend more time downloading this than actually playing it. It’s very short, and not really fun due to the bad gameplay. Everything looks quite unfinished.

Overall:

Not worth the download.

Playability:

Better than earlier works of Iluz, but still very unprofessional. All the levels involve running around, getting some pickups and killing one of multiple bosses in a way too large arena. The pickups were placed in a very unbalanced way. Often you’ll find one spot with a lot of weapons, while the rest is empty. Multiple bosses clumped together is not a very good idea either. All the levels were really short, and it didn’t take a long time to finish the pack.

Balance:

Very easy. The bad guys didn’t really prove a challenge and with the right tactic you could lure out one of the bosses and beat him up while the other guys just stand somewhere else and do nothing. There wasn’t that much weaponry, but enough to successfully kill off one of the bosses and end the level.

Creativity:

Not very creative. Clumped together bosses have been there since ages, and I couldn’t remind anything else that’s creative either. The tilesets weren’t used very well either, even though some levels had a background layer or two. The first level had some kind of plot (destroy the motherbrain), but I had wished there was some kind of storyline.

Eyecandy:

Dull. In the first level it was ok, but it got worse with every level I passed. In the second level many blocks that looked solid were unsolid, which was annoying. The third level was the worst, with annoying metal stuff in the foreground, making it hard to see anything. In the last one the lighting suddenly turned to 0 when I was in what was supposed to be a temple, then it got 100 again for no reason.

Fun Factor:

Due to the poor gameplay, lack of difficulty and too short levels, it wasn’t really fun to play.

Overall: 3.2

Better than older stuff of the author, but still not really good.

Awesome picture! :)

I think there are some slightly little errors concerning perspective, but still it’s a much better pic than I could have ever drawn. =P

Welcome back, by the way.

Playability:

Not bad for a beginners level (which I assume it is from the other reviews). You have to get up a tower to stop Devan from dropping a bomb. There is no real time limit though, so you have as much time as you want to. There are many different challenges, like platforms that magically dissapear or well placed enemies. It was a bit short though. I died once, near the top where the fencers killed me, but it was not all that difficult. The Devan boss was a bit too standard, I had liked some change.

Balance:

Few pickups and challenging enemies make this seem a bit tricky, but it’s not too hard for advanced players, due to the fact that it’s very short. Making it longer would improve this drastically.

Creativity:

Very creative for a first level. Usual first levels are like a straight line filled with enemies. This one has many nice ideas, but it fails due to the short size. A move advanced story would’ve been cool, too, but I’m guessing this was intended to be a little level to have fun with, not something you play for hours, and that job it did fairly well.

Eyecandy:

Creative use of the tileset, but it still looks a bit dull. I like the translucent background though. I’d appreciate a little more realism. Platforms just flying in the air for no reason don’t look good. Still, the eyecandy is better than most beginners stuff I’ve seen lately.

Fun Factor:

As a short level to have fun with it’s good enough, but if you are looking for something that gives you some hours of playtime, this isn’t reccommended.

A nice little level, nothing more, but nothing less either.

Playability:

Good for a first try, but too less to be enjoyable. Most of the time you simply have to follow a straight line and kill enemies, hunt down a boss at the end and get to the next level. Sometimes there were things like airboards or water, which provided a little change of pace, but even then you just had to kill enemies + endboss. The flying level was an endless row of a tree with a gem crate on it and enemies around, which got so boring that I typed jjnxt. The pickup placement was poor, food was mostly placed in a single row and I just had to use my copter ears to pick it all up and get a sugar rush. The levels were quiet short also. At one point in the second level I fell down and found myself in a pit full of dragons. After I killed them all, I found arrows pointing up the wall but no way to get up, so I had to cheat to get up again. Overall poor gameplay, needs work.

Balance:

Very easy except for the fly level, which was impossible to beat. Enemies were not placed strategically at all, instead the author massed enemies to make it difficult, which failed. Bosses alone are very easy to beat also.

Creativity:

Some good ideas, but poorly executed. An airboard level is not a bad idea, but copying a tree with crate and a few enemies 500 times is one. In one level you have to fight Bolly under water, but he doesn’t seem to move out of his small arena, so it was easy to kill him with TNT. All levels follow the same pattern, kill enemies and pick up food, then destroy a boss in a boring arena.

