Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

OK, Its your 10th level pack and not one level has achived a rating over 7.0. Looking at your level packs, there really has been little improvement. If I were you, take a break. Not a little short 2 week break, I’m talking 4 to about 10 months. Use that time to check out the best downloads and see where you go wrong, make some short training levels (but don’t upload any) and find someone to betatest your levels.

You may keep reviewing as you wish, but don’t upload anything until you feel that you have improved.

This is my 155th review and your first level pack..Lets Review!

EYECANDY:
The problem is the tile errors on the sprite layer. The ’1 tile big’ platforms look ugly and there are tiles in the wrong places. The eyecandy also looks rushed. The red technoir tiles looked like they’d just been dragged around the level. The JJ1 bit of the eyecandy is the backround. The red technoir backround used in JJ1 isn’t made on the 8th layer, its used on the 7th layer so that it moves along with the level.
RATING: 4.9

GAMEPLAY:
The gameplay has strong points. There are good challenges in the level and in some parts are fun and interesting. I think in one section of the level I found myself on an airboard dodging sparks. That would be more fun if there were less sparks. The same goes for throughout the level. There is a dangerous overuse of enemies and this makes some parts of the level fustraiting.
RATING: 5.5

ITEMS:
There are about as many items as there are enemies. I found 9 powerups within an area of 10 by 10. There are about 15 Powerups in the entire level (Maybe more) and about 6 Full NRG carrots (Which may be of use). Because of this, the level felt rather crowded.
RATING: 4.3

MEAN AVERAGE RATING: 4.9

BONUSSES:

MUSIC:
Technoir….
+0

TILESET:
The newspaz conversion. Its not a great conversion and you didn’t make good use of it.
+0

BONUS: 0
FINAL RATING: 4.9
RANK: 4 Not good
DOWNLOAD?: N/A (yes requires 7)
FINAL COMMENT:
If you want to make better level packs in the future then listen to reviewers. The first step would be to put less stuff into your levels.

EXTRA NOTE: Do not lable your Readme ‘Readme’. I had to overwrite another one to see yours. Name them after the level or after yourself.

I’ll make this review short….

Basicaly, this is a pack of empty sea levels. There were some attemps to make the pack fun but the levels hadhardly any items, the eyecandy was the same all the way through and the levels didn’t help make the story fun either.

The story is basically:

Jazz finds a treasure map. He swims through many empty caves and beaches to wind up at some treasure vents. Then you find devan. You kill him then win.

RATING: 5.7
RANK: 5 Average
DOWNLOAD: N/A

Another level by Gus…

EYECANDY:
Appart from some problems that will be mentioned later, everything is OK. Why don’t you upload this?? One of the reasons is the backround. Because it moves and flashes so fast, it becomes a distraction and the clouds on layers 6 and 7 don’t really help since they move along with layer 8.
RATING: 5.5

GAMEPLAY:
There was a lot of vines, triggers and stuff to keep you playing, but there is just one thing wrong. The level isn’t really much of a challenge without spikes, confusing obstacles and enemies put in difficult positions. This level is a classic example of a non-challenging level. There were no spikes, no challenging obstacles and the only enemies were Norm turtles which are one of the easiest enemies in JJ2.
RATING: 4.1

ITEMS:
When the level doesn’t seem to be incredibly easy with the lack of gameplay, it becomes easier with the high overuse of items in the level. If you put gameplay on one side of a scale and items on the other, items would certainly weigh more than gameplay. At one point of the level I got sugar rush, and only destroyed 5 enemies (and 2 super gems). There are also 2 extra lives just lying on some edges in the level path.
RATING: 3.9

AVERAGE RATING: 4.5

BONUSSES:

MUSIC:
I find it insane that someone would use Orbitus Remix from TIMM in a heaven level. +0

TILESET:
I like your choice of tileset but this tileset is mainly for eyecandy. +0.1

BONUS: 0.1
FINAL RATING: 4.6
RANK: 4 Not good
DOWNLOAD?: N/A (Yes requires 7)
FINAL COMMENT:
You should really check the level before uploading it.

This is the sort of thing that should not be rated. Only good hotels should be rated, not hotels featuring TV shows. There is a JJ2 game featuring Dragonball Z.

Also, Yay! I now have the Pokemon theme.

Devan stories are only interesting when they are like The Invasion Of Deserto.

Also, some people can’t help it if their levels are 1.24 because they don’t have 1.23.

