Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Prupel jaz sez:

LEVEL IS GUD AND STRONG

Another collaboration level! I’m not sure if that worked out properly this time.

The level looks and plays a lot better practically than it would seem when looked into JCS. Still, there is stuff that could be improved. The level has been made as colourful as possible with this tileset, which truly offers a lot of colours. The background is mostly visible only at the top-left region of the level, right where it doesn’t really have that much scenery in it. On the other side of the level there is a lot of caves and closed areas that have non-solid wall covering the background, where it would look better. This is nothing very major, but better remember to avoid it in the future, I guess. I have no other complaints about the looks of the level. At least it doesn’t confuse my eyes, but if does confuse you, you should probably reduce the colours of your screen or something.

Gameplay is as well different at the top-left region than everywhere else. And it’s actually good that this level isn’t entirely a ‘cavern’-level. However this area, while it is more open, is also pretty much squared off(could it be just a problem with the set?) Then, a lot of float ups were used to make the movement easier. It sometimes rather distracts than helps, though. Especially around the blaster PowerUp it becomes harder to shoot it with EBs while you are on such float ups. Also, while things like ‘x’ are a nice add of personality, I don’t think it really fits to the layout there. At least, not to the very top-right of the level. The cavern part seems to be playing pretty well anyway.

I’m quite wondering why is the seeker ammo that rare in this level as it is, while I don’t find any real purpose for that(except PrupelJazz.) However carrots(3 minor) and PowerUps are placed wisely, so that makes the level playable with more than just a few players too.

So yeah, I pointed out more of the flaws and bads of this level in this review, but you may suppose what I didn’t comment on was alright. Just improve the things I mentioned in the future, and it’ll be great. ;)

Also I’m thankful that you made a rf-climbing spot for me, although you didn’t mark it with text!!! Okay so, I guess these kind of ‘Prupel place F0R PrupelJazz’-things are getting a bit 0ld already, so in the future rather just reduce the amount of them or replace them with something fresh, please.

I recommend this level to be downloaded and hosted often. Also I recommend it to be a part of the upcoming Anniversary Bash, since it is a decent level in overall anyway. Well done CC&DS.

-SJ

Awesome battle level! Great job! :)

(Don’t stick with crysilis till judgment day, ffs!) Let’s go with the good ol’ pros and cons.

+ Nice, complete usage of Crysilis
+ Eyecandy is good, yet isn’t confusing
+ Level features a healthy mix of different gameplay elements

- Eyecandy is a bit plain in places

— Extensive usage of float-ups for the “betterment” of flow

(Review part of a review exchange. Yes, this review is very late, I apologise.)

Dubbed Marine is the latest effort by arising level creator Crimiclown, who continues to improve, which is shown clearly in this level. This uses the steadily becoming overused WTF Borealis, although this level seemed to be a breath of fresh air in the looks department. The theme is a clever idea and is well executed, instead of the usual “factory” approach with the eyecandy made with this set, Crimi used the tileset in a more clustered way that gives the feeling of something more organic and lifelike; rather than something really neat and organised; yet it still retains the feeling of something man made, however you still get a feeling of decay in the environment as many things begin to lose their shine; like with the brown rotting areas in the walls and the falling ice flows. Combined with the music, you get a very ambient level which stays true to the idea of a lost submarine in every aspect. Bravo Crimi, top marks in this area. =)

Speaking of clustered, this stays true in the gameplay too. The whole level is tightly packed, which although is part of what makes the theme so great, it sacrifices gameplay a bit as with anything with more than 4 players will be horribly claustrophobic, trust me. A bit of a shame really, as the layout structure seems better suited to that of larger games, which unfortunately will get rather messy since there is little room to dodge bullets. However, it’s still a very solid level with an intuitive layout and design, so if you decide to play this level (which I highly suggest), play in 2vs2s.

