RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
20 Jan 2013, 21:52 (edited 20 Jan 13, 21:56)
For: Rural Mountains
Level rating: 8.3
Rating
8.2

Hey people, haven’t done this in a while. Anyway.. I played two duels here and I really liked ‘Rural Mountains’, so I decided to review it here on J2o.

1) The size of this level is good. It’s suitable for duels, but also for 2on2’s and possibly even 3on3’s (but I didn’t try that). The tubes and carrot placement make movement some what predictable here, so it actually plays like a fairly small level.

2) The EC is okay. It’s nothing spectacular, but still better than average. I don’t like how TW didn’t let colours fade on layer 8. The leaf-EC in the upperleft corner is good – you can hide the upperleft +1 behind it (or at least make it harder to see). No area looks empty or low on EC.

3) The ammo placement fits the level. I like how this doesn’t have a Bouncy or Seek PU. They both would’ve been too strong. RF, Blaster and Toaster are the obvious choices for a level like this and TW uses them. RF is especially handy in the top half of the level, while Toaster is very useful in the rest of it. The three +1’s are placed well and spread out through the whole level. It makes the level dynamic and fast-paced, which is always a good thing when you play a duel or 2on2.

4) Then the gameplay to finish with, which is definitely the strong part of this level. However, if you feel like playing a fast duel (for example about 10 minutes) this level isn’t any good, since getting roasts here is pretty difficult. I like the left tube, since it adds to the predictability of movement here. Same goes for the carrot placement, but I said that before. When you’re low on health, you might want to hide in the somewhat cramped bottom half of the level. However, two +1’s are in the top half, so that might make you reconsider that tactic.

Okay, so I really recommend this level for duels and 2on2 TB. I didn’t try it yet for larger games. Keep in mind roasts are hard to get here, so don’t expect to play a fast game here. Anyway, you should really check this out if you like battle levels like Abandoned Robotics Factory and similar stuff.

Not recommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
17 Dec 2011, 15:47
For: Crystal Caves
Level rating: 6
Rating
4.6

Since duels are one of my favourite things when it comes to JJ2, I decided to rate this ’1-vs1 battle level’ by PT32.

Okay, the first notable thing of this level is the size. The playable area is about 70 × 20, which is pretty okay for a level designed for duels. The problem is that this level consists of only 2 large platform, which results in no gameplay at all – or at least very, very little (in the whole level, but especially in the upper half). A good thing about the design is how the area near the carrot is pretty cramped (which adds to the gameplay).

I however think the Seeker-ammo kinda ruins the carrot-area (it makes the area too easy to defend or to camp there) and the other ammo seems pretty randomly placed. Perhaps you could’ve put the Seeker-ammo where the Toaster-ammo is now, since it would be more risky to get it – and the Toaster-ammo near the +1 carrot. At least the ammount is okay (lots of Toaster and just 4 Seeker-ammo). Also – I think the carrot-area would’ve been better without the ‘rail’ above it, since this makes the area even more campable. Another thing to note is the fact that this level has no springs at all – which is a nice idea. It however does make the level very Spaz-biased, which obviously is a bad thing. Finally, there are no PU’s in this small level – which is a good thing.

About the eyecandy.. it’s pretty decent and definitely the best part of this level. I like how PT32 used the unmasked ground tiles (meant as background-EC) at layer 3 to give the level a darker cave-look. I also like the ‘crystal’ in combination with the Flick Light-events. I however don’t like the lava-falls behind the crystal (kinda ruins the effect. I would’ve liked an orange lava-fall in the level to ‘break’ all the white- and blueness. Finally, the background-eyecandy divides the level in areas, which is a positive thing.

So, to summarize the things above: some of the ideas are okay, the eyecandy is okay – but the level overall is just way too simplistic. I think especially event placement needs to be improved dramatically. Since there are lots of other better battle levels suitable for duels out there, I unfortunately don’t recommend this.

Rating: Size (70) + Eyecandy (60*3) + Gameplay (32,5*3) + Event placement (20*2) + Theme (75) = 462,5.