Uh-oh! Error! When I exit for the house of mud, I end up at the library. Check for problems, fix, then reupload.

I can’t fix them until I know which ones don’t work. The Diamondus intro is fixed.

I’ve heard a lot of Super Mario but never actually played it myself. So I don’t whether this pack has eyecandy like the origional or has almost the same gameplay. I’ll rate anyway:

INTRO:
Is just a basic intro level. You walk for a few seconds then bump into some characters and a text screen. The end is hiding in some tubes you walk into after. There is a secret full of items in the intro level to make in fun-ish. But those are the only items in the level.
RATING: 6.8

UNDERGROUND:
This level was a lot longer than any of the other levels in this pack. There was origional gameplay in this level but some ideas were pointless. There were coins you couldn’t pick up and some crates were positioned when you could have done with them earlier. There was eyecandy bugs in some places and there wasn’t really much to explore. You just stuck to a main path for most of the time. The level was also easy. There were extra lives in places too close to the main path that were not guarded in any way. The level takes you to an underground castle.
RATING: 6.4

CASTLE LEVEL:
Is very small and has very few items again. There is a huge gap between the amount of items and the amount of enemies. The level ends with a boss….a very easy one. All you do is jump over the boss and walk over to a switch. That opens a door which ends the pack.
RATING: 4.4

AVERAGE RATING: 5.9

BONUSSES:

MUSIC:
The origional Mushromm Kingdom music and Castle music used in Mario (I think) And a file i’m not sure where it came from. +0.2

TILESETS:
Mario conversions. One of them is good and that is the mushroom kingdom. +0.1

BONUS: 0.3
FINAL RATING: 6.2
RANK: 6 OK
DOWNLOAD: N/A (Yes requires 7)
FINAl COMMENT:
A reasonable Mario episode. Could have been longer.

This level felt rather more entertaining than the first release (second level) of gam-ies levels. This wasn’t an ordinary level, it was narrated..

EYECANDY:
To be honest, the first glimse of eyecandy was not convincing. The below-ground tiles were obviously dragged and the ceiling….well…looked the same. Those are some of a long list of errors. The way the level looked wasn’t the only problem. The poor quality of the level created some huge masking errors (like near the beggining). The backround was a half-sky half-leaf backround. If you put all those together, the result is certainly not good. Gam-ie has some work to do.
RATING: 2.4

GAMEPLAY:
The first problem was that there was a huge lack of gameplay…and the only gameplay there is not dissapointing, but amusing. Amusing not because the level is superb, but amusing because of the low quality of the gameplay. The only obstacles in the level were spikes and dragonflies (And 4 lizards). There is a coin warp in the level and your reward…2 super gems. But again you put dragonflies in there which almost defies the meaning of ‘bonus warp’. about 60% of gameplay was text. The story for this level was about a rabbit who had to go around killing flies.
RATING: 1.4

ITEMS:
There were less than 7 groups of items. There were 9 blue gems, 2 super gems, 1 carrot, 2 coins, 18 special ammo and the other 2 group was just food. The 2 gold coins were right next to a warp you had to go through to get to the end. The level was so small that there probaly no room for items anyway.
RATING: 1.8

AVERAGE RATING: 1.8

BONUSSES:

MUSIC:
A level needs music. If its a j2b file, type just the name. If its s3m, mod, xm, it, wav, 669 or any other module, type the name plus the extension. Eg. DEMONIC.mod, light.s3m….. +0

TILESET:
If you use other peoples tilesets, the level may not be boring. +0

BONUS: 0
FINAL RATING: 1.8
RANK: 1 Crap
DOWNLOAD?: If you’re bored.
FINAL COMMENT:
Read reviews carefully and take care doing levels.

Its just exoticus with all the samples changes and sped up. I don’t rate this.

Yay! I have 3 fireplaces!

This is you second level but your first upload on JJ2. Since it is your first upload I will give you a 0.5 bonus because you are new here and I am friendly with first uploads.