Moving on to placement and layout design. This is a symmectrical level; although a popular layout type in CTFs today this one felt different from a lot of generic CTFs I see being made today, despite having a seemingly standard design. The carrot situation is fairly normal, a Full NRG in the middle and a +1 in each of the upper corners. Nothing overly creative, but no real complaints so no problem here. The Power up placement was pretty interesting here. This level has 3 of them; 2 Bouncer and 1 RF. The RF PU is in the bottom middle, underwater which requires gun 9 to get at. I’d have much rather it be Toaster though, as it’s quite hard to really run around and use RF to it’s full potential here due to the cramped spaces which will cause you to accidentally bounce of walls with it a lot unless you don’t meaninglessly spam it. Still, does provide a few good uses such as chasing people trying to get the +1s down the long passages. However, it is the Bouncer PU placement I find the most creative. It is placed almost right next to the bases, which could be considered a bad thing as it means base campers will have a consistant source of ammunition, but it works here and saves the pain of running far out of the base desperately searching for a necessary power up, and makes it more challenging to be RTS here. The water was a really important gameplay aspect here as it prevents movement between between the bases from being a few seconds which would be anarchaic. It is possible to go around the water, although the route for doing this is a bit longer so this balances it out. Everything else is solid enough, no real huge design flaws except it should probably be made a little bigger so it can be played better in 3vs3s.

In conclusion, a very solid CTF definately worth your time, I highly recommend downloading it and having a few games in it. It offers a lot of potential fun, and really shows what Crimi is capable of, I see a bright future for him in level making.

I really encourage people to make more levels like this. There are too many open and tunnely levels already. This one uses narrow paths and gives an ‘indoor’ feeling. The flow might just not fit everyone, but the purpose of water in this level makes the gameplay interesting. I also have nothing to complain about in eyecandy or other environment.

Make this proportionally bigger and I will review.

Hey, Ragnarok… *King Ragnarok… I’m gonna get my account name changed. Anyway, King Ragnarok here for a review on a level which I feel is somewhat underrated. I was reluctant to try the level out to be perfectly honest, because the screenshot looked wierd (haha, yeah wierd reason, but I’m wierd like that). Anyway, CrimiClown brings J2O his latest CTF (as far as I know) and it will NOT dissapoint; or at least it didn’t dissapoint me. I’m adding this to my levellist.ini! This review is not biased because I am in relations with Mr CrimiClown, I swear. Anyway, here goes!

Eyecandy

Rating: 8.0

The eyecandy of this level is fairly simplistic, and does not get in the way of the gameplay itself. In other words, it’s very easy to understand what’s where and all that. It follows the standard use of the test, but oh no, there’s a twist! The level’s set in a submarine encased in ice, as you can see from the background. I think it looks really original, and quite clever. I even felt the illusion before hearing what it was supposed to be. I mean, it felt like there was some form of ice blocking something which I assumed to be the water in the background. I think it was way too fast before, and it’s better now that you slowed it down. Moving closer towards the actual level’s layout itself, the level is set out by a series of pipes, water, interesting motifs and backgrounds and many chains. Loose chains. Instead of as full on background, the skyscraper tiles are used as simple walls, and to me it looks quite good, especially in the water, and especially how it creates a feel of depth in the use of the shadows. On top of this, the level isn’t perfectly symmetrical in terms of eyecandy, which is also always a good thing because then it doesn’t look boring [and you put more effort in it then, although I think its actually harder to put Eyecandy perfectly symmetrically, I’m just a control freak though- ignore me]. There’s a random floating cloud of smog in front of one of the bases. It kinda annoys me because it’s just there, moving at the sprite speed. I would have loved it if it was at a slower speed so it looked like it was actually in front. Woulda looked nice. Oh well, it’s not that bad. The author cleverly made use of shadows using certain tiles and also, there are some very pretty aspects of the level, including the middle. Some areas I couldn’t imagine being made out of this tileset, but I guess this tileset always surprises me in terms of usability. No major tilebugs, so I’m happy there too, and the water really fits, even though it probably wasn’t placed entirely for eyecandy, though I dunno if water goes with the theme of the level, I mean, if you’re in ice, wouldn’t the water inside it be frozen too? o_o Okay sorry I think about things too much, but yeah. D: I liked the eyecandy, I really did. I keep saying that. Don’t I keep saying that? I keep saying that. I keep saying this too, and this, and this, and this. Okay Ill stop. stop