Review by Quickz

Posted:
15 Feb 2010, 00:18 (edited 15 Feb 10, 20:50)
For: Old Jungle
Level rating: 7.8
Rating
7

Okay, I decided to rate this when I saw it being marked as ‘Good File!’. This is a CTF level by tropiCCo made with the IC Sluggion-tileset, a set I don’t see that often.

Okay, the first thing I notice about this level is how tropiCCo used layer 3 A LOT. Really, it can get quite annoying at for instance the blue base or the Full NRG (and the spring @ 9,48). And I don’t like how the grass ‘hides’ most springs, especially when you’re not too familiar with the level. What I do like is the use of ambient lightning, especially in combination with the darker layer 5 tiles. You also used most eyecandy tiles, which is always good, and the eyecandy isn’t too repetitive or too .. let’s say uninspired.

Well, now about the gameplay. I didn’t actually play it, but it seems quite balanced. I like the left carrot placement, I’m not too sure about the right one, but having an alternative makes it less important anyway. And a warp that close to a base is asking for lag-troubles, I think.

Well, the ammo-placement is okay, it’s more the ammo-choice that might be questionable. At least the two main PU’s (Gun 4 and 6) are not directly in between both bases (so you’ll have to spend more time to get one or the other). Oh, the flow’s decent by the way, tho I don’t really like Float Up’s.

One more thing: I kinda like this background! ^ ^ Congratz on joining XLM.

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
19 Sep 2009, 22:11 (edited 20 Jan 13, 21:53)
For: Triton Armory
Level rating: 8.3
Rating
8.4

Updated review:

I rated Triton Armory three years ago with a 72. After playing it several times, mainly in JDC ODT Events, I decided to edit my review.

What can I say about the eyecandy? Iron Crown really is a limited tileset, but PurpleJazz made the level look actually quite good.

I like the PU’s in this level – it has Bouncy, RF (each very useful in a level as open as this) and Toaster. It doesn’t have a Seek PU, which is a good choice. I also really the carrot placement. There are three +1 carrots and they really make this level fast paced – which (for me personally, at least) makes duel-sized levels way more fun. Another thing I like is the shield, because it really adds to the gameplay.

This level might not be revolutionary in any way, but because of its size and pace it still is a good level to play Battle duels in. So I definitely give a download recommendation, but I suppose most of you already know this level.

Review by Quickz

Posted:
2 Dec 2008, 00:21 (edited 2 Dec 08, 00:32)
For: KingDOM
Level rating: 7.4
Rating
7

‘KingDOM’ is a level made by Spaz18 for Rag’s domination contest. I already reviewed a few of them, so now it’s time to review this particular one!

Let’s start with the way how Spaz18 uses this tileset. Heaven is a great set to use since it has all kind of EC-tiles and platforms are easy to build. He uses all tiles, but all in really.. predictable and even boring ways. The thing about the eyecandy I hate the most is the fact that it’s all really linear and some of it is repeated several times in the level. The level feels so generic because of that. The background is nice though and I always liked the cloudy foreground made with this tileset.

The 4 Control Points are quite well spread. Two of them are in some sort of dead ends, so quite easy to camp, probably. The other two are placed above fountains, but I have to say, the blue blocks really look terrible. I mean, why placing an extra (ugly) block while the animations are quite well recognizable? 4 Pu’s as well, the standard-ones, and spread over the level. There’s enough ammo and the variation of it is quite okay, but the placement could definitely be better. I see you thought about the shapes (placing them on windows etc), but they honestly don’t look that great and are quite hard to get when you’re having little time.

I don’t like the gameplay of the level that much, since it’s really minimal: it feels like a network of random platforms. The Pu’s, carrots and CP’s are well spread, but not in any ingenious way which would boost the gameplay of this level. Springs are placed well, though most of them let you bump into walls (which is actually not that good), and nothing’s wrong with the flow either.

So, to conclude my review: this level is pretty much standard. No great eyecandy- or gameplay-ideas and the only reason why you would want to download this is to host it in a server with a lot of people, since the network of platforms, the 4 Pu’s and 4 CP’s will probably work well with a lot of players. However, not one of Spaz18’s best levels.