Eyecandy:

Bad eyecandy. Nothing more than neccessary was done, which looks very dull. Some nasty tilebugs aswell.

Fun Factor:

There wasn’t really anything like a story, so I have to rate fun facor, which unfortunately, turns out not so well for the above stated reasons. A few puzzles, better eyecandy and event placement would have made this better.

Overall:

A good first attempt at making a level (I’ve seen worse), but not really good. Try to make your levels more balanced and to give them some sense: killing a hundred turtles for no reason is not the most thrilling experience.

This will be a pain for every epileptic, please put in a normal background.

I typed jjq after 20 seconds when my eyes began hurting.

I like to trawl through old downloads from time to time, this one didn’t get a suitable review yet, so I’ll be nice and write one (what good guy I am).

Playability:

Normally an average level, but considering Unknown only had two hours to make it it’s quiet good. It’s your basic running around and collecting things level, but with some nice find-keys-to-open-doors-elements and falling turtles at one point (I liked those). It wasn’t all that long, but still quiet fun for an old SP fan like me. The level was also unlinear, another good point.

Rating: 7.0

Balance:

Not really difficult, however, my skills suffered from my inactivity from playing JJ2 and thus I was beaten by the boss three times. :p Most people could beat it easily though. For newer players who like levels that aren’t too hard it’s good.

Rating: 6.2

Creativity:

You can’t expect a lot from a level that took two hours and for that Unknown did a good job. The unlinearity and the falling turtles were nice, and I liked the key puzzle things. It’s not highly creative, but enough to keep one playing for a while.

Rating: 6.7

Eyecandy:

Standard eyecandy, but like I said, you can’t expect more from a level with such a time limit. I saw no major tilebugs, and everything looked fine.

Rating: 7.0

Fun Factor:

Many will miss the difficulty of today’s level packs, but I liked it. There were no annoying situations were you get stuck and don’t know what to do, there were always areas I didn’t explore yet. Short, but fun.

Rating: 7.0

Overall:

A nice little level, old, but fun. At least for me.

Screenshots:

Me kicking the boss right before getting pawned:
http://people.freenet.de/liljulez/phil/120%20minutes%20in%20heaven%202.JPG

Evil trap:
http://people.freenet.de/liljulez/phil/120%20minutes%20in%20heaven%203.JPG

What happens if everything goes bad:
http://people.freenet.de/liljulez/phil/120%20minutes%20in%20heaven.JPG

Starting Comments:

Aaaah… this reminds me of my first Tube Electric level (mine was far worse though).

Playability:

It was quiet a nice little level, but sadly, it was way too short and everything inside there was just like in any other level. You run around, kill some baddies and collect goodies. At one point you’ll have enough coins to enter the bonus warp, get some seekers, and blast the boss with them. At the start there was a little puzzle involving bouncers which was nice, but the rest was just average.

Score: 6.0

Balance:

Very easy. I made it the first try, because there’s nothing which is really challenging. The enemies are easy to kill (sometimes a little tricky, but there are enough carrots to keep you alive), the few puzzle situations aren’t that hard to solve and the boss proves no real challenge either. Needs some work.

Score: 5.0

Creativity:

The puzzle was nice and some enemies were placed strategically, but the rest was just basic running, shooting, collecting, stomping, etc. Some more puzzles would have been nice, or situations where the player has to react fast to get over traps. The boss was also too simple, you fight him in a little arena with four platforms. Pretty much like in “A cold day in heck”. Try backing up bosses with other stuff, or giving them an arena which gives them an advantage while it’s difficult to move around for Jazz in it. That will solve two problems – it will make it harder to beat the boss, and it will be different from usual stuff.

Score: 6.2

Eyecandy:

The eyecandy was not so good. Some stuff in the background (too empty), some tiles in layer 4 and that was it. A variety of tiles would have made it better, aswell as new ideas to make it look different than all the other tube electric levels. I found no tilebugs, however.