Gameplay

Rating: 8.7

Yeah, I really liked the way the level is set out, and also, partially for filler and navigation: This review will be set out in this order: bias, strategy, layout, flow, defense/offense, and of course fun-factor. (like with all my other reviews, heehee) (heehee) (heehee) (hee gets shot)

There’s no real bias between the teams since the level is basically symmetrical in every aspect, although, since the floatups don’t act perfectly naturally in JJ2, on one side, (I think the left), the floatups are gonna have a bigger range than on the other side. That can be resolved by moving it over one tile, as I think floatups work in a certain side of the tile. Anyway, no real bias between the teams. With the rabbits however, there are minor things that are more easy to do with Spaz than Jazz, not to say there aren’t others to reciprocate especially around the middle. Jazz’s movement is very nice across the middle, while Spaz can just double jump in necessary situations. No major issues.

In terms of tactics and strategy, I think this level fulfills this purpose quite nicely, especially the base area. You are susceptible from attack from three directions, but they can only enter from two. I always like this sort of thing, and the defense is quite easy to set up, unless you have a “running-man” to help you out through the tube area. In addition to this, TNTs are very effective in this level in the narrow areas as they effectively can create a barrier which will just act as a trap to any unsuspecting/suspecting idiot who runs through. TNTs however aren’t so great in the open areas, but they work nicely in the water too. I think people should play with /extendedtnt on for optimal TNT fun. The bouncers and RF powerups are quite useful in this level, moreso the bouncers I think though, as this level is a lot more slopey and open than narrow and passagey, except for near the bases, in which case bouncers or seekers are clearly the better weapon. This has no real bias as the powerups are both placed on either side and they are the same. There are no major camp spots, except I think the top carrots are quite easy to camp, but I think they’re easily bombardable with RFs from the middle area. Seekers however are pretty dang good in the middle because of how the level is laid out. The warfare in the bottom [water area] is really fun because the certain guns are all at different abilities and some of them really shine, as well as the vine area’s allowance to shoot bouncers constantly. Some people might think the bottom area is just slow, in which case it would probably be better to take the indirect route to the other base, but otherwise, I think it’s probably the best way to move around, and avoid getting hit/hitting others. I’m good in the water :]. The level in general is quite uncampy, and there are many areas in which you can use the power of height [bouncers] really effectively, including jumping into attacking the base area. I only wish there was a way to gather enough speed in the small narrow areas on the side of the bases in which TNTs are good for defense/stopping pursuit for bouncers to go through the small 2tile wide walls with ease. You can do it from the other side, but I wish it could be done both ways. Oh well, it’s still good.

The layout of the level varies in different areas. For instance, the base is quite cramped to some extent, as is the water area, but at the same time, the middle of the level is very open, and the water area can be seen as quite open too, depending on your view on cramped/open. Personally, I love the water area: [see how I keep going on about it?] OMG IM ON LETTER 6666! SATAN IS COMING AHHHHHH hide. Anyway, the layout of the level offers various tactics as well as interesting gameplay with clever abilities to lay traps easier with TNTs. The layout provides very smooth movement and is quite tactical for use of different guns, at least I think so.

Ah, this part. The flow is quite nice in general, as there is fairly smooth movement everywhere, with the exception of two things, (four things since the level is symmetrical). The red springs at [28,25] and [96,25] are good for getting up, but they require a jump into the wall to get over when you are approaching from the middle. While this isn’t really that problematic, and obviously there are alternate routes, I would prefer if it wasn’t really like that, or at least easier to get past, while of course the spring is useful to get up. Also, the far right and far left bottom sides seemed kinda non-flowy, I mean, you have to perfectly land yourself in the middle to get as many of the pickups as you can. Personally I think they should all be on one side, as this affects the flow least then and you can easily gather them all, or leave them all. Although this may have been your intention. Now that I think of it, the springs are placed really nicely otherwise. Hmm, oh yeah, another thing! The suckertubes at the bases which prevent movement are nice, but probably a more suitable and more agressive alternative would be strong winds that prevent your movement both ways. I know its somewhat unnecessary but it would have been nicer to go attack through like that especially with bouncers/rfs. Nice guns they are.