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
29 Nov 2008, 17:58
For: Facing Worlds
Level rating: 7.2
Rating
6.8

I changed my mind about this level after having played it a few times in Zeal Alpha.

Some places in ‘Facing Worlds’ lack ammo, for example the area between bases and the carrot. But it’s a small level and it has 4 Pu’s, so I guess that’s okay. The EC isn’t impressing, but it’s decent enough. I quite like the light towers.

The center area is a bit full (2 PU’s and a Full NRG really close to eachother), although the pits make this a tricky area. It’s also Spaz-biased since springs, next to bases, are missing which makes it quite hard for Jazz to reach certain platforms.

The warp-placement makes this level really campy, since all warp targets lead to the base. This can be a positive thing too, but the ammo-rooms are a huge problem. You don’t have any other exits and your opponent could just keep camping the target.

Anyway, this is quite fun to play, if you avoid the ammo-rooms, and also fast paced, which is always a good thing. I like the idea of two bases, like in MS and well, since it’s a remake (I don’t know the original however) I think it definitely deservers more than the 5.5 I gave earlier. Also, since the fun-factor is high, you should really consider downloading this.

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
25 Nov 2008, 16:36
For: [DOM] The Beast's Lair
Level rating: 7.5
Rating
7.2

I can’t remember that much levels made by Robee, but this DOM-level is actually quite good! Which means that it’s time for a review!

Let’s start with the layout. The MP Start-areas are in-game quite.. useless. Also, the red spring leading to them can be quite annoying. Then there are two coinwarps at each side leading to a Seeker Pu, which is quite a good idea, but the level lacks imo some coins. Also at each side a PU, though Bouncy seems a lot stronger than Toaster since most platforms are quite thin. The CP’s are placed quite well, both in corners of the level and it should take some time to go from CP to CP. Death Pits (called ‘the Beast’) are quite nice and fit the level’s atmosphere.

About that atmosphere, it’s really good! There’s variety in eyecandy, the backgrounds are okay and overall the atmosphere is just quite good. What I don’t like are the details, since when you look close to some things they aren’t that good actually, for example the floating stalactites at (37,29). And then the sign at (59,7), lol.

About the gameplay and flow. Since this level is quite small two CP’s are good. 3 Pu’s with one hard to get (since it lacks coins) is also the right ammount. Getting the Pu’s, which are in some dead-endy area’s, takes some time (which is good) and well, everything’s at the right spot, I guess.

So should you download it? Errr, yes. It’s a quite good level with a good atmosphere and gameplay. It will play well, I guess, with 4-6 players.

RecommendedQuick Review by Quickz

Posted:
31 Oct 2008, 12:53 (edited 31 Oct 08, 12:54)
For: Gauntlet
Level rating: 7.6
Rating
7.8

The fun factor of ‘Gauntlet’ is really high, since it’s quite fast paced. The tubes (leading to the Full NRG) are nice – especially considering the fact that the Full NRG can be shot down. Ammo is at useful places, adding two +1’s improved the gameplay. The warps are useful as well, though the targets are at questionable places.

RecommendedQuick Review by Quickz

Posted:
28 Oct 2008, 09:33
For: [DOM] Devils Marsh
Level rating: 7.8
Rating
7.2

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!

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
28 Oct 2008, 09:16
For: The Marshland of Evil
Level rating: 8.8
Rating
9

Awesome level by EvilMike with Agama’s Swamps-tileset. Time for a review!

4 PU’s in this level, with the Seeker PU being in a box. It might be a risk to go there, on the other hand: you don’t really need it with RF and Bouncers being just as useful here. Even the Gun 8 PU fits this really open really well. The ammo is scattered through the whole level, so it won’t be hard to find the particular ammo you’d like to use. Two Full NRG’s too, both in the lower half of the level, which is great, since the connection between them is quite fast. That results in making this level being good for both duels as teamgames with a huge ammount of players.

