Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Same procedure as every time: thanks for not putting an SP starting event. CTF players stink!! :-)
Errr…okay, back to my review:
The layout of “Flaming Flags” is pretty good, circular, good weapon and powerup placement and so on. The eyecandy is okay and the D.a.m.n tileset is underused anyways (good idea, F!re).
Nevertheless i found some small things i dislike: the spring constructions at the bases can get very annoying after a while, as well as the heavy metal music (“The Fat Price” by a guy called Salkin…just a bit overdone, F!re, don’t you think?), which really isn’t worth its 850 KB size.
Plus, what Fquist said about the readme file is very true.

Still, a very decent CTF map that should fit well for some online jump and run action…i recommend you to CLiCK THE DOWNLOAD button :-)

Well, i don’t have much to say or add here. “Rainy Hell” is a very decent CTF map, no more…no less. The design is okay (pretty fair routes and base placement i think, not to mention weapon placement) and there is some really nice eyecandy. I have nothing to complain, sorry :-)
The music “Guntech: Serakhoen” by Teque/DEE (never heard of him or her :-) also fits quite good.
Only the bad next level setting really annoys me (as well as the missing single player starting point

To put it short, “Rainy Hell” is a great addition to your CTF level collection and, apart from that, fun to play! DOWNLOAD NOW! (i was undecided between 6.5 and 7).

First of all, EvilMike gets what he deserves: -0.5 points for not including a single player level start! :-O
As for the level…indeed, “Catacombs Duel” will be a great choice for all us JDC duelists. The level is quite small (70*30 tiles), full of well-placed ammo and it has a very circular layout. The layer work is pretty good looking (nice arrangements in both, fore- and background).
The music from Jazz1 (song17.s3m) also fits very good for the Medivo tileset.

To sum it up: “Catacombs Duel” is a very nice duel level. You can DOWNLOAD iT, if you like :-) Really! (could have been a 7 as well but i’m not in the generous mood today…bad luck)

P.S.: By the way…including two versions (one with a coinwarp and one without) doesn’t make too much sense in my opinion.[This review has been edited by Aiko]

Hmmm, seems like i missed something. Or it’s just my different taste: i didn’t find anything creative, original or exciting in this battle level (by the way, the dull level names really start to annoy me). Tube Electric also begins to bore me, the design may be okay (not really “awesome”, ShanD) but the eyecandy isn’t worth mentioning (well, you have to use foreground layers for the tubes…:-). Ammo placement is average or a tad below.
The copter event is totally useless because Lori can not grab it.

Overall, the level is only a small bit above the average in my opinion. Download or not…decide for yourself (battle fanatics or collectors might need it).

Apart from all that, don’t hang your head because of my blabla…if it’s your first level, it’s pretty good i’d say! Keep on JCSing, Matjong!

“DarkShadow’s Level Pack” (very dull name, sorry) consists of three fresh & decent battle maps that make use of the above mentioned tilesets. Even if it’s not my personal favourite, it was a good idea to use the underused Psych tileset!
The layout is very good in all three levels and so is the eyecandy (some very nice arrangements!). Not to forgot the weapon placement. There are some minor problems like one or two dead ends or other things i dislike, but overall its definitely fun to play in these levels. Only problem is: you need a lot of people because the levels are quite large (esspecially in width not so much in height), some people may find them too large (depends on how crowded your server is, i think).
Regarding the music, Darkshadow also did a good job. He included Skaven’s very 133t “Amazonas” which was part of one his first (and only?) musicdisks.
Then again, the size of the readme file horrified me (don’t do that again, please)!

Still, this is really WORTH THE DOWNLOAD! “DarkShadow“s Level Pack” is a MUST for all you battle fans! (I’m very undecided between 7 and 7.5 here, i may change the rating anytime :-)[This review has been edited by Aiko]

Well, “Dungeon Dreams” has a nice alliteration in its name, uses a relatively underused tileset and has a good layout (i like the idea of not having a carrot in the level). Unfortunately, the massive lack of eyecandy is way too obvious. The weapon and powerup placement is appropiate but my overall impression of this level is that it’s a tad too empty in most areas. Pretty dull, if you ask me seriously.

Otherwise, i really don’t have much to say here. It’s a solid above-the-average battle level, no more, no less (a good download for all you fellow battle freaks, i guess!).