What I really like about the bases in this level is that they are equally easy to attack as defend. This gives noone any advantage, while there are slight benefits to defense [as you already have the position to do certain tricks to prevent their advance]. I really like however, that you can attack quite easily through the tubes, and from the water (EBs/Seekers) diagonally or vertically at the base area. It’s quite nifty. However you can counter this with bouncers down into the water, although this doesn’t always win. I like it anyway. Also you can defend the bases easily with TNTs and seekers through the top and the sides which don’t have tubes. I think I’ve stated this all before. I would like to experience an intense game here.

The level is generally quite fun to play in I think, as you can play in different styles in the different areas as the layout provides handy use with the different guns. Personally, I think the water area is really fun as well as the vines and the many escape/entry routes. I really like it in general. The quite smooth movement throughout the level makes this level all the more enjoyable to play in. I think it’s very fun, which is why I like this level so much.

General Placement

Rating: 8.6

This level isn’t lacking anything, and everything is very cleverly laid out. On the top area, you’ll generally find carrots, and along the bottom you’ll find the more offensive gear [such as powerups]. I think the powerups are placed fairly and nicely, and can quite easily be occupied (which can be very fun, although annoying when you’re playing against someone like FS in DW). Anyway, I also like how the springs are all nicely put out in such a way that they all let you go to certain areas smoothly. The main issue would probably be the red spring which causes you to bump into the wall. I just noticed also, the vine area is a nice camp spot, even though you can attack it somewhat easily too, I guess it’s not really an issue. I like it a lot still. The ammo is placed fairly nicely, and some of the useless guns in this level aren’t placed, for example freezer, peppermint and toaster. Great placement, especially how the electroblasters are so useful. I’m really impressed to be perfectly honest, as the carrots and powerups are all evenly and greatly placed. I’m more than impressed.
The warps are somewhat annoying (because I hate warps xD), but they fit in the level quite nicely, and add a nice escape route to the top, especially if you’re trapped. =]

Originality

This level has various original traits, like the background, the use of the water and the clever eyecandy. I’m also very impressed by the TNTs being effective on the way to the base from behind. I really like it to be honest. Four original things I noticed I guess. The chain use is really good but I think I’m pushing it if I like that too. For every original thing, +0.05, giving you +0.2. Congratulations.

Conclusion

Final Rating: 8.6

I really like this level and I hope it gets played in some 3v3s or bigger games. Some changes would really help too, but I like the level the way it is, and think everyone should download it and add it to their levellist.ini. Thumbs up CrimiCrimi. Great level.

~King Ragnarok out, with over 11.5k characters. :]

Nice eyecandy. Nice layout and useage of water. But the gameplay can be a little cramped. But anyway, I host this!

My first review after a long time xD

Eyecandy: Looks very nice. I like the little windows viewing the ‘ice’ on the submarine and the different look for both sides of the level (if you understand this x3). The large window at 44.4 doesn’t look very good though as layer 6 has a tilebug. You’ve used a lot of animations and scenery triggers which is good :) Especially the bubbles make me think that the submarine is broken and that’s why there’s water. Layer 5 is just a bit empty. Think the black tiles are fine (the ones you put in layer 4) but in the middle it’s such a large area that it feels a bit ‘empty’.

Gameplay: Pretty smooth. Springs placed to help you reach other platforms and levels. Warps at the top of the level that bring you close to the bases, but not too close. Like the use of the wind events instead of sucker tubes, allowing you to still have a bit of control while being moved. The bases are placed pretty close to eachother but you are delayed by the water.