The springs are placed at exact the right places and platforms are placed so well that the flow of ‘The Marshland of Evil’ is nearly perfect. Moving through the whole level is really easy and stuff is easy accesible. The bases are quite far from each other, but you will notice it isn’t hard to reach them, since there are a lot of choises you can make here and because the level is so open. Both bases are good to defend, but attacking players won’t be chanceless. Tubes are used well and are a good alternative for springs here.

The eyecandy of this level is really good. I especially like the fact where even the platforms, without needing the leafy background, look great (f.e. the left carrot-area or the Bouncy PU-area). The leaf-tiles are used at the right spots, which really adds to the great atmosphere here, and it just all feels quite realistic.

Definitely download this classic, since it looks okay and it plays great in large teamgames or even duels!

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
28 Oct 2008, 08:47 (edited 28 Oct 08, 08:49)
For: Extraterrestrials
Level rating: 8.9
Rating
8.2

Okay, this is part of some kind of review-exchange and I’m really happy to review ‘Extraterrestrials’. It’s really unique and I’m glad Sacrush included a drawing of the layout. This points out again why this level is so unique. Anyway, let’s start reviewing!

First of all, the bases are actually quite close to each other. However, trigger scenery avoids a really fast connection. Instead, there’s a copter above the pits which leads to the Seeker PU. It might seem a bit campy, but I’m sure most people appreciate a save spot in CTF, and it’s actually quite hard to get with the pits. The other two PU’s on top of it’s wings, a Bouncer at the blue side and a Toaster at the red side, are placed where you would expect them. This level has 3 carrots, with two of them being +1’s. The Full NRG is at the very top of this level, only accessible by taking a copter to it. This is also the only part where you can find Gun 9, which could be really helpful in this level. Nice thinking, making valuable ammo hard to get. Gun 9 can also be used to hit carrot campers. Taking the +1’s makes you fall down, but it isn’t hard to get back to the middle of the level. At least it makes them non-campy.

When I used to think about ‘Extraterrestrials’ my first thought always was: “Oh right, it’s that level with narrow passages”. But now I see it really isn’t that cramped. The only narrow places are the vertical passages and you really don’t need much space there. Also, the springs are at exactly the right heights, so you won’t bump into walls all the time. The horizontal area’s are more open, so it’s actually really balanced. You might not expect it, but since the flow is really good ‘Extraterrestrials’ is actually quite fast-paced. Nice paradox, right?

About the eyecandy, it isn’t as appealing to me as other EC I saw in this set, but it’s definitely good. You can see Sacrush put a lot of time in doing the EC, since it’s really detailed. Also, Sacrush didn’t flip the level but built both halves separately, compliments for that, since this layout is quite complicated. The concept of a creature-layout is still great, though, it really sets this level apart from others (I’m not sure if you can call this EC, but oh well..). Also, the moving background really looks good and the fade fits the level.

Now a thing I don’t like. The middle part of this level seems a bit vulnerable for camping, since a lot of paths end here: the two tubes from the outside-legs and the one way above the Seeker PU. And it’s obviously the connection between the creature’s upper and lower half. This means it’s possible to trap people in the lower half of the level, since both the Full NRG and the +1 carrots are in the upper half. Since the warp targets are also close to this area spamming seekers might be enough to cover the whole area (I didn’t test this though, but it really seems possible).

So should you download this level? Yes. Why? Well, it looks good, the atmosphere is quite okay and simply because this layout is so unique and it really sets it apart from other levels. Also, I bet this will play well, but I wouldn’t play huge games in it, 2vs2’s or maybe 3vs3’s. I think it won’t play particularly well in duels, either, but as I said, it should be fun in small teamgames!

RecommendedQuick Review by Quickz

Posted:
28 Oct 2008, 00:45
For: Agony
Level rating: 8.9
Rating
9

Amazing pack. Three really different levels with each of them having great EC. Demon Rampart’s layout is really clever. These 3 levels are all so different, especially Distorted Research Site. Definitely download this pack, since all 3 levels will play well and they all look amazing.