HOLY COW!!!
“Egypt” is another completely breathtaking tileset production from Prague. It comes in two versions (Night and Day) and both of them contain about 1000(one thousand!!!) incredibly beautiful, supposedly self-drawn tiles showing scenes from the oriental life! Reminds me, as a passionate platform freak, of Prince of Persia or Aladdin.

The set includes all kinds of useful tiles like vines, poles, keys, spikes, destruction scenery tiles, animations and so on and so on. It has lots of different structures for both, foreground and background layers…it’s too much to list here, really. Apart from that, the masking is very good, too.
The author also jampacked the ZiP file with two very cool Treasure Hunt levels that give a great impression of whats possible with this tileset. Level design (weapon placement etc.) and eyecandy are just brilliant. Really.
Agama also included two awesome music files in the pack: “Midnight in Arabia” by Mystical/Purple from Denmark (which was a multichannel compo entry at The Party 6 back in 1996) and ZARATHUSTRA by DRAX of MANIACS of NOISE. Very oldskool!!! Just my style! And the theme of both tracks fits perfectly for Agama’s levels and the whole tileset.

Well, i don’t have much to add here…if you ever had any interest in Jazz Jackrabbit 2, the computer game, you simply HAVE TO DOWNLOAD the “Egypt” tileset by Agama. Wow! Just WOW! It looks so darn cool!!!

This is a great old pack (was originally released in early 1999) consisting of seven very original levels using the following tilesets: Castle (2), MEZ01 (2), MEZ02, Beach and Tube Electric (in this order).

The design of the levels is very, very good (platform style, circular und therefore fluently playble). Apart from that, i really love the way Syntax used MEZ’s tilesets. Pretty creative! The layer work is also quite impressive and original.
Of course, some levels are better than others but the overall quality of the pack is pretty high.
The music doesn’t always fit but that doesn’t annoy me too much.

In my opinion, this is DEFiNITELY WORTH THE DiSKSPACE and all battle and CTF fans (you can play it in both modes) should have a lot of fun with it! DOWNLOAD NOW! It’s close to a J2 classic, i’d say.[This review has been edited by Aiko]

Well, i have to admit that, when this level pack came out in summer 1999, i really liked it a lot!
“Project Testudon” includes three levels using Beach, Tube Electric and the “bright” version of Mez’s third tileset (MEZ03a).
The pack had and still has some fresh ideas and used a style of event placement that is still unique.
The actual level design is above the average…pretty good. Lots of platforms and secret rooms (which are dead ends sometimes so the author has to use some warps to make it circular). Eyecandy is existant but there isn’t TOO much of it :-) Some people may complain about the tile placement…it may seem kinda weird in some places, but it’s not made without sense, i guess.
The level i liked most back then was “Power Generator” and the main reason was the music: “ALLIANCE” by DRAX/Vibrants is another masterpiece from the scandinavian tracking scene and it fits perfectly for a MEZ03 level and to the whole atmosphere. Very good choice!
Well, despite the fact “Project Testudon” doesn’t fit into a certain category, i like it because of it’s originality and the insane event placement. My advice: DOWNLOAD NOW RiGHT NOW and figure “it” (whatever that may be) out!

P.S.:
Devan doesn’t think forward, he thinks backward.

I can only agree with all the other reviewers here: “Chemical Thrashcan” is a very decent SP level and there is not much too complain about it. The design is very good (classic jump and run feeling, from platform to platform) and there even is some nice layer work (but not incredibly much). Enemies and powerups are well placed, its quite easy to beat, BUT it’s a pretty long level (takes about five minutes to make it thru’ the whole map). The music (“Data Jack” by Skaven/FC, who is a living legend in the tracking scene) is just great, it fits more than good (it’s pretty chiptunish and therefore fits the techno-beep-labratory style of the “Labrat” tileset). Well, what do you expect from Finland?
Well…as Enigma mentioned, there isn’t anything super exciting, though. Nevertheless, “Chemical Thrashcan” is definitely WORTH THE DOWNLOAD! Take your Blaster © and ™ and have some SP fun (low seven points!).

“The Sonic Castle” (actual level name: “To Many Suckers”…) uses the very good looking Moebius tileset by who-was-that-again (i really can’t remember, sorry).