There’s some spots where you jump and then bump into something, like in top corners. When you jump to pick up a group of gun9’s, you jump into a wall when coming from the middle. Not a very major problem though. As earlier mentioned, the bouncy pu’s seem to take care of camping at the bases a bit. I really do love the turrets there XD

Placement: Well placed and easy to pick up. I quite like the bouncy pu’s next to the turrets at both bases. The RF is quite nearby but only if you get gun9’s. In my opinion there is just a bit too much in the water between the bases. A few too much different kinds as well there, but it is fine in the rest of the level.

Bugs: The background bug from earlier. That’s all :p

Comment overall level: Very nice level :) I don’t know about any recent levels from you except this one so yeah. I like the music choice as well. And overall it’s a solid ctf level which is fun to play in.

Very fun level, but a little too gimmicky for my tastes.

This is a very nice level. A little hard in parts, but very creative nonetheless.

TITLED Deux is a CTF level, set on an action-packed space station with an agreeable song, well-placed eyecandy and more. The added fact of a version with and without pits only makes it look even better.

Setting/quality

As I explained before, it’s on a space station. It’s not 100% symmetrical, but does have a familiar rhythym to it. Some areas were brighter or darker than others, which added more fun value. I didn’t like how easy it is to memorize the routes, however clever they were. Which they were.

Buggyness/likeability

No real findable bugs that I ascertained, which is nice. I liked how the combination of springs, floatups, and freezing-device-thingamabobs was used to propel you from one part of the base to another. However, the seekers were a bit camper-friendly, which is sad.

Music and miscellaneous junk

The music fit well [razor-ub.it]. It had kind of a futury, spacey feel to it. Exactly the kind I had in mind.
This level runs smooth in TSF, and could work in 1.23 with + [although I haven’t tested yet, it doesn’t appear to have any TSF+-exclusive events]. Yay!

Straight talk to the reader

So, what more could I possibly say? Good work, and bring us some more later? Well I was kind of going to say that, but let’s lavish a bit of praise on the end…
In short, TD is a very well done level with a few minute flaws, but hardly enough to tear it down incredibly far. Dl this now.

very kewl usage of this tileset.
the layout is pretty massive and lollish, with a shield in the middle down for nubs who think they can take it.it’s simple but funny in some ways. in other words; This level is very BOOM BOOM MUSIC :S!.. and that’s my 1337 copyright! damn right son.

download reccomendation, and i will play this as a child :M

CP’s are placed really well, carrot-placement is okay, PU’s not that much. Eyecandy is not spectacular with this set, but quite okay. Terrible background imo, but well, it matches with the levelname. Nice tube, by the way. Some parts feel a bit empty, lacking either ammo or EC. Complicated, original and interesting layout, that’s for sure!

Nice

PT over rates things D=.
I’d say it’s worth a 6.5, not a 9.4!
Ah, what the hell…
Still a very good level.

Wow. This was a nice level to play. Crimiclown’s Devil’s March level [perhaps it should be marsh, instead of march? Oh well. They both work.] is a DOM level, with pits, points, and position. Good eye candy used in manageable amounts. A nice, serene audio song. Not to say that it’s completely without a blemish, but there are few indeed of those. With a working and well-used tileset, this area delivers the goods and more. But allow me to elaborate…

STRUCTURE

The structure was solid. No dead ends, no ill-placed items, no stupid little traps. As I went through and played it, I couldn’t help but notice how remarkably unsloppy the level was. Each event belonged. Every tile seemed to belong.

The tileset picked was a good one, too. Omen Woods: Swamps is a unique and quite usable tileset, and clearly it has been used well here. Masking is good, no real anomalous mistakes here.

GRADE: great

EYECANDY

This level has some nice eye candy. From ghoulish gargoyles randomly littered, to dark caves and open plains, to a misty, fluidic miasma of purple goo at the bottom, DM contains notable detailing. I would have maybe appreciated a little more eyecandy in layers 5-7, but the netting of leaves adds a wee bit of flavor back there. The occasional canopy of fall-thru leaves is nice. The on-and-off addin of a flower here and a tuft of grass there lends March a certain natural “outdoors” feeling. Good work!