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
26 Oct 2008, 16:17
For: Hall of Legends
Level rating: 8.5
Rating
8.2

“Hall of Legends” is a battle level made by PurpleJazz with the tileset BoredSet Cold. I played this several times and now I finally found some time to review it!

First of all, compliments on how you use all area’s really well and make them useful to visit. Thanks to the variety in shapes of platforms you mixed the gameplay up – some parts are really fast paced while others aren’t that much. I know how hard it is to fill up the whole level, the corners etc, without making it feel generic. You did this really well and were able to spread all important things like carrots and PU’s well.

The eyecandy in this level is definitely good. I especially like the background and the variety of it. The dark background definitely adds to the atmosphere, which overall is really good, by the way. Also, you used probably the whole tileset in useful ways. I really liked how you used the treetops in the upper right corner.

I really like the variety in gameplay. Some places are really fast paced, horizontal and open, (RF’s and Gun 8 will do great there), while other area’s are quite vertical and other ammo, like bouncers and seekers, will be really helpful. The ammo is well spread and you won’t have much trouble to find the ammo you like. 4 PU’s here and 3 carrots, spread through the whole level and all helpful in their own way. Also, the Seeker PU and one +1 are in pit-area’s, which makes them risky to get. I usually don’t like pits that much, but they are here with a reason and avoiding them shouldn’t be too hard.

Also, all passages/platforms are built kind of around the tube in the middle. This is great, since this makes player movement a bit more predictable. This might sound weird, but it’s really helpful when you play games with a few players, like duels.

Definitely download this, since this will play really well with any ammount of players.

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
17 Oct 2008, 21:36 (edited 17 Oct 08, 21:48)
For: Highland Glaciers [DOM]
Level rating: 6.5
Rating
6

‘Highland Glaciers’ is Jimbob’s submission to the Domination contest held by Rag. I’ve seen a lot of DOM’s lately and made one myself too, so I guess I can review this well now. Here we go!

To start with: I think this level uses it’s size really well, that’s imo the strongest point of this level. The warps make it fast-paced and the control point-area’s really accessible, which is a good thing. Crossing the whole level isn’t hard. The eyecandy’s nothing special, but at least the whole level is filled up, though some things seem a bit uninspired to me.

This level has plenty of ammo, which is good (nice shapes btw), but way too many carrots, 8 +1’s and 2 Full, with some questionable placement (some for example too close to eachother). Six control points is a lot and sets this apart from other DOM’s. Also, with PU’s/Full NRG’s practically at the control points they’re really hard to control, which I think isn’t really a good thing. A more balanced placement with some controllable points and some points harder to control would’ve been better (you could’ve done this with placing the PU’s maybe a bit further from the points, so players are encouraged to move more).

I hate the fact however that nothing’s really creative about this level. Could be a good level to play with many players anyway, so that’s a good reason to try this out and download it. With a few players it won’t play well I guess, since 6 CP’s let you score points really fast.

P.S. Yeah, the waterfalls are too slow ;) but it doesn’t annoy me in any way, it’s just a minor thing and easy to change.

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
24 Feb 2008, 22:15 (edited 24 Feb 08, 22:18)
For: Better Version of Ins.Cars.
Level rating: 7.5
Rating
7

Please do not re-upload this again :P Anyway, the first level by Dodges, it’s a quite nice symmetrical CTF-level using Carrotus 1.

Let’s start with the event placement. Two Full NRG’s (they are well placed) and 3 PU’s (seeks, bouncy and RF). They are well spread, so you must use the whole level, which is always a good thing. There are also two coinwarps, leading to the Seek PU-room. There are plenty of coins, which is good, so the PU is easy accessible, I really like it. The ammo shapes are boring, only squares or lines. The ammo choise is okay, I guess. Make the shapes more original next time, please.

Now the eyecandy. You used layer 3 quite well. You used the ‘brown cave’-tiles on layer 4, used layer 5 and 7 for background. Maybe next time use layer 6 and 7 instead and use layer 5 for more background. Anyway, there’s enough EC in this level, except some parts (like the lower corners) which feel really empty. You removed the minor bugs (GJ) and I really like the plants in the walls, it adds a bit more color. And yes, you changed the textured background (which is good), but I don’t like it green :P.