Score: 5.7

Fun Factor:

Due to the low difficulty level and the lack of creativity, it was not too much fun and if it had been, it would have ended too early because the level is so short. Try improving the other factors mentioned above, and it will be a lot more fun to play.

Score: 5.5

Overall:

An average little level. It’s not bad, but lacks new ideas, challenges and eyecandy. A story would also be nice.

Overall Score: 6.0

Download Recommendation: Decide for yourself.

Dx, since when you don’t have TSF?

Since this isn’t reviewed yet, I’ll be nice and give you a rating.

“Diamondusts” has some good points, but also some bad ones. The idea of the level is to manouver over floating platforms without falling down where there is no air so you die. That concept is not that bad, but when I played the level I was more feeling like it was a battle level instead of single player. There are dozens of ways to go, and a lot of pickups. The level is thus unlinear, that’s normally a good thing, but you shouldn’t overdo it. I was rather confused as where to go, as there was stuff everywhere. The objective is simple: Find the exit, which is hidden somewhere. As alternative you can also try to get enough coins for the coinwarp, or find seekers so you can open a passage with lots of useful goodies inside. I didn’t manage any of those two things, I maybe didn’t try hard enough, but I guess if you find enough coins you’ll get seekers so you can open the passage. Apart from that there was nothing which really stood out, just some random platforms with goodies and enemies. I quiet often fell down trying to catch evilish placed goodies, but I think the author wanted to do that to make the player think about what he does collect. I didn’t find enough coins for the warp, but apart from that it was fairly easy. Finding the exit can be a little tricky, as it’s very unlinear, but if you remember not to pick stuff which is near the bottom and makes you fall down, you’ll find it sooner or later. The enemies aren’t really difficult to beat, I think I got hit once or twice or so but that’s all. The eyecandy was not great, but not bad either. The background shows more floating platforms which gives a nice feel, and I found no tilebugs apart from a very tiny one. The story is not very huge, but it’s original. Once, before life existed on Carrotus the planet was moving very fast until it hit Diamondus and slowed down, which created the Diamondust place the level plays in. There’s no plot or whatsoever, but better than nothing.

I see potential in this level, but it lacks a plot, creativity and needs better layout. The author should try out making a battle level I think, he seems to be pretty good for that job. I’m not sure about a download recommendation, decide for yourself.

Please include the tileset (and music, if custom), or provide a link where I can download it. Thanks.

Before I start this review, a short note to the author: Please don’t take this review personal, I don’t write it because I am mean or something, I write it so you know what’s wrong and how to improve your levels.

For a first level, this isn’t too bad (I’ve seen far worse). It has, however, several problems. The first one is that it is way too short. After killing a few baddies and collecting some ammo you get warped into the boss arena, where you fight the Robot. After that the level ends. I think it took me 1 or 2 minutes to play through this, a good level should take at least 10 minutes of length. The second problem is that it is way too easy. The robot boss was never really hard to beat, and the few baddies don’t really add a challenge either. When making Single Player levels, always try to give the enemies an advantage. For example, look at the bat. What things can the bat do which Jazz can’t? It can fly, and it can fly “through” walls. If you now place a bat under the floor Jazz has to be quick to buttstomp it before the bat gets him. Also tone down on carrots and goodies. Always think to yourself: Does the player need the goodie I’m going to place? If you can beat the robot without a full energy carrot, then don’t place one. Third problem: Creativity. The only thing you do is run around, collect ammo, kill baddies and shoot the boss to pieces. Try doing something which hasn’t been there before. A good idea would be to make a puzzle. Puzzle’s always add a nice touch to a level, and there are endless possibilities. Problem number four is Eyecandy. The tileset you have used is a little crappy, the tiles look ugly and I often couldn’t tell the difference between the background and solid tiles. There are plenty of good tilesets around here at J2O, search a little and you’ll find one which suits you. The last problem is the lack of story. There is absolutely no point of killing those enemies and the robot, no goal, nothing which keeps the player trying to win to see how it ends. A story doesn’t have to be complicated, a simple reason why you’re doing the stuff you do is enough in most cases to get a decent level. It shouldn’t be as dull as “Devan is back and you have to stop him!” though.