GRADE: nice

COLORS

The red and purple background only serves to help the level, as it gives it a scary sort of feel. When combined with the teal-greenish shade of the terrain, and the dark blue cave walls, the tileset and level carry a powerful punch. It works in the level’s favor that everything fits so well. Not to say that it’s 100% perfect. No, it has its shortcomings, which I will elaborate on in one of the next couple sections of my review. But for now, colors are good, and that makes me happy.

GRADE: great

BUGGAGE/SIZE

Buggage was not something I could find in the map. This obviously means that our Crimi has done a good number on weeding out bugs. This definitely increases my approval of it.

Size, however, was not entirely perfect. While it wasn’t extremely small, I felt it could have been just a wee bit larger. Don’t confuse me, it was almost perfectly scaled. It was certainly high enough. And actually the size was pretty close to what I felt it needed. My bigger beef is that 2 out of 3 control points were towards the right of the screen. The other was in the middle. Why? There could have maybe been a point or two over leftwards. There was surely room for that. But they weren’t right next to each other, which is good to hear.

GRADE: great

USABILITY/LIKABILITY

This level is for sure an attention grabber. With its brusque naturey theme, its minimal buggage and practibility, Devil’s March is a very well-to-do stage. Perfect for a level pack, or even just by itself [as it is here]. It has some noticable ideas.

I liked how the warp wasn’t a central part of the level [like soo many designers make it…], or easy to find [which even more designers make them]. The reward was a worthwile one, although it could in theory be possible to just sit in there and camp all day long :(. But hey! It was nice.

GRADE: sweet

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

Well, now we come to problems and there don’t seem to be any major ones. That is why this section is not called “problems”, but “things I didn’t like”. The right-handed control points weren’t very outstanding. No singleplayer start position, although this is only a downside if you actually test levels out in singleplayer. The low number of points is also sad.
There’s not much for me to harp on in this place, but there are plenty of good things to say as well.

GRADE: nice

MUSIC

I liked how the music fit the level so well. Most people would think that a creepy song would befit this level, but really this is just not the case. A watery, boggy song fits just as neatly as does a scary one, if not even better. Great work on the audio selection, and also not using annoying ambient sounds.
Ambient sounds can be tricky to use. Use exactly the right ones, and your level can become alive in a completely new sense. Use them wrong, and the level can seem totally ridiculous. You chose not to risk using bad ones, and did not put them in. While it certainly would have been nice to have some of them, having none is better than having awful-sounding ones. At the peril of sounding like a busted record, sweet job!

GRADE: cool

STRAIGHT TALK 2 DA READERS

To say it again, this level is a wonderfully designed one. From the nice eyecandy, to the good structure, to the appropriate music, to even the few blemishes, this level fails to fail. A refreshing reprieve to other areas of its own kin, Devil’s March by Crimiclown is a very enjoyable level. Download this very instant, before I call the Exterminator!

DL REC: well, duh….

YES!!!

RATING:

9.4

Nice good looking dom map.
I´m not a big fan of water.
But it´s fun anyway.
It´s makeing the map a litte diffrent then the other dom maps at the moment.
And i think the size is good when using this much water.
Good music selection!

Well, this is a pretty good level. Not the best I’ve ever seen, but good anyway. Lots of layered walls in the bg, a border around the scren in lyr 1, okay weapon placement, this has the markings of a map for a 5-minute game. This is because of its small size, and its humdrum eyecandy [too little too far spread]. If you could go and fix the details up a bit, that’d be excellent. Increase the size a bit, touch up here and there, and this level will be great! I leave it to the reader to decide on whether or not to dl this.

Well, this isn’t the best level, but it’s definitely not the worst.
Because of its small size, however, it can get pretty boring after a while. It’s still worth a download if you want something to host for a few minutes.
Oh, yeah, and eyecandy is great. +1 for that.