The design isn’t too great (the author mainly used square blocks), same with the eyecandy (there is hardly any). Enemy and goody placement is so-so, too. The level is a bit too easy, if you ask me. There are some trigger crate puzzles but just placing ten enemies in a row doesn’t make the whole thing a challenge.
The J2 “Castle” music doesn’t fit very good (i would have used some custom music for this custom tileset) and the next level setting is also wrong.

My conclusion: nice idea to use this tileset and make a small story around it (has to do with Sonic, Knuckles and whatever else, as far a i understood it) but there are just too many aspects that should be improved. Sorry, no download recommendation from me.

“Outside” is a nice little self-drawn tileset by Zieg that contains about 50 tiles showing stuff like platforms, a cloud shaped like an UFO, a carrot, other plants and some signs.
The author definitely tried his best here and it was a good idea to try it the handmade way…but after all, the whole set seems to be a tad too simple and a bit like a drawing by a 4-year-old (no offense, Zieg!).
The included treasure hunt example level isn’t bad but not really exciting either (design and eyecandy are far below the average). And in my opinion, there is no need for big music files (“dragonsfunk” by moby) in such a small example level (it’s not really playable, is it?).

No download recommendation from me here, sorry. Still, i have to say that Zieg obviously put some effort into this and i am sure his tileset/level skills will slowly improve by the time.

“Smog CTF” is a great CTF map using Blade’s well-known and very good looking “Wasteland” tileset (despite the fact that it’s pretty easy to use, as EvilMike admitted when i was beta-testing, i really like the idea of using this set).
The design is quite open which makes the level fluently playable and the CTF layout is fair enough, as far as i, as a battle freak, can judge this. The weapon selection is very good, too. Nothing to complain about.
Still, there is a small downfall. The music (“The Take Over II” by a not-so-well-known belgian tracker) is not my favourite tune, sounds like a cheap techno beat, it doesn’t really fit and the file is WAY too large…over 1 MB!

All in all, this is definitely WORTH THE DOWNLOAD, esspecially if you like CTF and Blade’s tilesets :-)

P.S.: Kinda obtrusive already(?)…EvilMike forgot to set a SP start event once again…i had to test it in MP mode…

Amazing! “Kritanium” is definitely one of the levels with the most impressing atmosphere i saw over the last months. It uses Agama’s stunning “Dimensions3”/“Sirius” tileset and that really was a smart choice. The edited/shifted palette of this set creates a very cool effect. Everything else also fits together PERFECTLY and the feeling is really like…wow, lets enjoy the evening (in contrast to, sorry, i dont wanna hurt anyone, but all the crappy kids levels with “Pokemon” stuff and the like).
As we all know, the south african way of level building is very simple but nevertheless extremely effective: a custom tileset, platforms, some well placed weapons and a superb music (this time its the absolutely breathtaking “Distance…” by The Zapper! and IOR). Great eyecandy, mainly in the background and a perfect layout leave no doubt that this is an extremely 133t level.
You will see me hosting this level in one of my midnight servers very often, thats for sure. My advice: DOWNLOAD RIGHT NOW, lean back and enjoy!

“MattW’s 6 Level CTF pack” (stupid name, if you ask me) includes six CTF levels using two homecooked tilesets (namely “Jazz 1: Muckamo” and “Sonic HPZ”) and three custom music files (like, for example, Purple Motion’s stunning tune for FC’s 1993 [or was it 1992?] Megademo “Unreal”). The only Epic tilesets that were used are Tube Electric (three levels) and Castle (one level).

The design in nearly all of the levels is totally confusing (for example, invisible mazes in CTF levels don’t make too much sense). The eyecandy isn’t of high quality and i discovered a lot of minor detail problems like wrong speed of layers and so on. Furthermore, routes from base to base aren’t exactly balanced (actually its one of the worst CTF packs i’ve ever seen).
Some levels are also lacking a single player start event (makes it a pain to test them). The music didn’t fit too great either.

Really, i would be very thankful if some of you guys could stop spamming J2O with unfinished stuff like this. It is a massive waste of webspace. No need to download this pack (2.5 because it has custom tilesets, music and six levels).