I hope this helps you to improve your skills, just keep trying and you’ll become better. ;)

Download Recommendation: No

To sum it all up, this pack is horribly overrated. “The Episode” does feature six levels, all of them are decent. The problem is though, that they are “only” decent. In every level, you have to collect stuff, kill enemies, find the exit, then in the next one collect stuff, kill enemies, find the exit. Come to think of it, the other levels aren’t different either. The levels are not bad, but they’re just boring. To quote Ninja Dodo, “Why would anybody want to play what they played over and over again in numerous other episodes?” What “The Episode” fails in is creativity. There is nothing, really nothing which is different from the standard episodes. The standard episodes have a story though, aswell as some puzzle elements, and other stuff, like the Cats in the Psych levels. This one is just straight forward exit-finding, and come to think of it – in the last level you have to defeat Bubba in another lame arena. To make it even worse, that is totally easy. Neither the bad guys feature a challenge, nor Bubba does. I started playing with three lifes, and ended up having six, which means there must be something wrong. The only difficult thing is to find all the coins for the coin warp as there are thousands of hidden ways, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that it is still very easy to beat the Episode.

The best thing about The Episode is the eyecandy, which is very well. I especially liked the last last level, which looked amazing, and there weren’t any tilebugs either. That’s were the 7.7 comes from, otherwise it would’ve been even lower.

Still, the levels get boring very fast, and there isn’t even a storyline.

If you like uncomplicated, easy single player levels, then this is for you. For me, it’s just too easy and standard.

Still, I give it a download recommendation, as I maybe have been a bit rude.

I get an amnesia error aswell. :-/

I’ve never came to review this episode, so I shall do now.

When downloading, I had expected another Time Tripping JJ2. When I was playing, I realised it is a lot better than the above mentioned. Not only does it have an actual story, it is original as heck. Every level lets you do something different. The levels still have the typical Hocus Pocus gameplay, in all levels you’ll have to find a required number of coins. However, they don’t have that “I must get everything as accurate as possible” feeling Time Tripping JJ2 had. The suckertubes are still there, and you aren’t allowed to run, kick, etc., but I can live with that. There are some custom bosses, which are uber-cool. I’ve never seen something like that before, amazing work. Still, the gameplay is not perfect. First, I feel that some parts were really unfair. In the “jungle” level (it was supposed to be a jungle I guess), there is a part with lots of spikes/lava, and you’ll have to manouver over it by using swinging vines. That is not only extremely difficult, I often found myself hurt without having any chance. How could I jump from a vine, land on the floor, get attacked by bat I can’t kill cause I can’t buttstomp and get the next vine without getting hurt? In the ice level I got killed right after I got the last coin by a raven and had to do it all over again. Same in the hologram machine, where a sparks killed me after I finally bet Greenkiller. The boss in the last level I couldn’t beat, but I won’t detract points for that. The levels are overall very difficult, which I like, but sometimes really frustrating and unfair, which I don’t like. The eyecandy is good and uses the tilesets well, and there are some cool effects with light. The story I liked, it made sense while not being dull or boring. I love Spotty’s comments, they add a nice feeling.

Overall this is a very good pack, but it’s not perfect due to a few bugs and some unfair parts which really frustrated me, aswell as an out of memory error when saving in BN’s castle, which could’ve been avoided by using another music file.

Download is recommended.

Moo.

The first level, using a Disguise tileset (I forgot the name) is a good and hard level with some trigger puzzles and lots of suckers. It took a few attempts to complete the level, which is good (I don’t like easy levels). The eyecandy was decent, but what reallly annoyed me here was the foreground layer which hindered my view. After that comes my favourite level of the pack, using the Beach tileset by Nick Stadler. It has some nice puzzle elements with TNTs and great eyecandy. I love the background and foreground layers in this one, they give a cool atmosphere. It was again difficult, but a little less than in the less level. The third was again a good level, but worse than the second. It uses Castle Eclipse by BlurredD and has some of the crate puzzles the first level had, with enemies falling from the top. The eyecandy felt a little uninspired. Most of the time it looked boring. Level 4 was a downfall. After killing a few enemies and collecting some ammo you get pushed into a boss arena with two robots and a bolly, but as the control Devans (for the robots) are at the top you can’t see anything for a few seconds and loose two hearts unfairly. As you try to kill one of the bosses you get hindered by a waterfall in the foreground, and can’t see anything again. I couldn’t beat this level, and gave up.