EYECANDY:
The eyecandy may explain why this is your first level. there are a high number of tilebugs and the backround is not fixed and textured. Carrotus is one of those tilesets where you have to spend a lot of time on and the auther clearly spend maybe less than 5 or 10 days on this level. Another problem arises when you’re playing this level in high resolution. You can see below the ground and through the wall into nothingness.
RATING: 2.3

GAMEPLAY:
This had a fair amount of gameplay for the level size but all of this is squashed into a small space. The warp bit of the level was so small that it was quite hard to miss a warp. Also, the correct warp is too easy to find and you should signal where your warps are positioned. That seems to be about all the gameplay there is in the level. There were not many obstacles either. Yes this is a level for begginers but try not to upload them here. Use your levels to train yorself and if you think they’re of approapriate difficulty, upload them. Its embarassing if you have an easy level and then say in the text ‘that was pretty tough huh?’.
RATING: 2.1

ITEMS:
Because of the easy difficulty, the level is very rewarding with items. There was a very easy 1up to get and a very good reward for finding a very easy to find warp. Its a shame all the items are where you don’t need them, near the end of the level (unless you are doing a level pack or have a boss as your ending).
RATING: 2.2
AVERAGE RATING: 2.2
BONUSSES:

MUSIC:
If you want a bonus for your levels and to give the level more fun, I suggest putting music in the level. +0

TILESET:
A standard JJ2 tileset that has not been used properly. Scan the tileset to see what animated tiles you could put in. +0

(You do get a .5 bonus since its your first upload)
BONUS: 0.5
FINAL RATING: 2.7
RANK: 2 Terrible
DOWNLOAD?: No (Requires 4 for N/A, Requires 7 for Yes)
FINAL COMMENT:
Well, 2 for a first try is not so good. Read carefully the advice reviewers give you and keep trying.

Why do you have 2 music files when there is only one level in the .zip file.

No starting comment..

EYECANDY:
Very nice and swamp-like.There is so much on the foreground and backround that it makes it very hard to see the sky in layer 8. However, some of the foreground gets in your way like near the far right edge where you have to climb the trees. You used one of Agamas tilesets which are very hard to use yet you used it better than any other level that uses this tileset.
RATING: 7.7

GAMEPLAY:
Some of the gameplay is good. The hidden passages in the trees are good for an obstacle and there isn’t to much normal gameplay. However, some of this is also bad. The battle feels more like a circuit and the climbing obstacle is overused a bit.
RATING: 6.5

ITEMS:
You would just find ammo and carrots (and maybe food) in battle levels. But there were a few gemstomps that kindof fit in with the gameplay. There was a bit in the battle where 4 ceiling springs triggered gemstomps. Quie useful for when you’re doing treasure hunt.
RATING: 7.2

AVERAGE RATING: 7.4

BONUSSES

MUSIC:
The music in this level felt kindof assult like but somehow managed to fit.
+0.2

TILESET:
Someone who managed to use an Agama tileset. That deserves a bonus.
+0.3

BONUS: 0.5
FINAL RATING: 7.9
RANK: 7 Good
DOWNLOAD: Yes
FINAL COMMENT:
Good battle.

Even before the review I can say, Ouch! This was just about as bad as the Freak-E level I released. One problem is that you passworded your level even though there was no point because the level is bad. The review:

EYECANDY:
All was fine and I was happy until I took one look at this level. The eyecandy on the sprite layer could use a little bit of work….no, LOTS of work. Tile errors is one of the many things that are wrong in this level. Another is the idea of having snow and rain in a hot, redish brown medieval castle with fire. The rain is not a problem if its in the back round but snow should only be used in winter, candy or mythical levels. In this case, it makes it look silly. Another problem is that you could see nothing below the floor tiles which counts as a tile error. The countless amount of these errors gives you the lowest eyecandy score.
RATING: 1.0

GAMEPLAY:
Not nice. The texts keep saying messages explaining that you’re doomed when I could only lose 2 hearts playing the level. The trigger puzzles are nice but simple and the platforms over the spikes have so narrow gaps that I could just walk over them. The worst is near the end with the bilsy boss. To make it “challenging” is the narrow gaps again. An error is born when bilsy dissapears, he can appear on one of the gaps and not fall off as if he’s floating. You need a certain type of arena for Bilsy but here, the arena is so small that Bilsy can hide in the walls making him impossible to shoot.
RATING: 2.9

ITEMS:
Very few items. There is some triggery bits at the beggining you just stomp, and then some crates and you get a some Powerups and a 30 second shield. There is also some hooks you climb to reach a ‘very easy to get’ 1UP. The worst is at the end where to help you, you get a lot of fastfires and a Full Energy carrot.
RATING: 1.9

AVERAGE RATING: 1.9

BONUS:

MUSIC:
Basic JJ2 which suits really well used in the origional JJ2. Boring. +0

TILESET:
Aaacck +0

BONUS: 0
FINAL RATING: 1.9
RANK: 1 The worst level rank ever
DOWNLOAD?: Its just that bad that it should be downloaded so that he world can laugh at it.
FINAL COMMENT:
You could certainly do better than that. To avoid these comments, read reviews carefully and spend as much time as you want on a level or level pack.