P.S.:
Roseta, MattW didn’t make any of the tilesets included in this pack.[This review has been edited by Aiko]

“Kinky City” uses the awesome, mindblowing, breathtaking, superb “7th Lava Fall” tileset by Mr. DethMan, which was definitely a good idea because that set is underused.
Despite the fact that there are some places that seem to be a bit empty (that may as well be a wrong impression, i don’t know), the overall level design is very good. Enemy and obstacle placement is also well made, only the difficulty level could be a tad harder. Another enjoyable aspect is the lenght of the level: very good. It takes at least ten minutes to make it through the whole level.
“Kinky City” also includes a nice swedish FT module as a background music, but as JelZe already hinted, it unfortunately sounds kinda ridiculous for this level, sorry. The “happy rock’n‘roll” mood doesn’t fit too well here i think.

All in all, a very decent single player map using a great custom tileset. Most people will like it so DOWNLOAD NOW!

“Sunset in Town” is a new, very good looking tileset of german origin. It has 180 tiles, most of them using shades of red, like when the sun is going down on a romantic summer evening…sigh. Oh…err…back to my review: in the background you can see the lights of the city and for the other layers, there are clouds reflecting the red sunlight. Apart from that, there are some basic, very blocky platform structures that look a bit too simple in my opinion. Masking isn’t worth mentioning (because there wasn’t much to do). The colour palette is completely redundant, as F!re mentioned above.

Skulg also included a small example single player level. It is way too short but already gives a slight taste of what could be possible with this tileset.

Well, to sum it up: the tileset could (and should) have been larger but even with this small size it is capable of creating a great, enjoyable atmosphere (see above). EVERYONE GO DOWNLOAD “Sunset in Town” NOW!

I completely agree with tazar here: “Chips For Tea” (which uses Link’s interesting & funny “Chip’s Challenge Tileset”) is not really challenging or fun to play. The main reason for this is the sucker tube madness, which is terribly overdone. You will spend about 80% of the total playing time in one of those tubes. Apart from that, there is some nice trigger scenery and a few bad placed enemies. The overall design is definitely below the average and so is the eyecandy (not much of it anyways).
At least, i didn’t find any major tile placement bugs. The “Street Wize” music from TSF doesn’t fit perfect, but its okay. I would have used the original music that Link included.
The next level setting is wrong.

Well, it may sound harsh, but this level is practically worthless for playing. Okay, it may work as an example level for the tileset. If i were you, i wouldn’t bother downloading.

“The Xmas Pack” (promising title, isn’t it?) doesn’t have much to offer except horrible tile- and event placement (i never saw a level where the smoking guy was used so senseless!). Really, there are a whole lot of places in the level that look very unfinished. Anyways, it uses the good JJ1 Holiday Hare “Christmas Pack” tileset edit by Astronia (one of the very few good ideas the author came up with here). For some reason, the second level is like the first one, it only uses a different daytime (brighter colours etc.). Bores me. As JelZe said, a background music is completely missing. The next level setting of the last level is also wrong. I can only fully agree with the advice EvilMike gave in the last lines of his review. Downloading this would be a waste of bandwidth and diskspace.

P.S.: Don’t name your filenames “start.j2l” next time. Causes problems because there are a lot of level that use that name already :-)

Oh wow…the guys are right: another awesome(!!!) tileset creation from my neighbour country Czechia!

“Sirius” (actual name in JCS is “Dimensions”) consists of nearly 700(!) best looking tiles and has all kinds of fancy stuff like animations, vines, poles, a swinging f1 racing finish flag, large golden tubes and so on (too much to list it here). It comes in three different versions using three different shades/palettes…gold, silver and bronze if i’m not completely wrong. The masking is also very good (and it is NOT automasked, JelZe ;-).
Not to forget the stunning single player example level Agama put in the pack: eyecandy fever! Looks real beautiful, if you ask me. For the background, the author chose “Rocket Life”, a classic Fasttracker MOD by Laxity of MoN, a danish elite tracker. The tune fits great.

As you probably noticed, i really REALLY like this tileset pack. It is quite impressing and without any doubt, i RECOMMEND iT AS A MUST DOWNLOAD FOR ALL OF YOU!
But now…go ahead and make some good (battle :-) levels, Jazzers!
And Agama, a gold medal is reserved for you.