Overall this is a nice pack, though with some clitches. I liked the puzzle elements and the difficulty (apart from level 4). At some parts it could use more eyecandy, and a story would’ve been nice too, but I enjoyed playing for most of the time.

Nice music joice aswell, except in level 3 (standard castle music is boring).

Download Reccommendation.

The uploading date is far back, but I never came to write a review. I just replayed, so here it shall be.

“Time Tripping – JJ2” is a nice conversion of the game Hocus Pocus made by Apogee. I haven’t played the original, so I can’t rate on that.

No one needs the original though, as Violet did exactly convert the game as accurate as possible. Some may like that, but I don’t. Of course it gets unbalanced if one uses running, stomping, etc., but without running it’s kinda boring. I had put less carrots instead, most of them I really did not need. There were also put sucker tubes to prevent high jumping, which often through me into spikes unfairly, which was annoying. The enemy placement of the original must have sucked, because so it does in this pack. Clumped together enemies on every platform, it’s annoying. There were a lot of places were I got unfairly hurt also, because for example a warp target was put directly above spikes in the last level. That’s not Violet’s fault as he didn’t make the gameplay, but I hate it. I just don’t like that Violet sticked to the original so much, leave a little room for creativity. That doesn’t mean the pack wasn’t creative though, some things were done profesionally. I had never thought off stopping Tuf Bosses from shooting with belts. There are a lot of tricks used to make it as accurate to the original as possible. That, however, often ruins the gameplay and looks just weird. It was not bad, but it could’ve been a lot better and I don’t think it does deserve a 10. On a final note, the music annoyed me to hell.

The pack is a nice and very accurate conversion, but freaking overrated.

If you’re a fan of this kind of gameplay then download, otherwise don’t.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s the 53rd review for this darned overrated pack. Oh well.

What we have here is a 17.5 MB package including 12 levels, ambient soundtracks, 5 3D cutscenes and lots of other stuff which I’m too lazy to mention.

A huge amount of effort has gone into creating this episode, however, that doesn’t make it perfect for me.

The story tells the quest of young Jazz, stranded on an island inhabited by dinosaurs – yes, the story’s stolen from Jurassic Park. However, that didn’t matter for me at all.

The levels are all pretty well designed, some with very original stuff, however way too short and easy. I played through this in around 20 minutes I believe (can’t remember correctly), which is way too short considering what could have been possible. The levels are mostly outdoor areas with lots of evil enemies and a few puzzles scattered about. Those were pretty easy though, could’ve had some more depth. The dino hunt level was cool, but too short and easy again.

Like I said, the difficulty of this episode isn’t very high. The enemies are mostly not strategically placed, the puzzles aren’t that hard to solve, what else? Boosted difficulty had made this a lot more fun.

A good aspect of the pack is that it’s pretty creative. There are some ideas and tricks I’ve never seen before, and the dino hunt was spectacular. The puzzles could’ve been better, but overall very nice.

Eyecandy is so-so. In the outside areas it looks nice, while in the caves it’s dull. The tileset is not the best, which could be the main reason. It’s not bad, but it needs a lot more detail, especially in walls. Level 8 had exactly 10 different tiles I believe. Some tricks are neat though.

The story is told in a nice way through short dialoges of the character, and it’s easily understandable even for someone who didn’t watch the film. Some things don’t really fit in like the ammo, but that doesn’t matter.

Overall this pack is nice, especially for those caring about lots of extra features like cutscenes and makros (that are those little recorded games showing up if you do nothing in the main menu), but the levels were a little dissapointment due to easieness and shortness.

Those are my two cents, agree with it or not.

It’s a decent pack though, and worth the download.

EDIT:

I’ve played with my friend in Coop mode yesterday. It was fun, so I’ll increase the rating a bit. :)

(7.7 -> 8.0)