Here are a cople of good CTF levels. Anyway, the review:

LAVA DOMAIN:
This level was obviously meant to be dark and filed with lava. That has been successfully done. The eyecandy with the backround is mostly rock but strangely with a sky in the backround to signal the top of the level. The gameplay ideas are nicely used in this level. The main idea is the lava at the bottom so that if you fall down, you are warped back where you started. There are also hidden warps that act like traps in the walls too. The let down is the that there is an area of two powerups and a shield in one area. You and the opposition could easily get those. Overall, this level is good.
RATING: 8.3

THE GALLERY:
This level was completely different. This one had a mansion/garden theme to it using a rather difficult JJ1 tileset. The gameplay was rather different. This time, the warps can take you anywhere. The Powerups are also harder to get to. My only concern is that the backround could have a little work and looks quite ugly.
RATING: (a rather shamefull) 8.4

AVERAGE RATING: 8.3

BONUSSES:

MUSIC:
Two good XM files but the one used for the gallery is kind of distracting.
+0.2

TILESETS:
You used raging inferno OK but Marblara better.
+0.2

BONUS: 0.4
FINAL RATING: 8.7
RANK: 8 Great
DOWNLOAD?: Yes
FINAL COMMENT:
These are two very good CTF levels. Good work!

Whats the point of telling us the password?

……..?

TYPE: BATTLE

EYECANDY:
Not a huge amount. Tree thingies in the backround and some annoying stuff on the foreground. The level could have some more eyecandy in the backround though.
RATING: 6.0

GAMEPLAY:
The gameplay used in this level is just about te same in a mediocre level. There is no gamplay with any action and not many fun areas.
RATING: 5.5

ITEMS:
Some items placed OK. PowerUps hidden a bit easy though. The rest however is just….well…plain.
RATING: 6.5

SIZE:
There we go….A good sized battle with areas that are not too small, but not empty either.
RATING: 7.5

BONUSSES:

MUSIC:
Sorry, but the standard JJ2 ending music just doesn’t suit the level. Use IT, XM, S3M or MOD files. +0

TILESET:
I will award a point for using a JJ2 tileset almost perfectly.
+0.1

AVERAGE RATING: 6.7
BONUS: 0.1
FINAL RATING: 6.8 (6.7)
RANK: 6 OK
DOWNLOAD?: N/A (Requires a 7)
FINAL COMMENT:
If you want a better rating, make these levels more fun.

I decided to review this in return for mixing this episode up with chandies.

EXOTICUS:
For both levels, the eyecandy was more detailed and made it feel more……exotic. There was origional gameplay like in every level only in this case, there were mini puzzles such as finding crates whilst being attacked by flying jazzes. The items were layed out OK but items in the walls show because layer 3 doesn’t cover much of the passage. The boss used is uterus which I think is an OK choice if you want a challenge.
RATING: 7.4

INDUSTRIUS:
Again, thanks to your tileset, it feels like more of a city except for the lack of animation. The challenge is the 2nd level where if you fall down, you must type JJK to go back to the beggining or a save point which is annoying. I also saw these unusal items from the tileset that don’t do anything which I think is also pointless. The boss in this level is a robot which is a step down from uterus. Maybe a tuf boss with regenerating bats.
RATING: 6.5 (I don’t rate bonus levels unless they are completely linked with the story)

MUCKAMO:
This was a dissapointment. Level 1 was OKish but the idea of ‘die when you fall’ is used again and so are the pointless items. Level 2 was obviously ment to be challenging. Jump across some gradually smaller platforms to end up in a machine. Also, level 2 was uglier and fustraiting.
RATING: 6.0

AVERAGE RATING: 6.5

BONUSSES:

MUSIC:
Larks remixes and a fairly good s3m file. And I just cant help not to give a bonus for my music file.
+0.2

TILESETS:
I like you’re tilesets and these are OK JJ1 conversions.
+0.1

BONUS: 0.3
FINAL RATING: 6.8
RANK: 6 OK
FINAL COMMENT:
I think this can stil be improved and so close to a download recommendation.