The gameplay is nice. You can reach the bases in 3 ways, but only leave them in one way, which might be in a problem. The ammo is okay, still, this level feels Spaz-biased. It’s hard to reach certain platforms with Jazz (if you don’t believe me, try it). There is enough ammo for this size level, two Full NRG’s and 3 PU’s are okay as well. Some things, like treestomps and giant carrots aren’t really good for the flow, but the flow is okay in the rest of the level.

Still, the level seems a bit ‘normal’, nothing special. Anything, there’s nothing wrong with that, I think it will play well and it’s really good for a first level. Keep up the good work!

Review by Quickz

Posted:
2 Nov 2007, 02:41 (edited 3 Nov 07, 00:21)
For: Familiar Nature V2.0
Level rating: 6.6
Rating
6.2

Okay, so this is the second version of SPAZ18’s Familiar Nature. Since I reviewed the last version I decided to review this one as well.

To start with, you removed the bug at [4,124] and the repetitive eyecandy a few steps to the right is also gone, so that’s good! There was a +1 carrot in the water there (didn’t notice it last time), but it’s gone now, another good change. The vines aren’t bugged anymore either. Also, the ground beneath the destruct blocks is fixed.

You definitely improved the eyecandy in this level. First of all, there are more leafs and combinations of them. A great example is the ‘center area’ which has had a gigantic make-over. There is so much more eyecandy there now. Same for the bouncy PU-area. And you added the rain in layer 1 for some extra eyecandy, nothing wrong with that. A negative point: when you use the dark grass, also use the dark ‘bottoms’, f.e. [13,57]. So you improved the eyecandy, but it definitely could’ve been better. Maybe next time have a (better?) look at levels using the same tileset. [EDIT: FireSworD is right. The shape of the leafs (squares etc.) isn’t really natural, which ruins the atmosphere of it]

However, the best improvement is the fact that the Full NRG is now in a new coinwarp. It’s still a problem for duels, but it’s probably okay in just a public server with lots of players.

My comments about the size and layout stay the same, since it’s almost the same as in the original battle1. I still think it wasn’t needed to add all other PU’s, but well.. (the Gun-8 PU doesn’t regenerate by the way). The plamement is okay, well-spread carrots (2 +1’s and the Full NRG in the coinwarp), lot’s of PU’s spread through the whole level and enough ammo.

Finally, the concepts I liked are still there, like the timeglasses, the coinwarp-shield and the shoot-to-find-blocks.

Conclusion: this is much better than the last version. You’re learning quite fast, so I’m looking forward to future levels!

Not recommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
26 Oct 2007, 22:43 (edited 26 Oct 07, 23:28)
For: Familiar Nature
Level rating: 6.7
Rating
4.7

Okay, well.. I saw the rating of this level (7,8) and decided to review this myself. It’s a battle1-remake with the Swamps-tileset made by SPAZ18.

Okay, well, let’s start with the eyecandy. When I open this in JCS, the first thing I see is the bug at [4,124], which isn’t a great start of this review.. Another annoying thing is the repetitive eyecandy: a few steps to the right and you will see three times the same jaguar appearing. Well, I’ve used this tileset myself. You can create great eyecandy combining the different leafs in this tileset. You didn’t use the combo’s, which is really pity. The walls at the destruct-blocks are also bugged.

So basically, you didn’t use this tileset like you could’ve done, most eyecandy seems rather random and repetitive.

Now about the gameplay and placement. Well, there are 3 carrots now, which is okay for a level of this size. The only problem is the left one is a Full NRG, which isn’t a good thing at all in a battle-level. You’ve added a lot of extra PU’s, most of them are at weird positions and not really needed. The flow is, just as in the original battle1, quite well. There are two coinwarps, a nice idea, a lot of silver coins, and some hidden golden coins. Another nice idea is the blocks you have to shoot to appear at the bouncy PU. The timeglasses at the RF-PU are nice, but the vines in the center area are bugged.

The size is just okay. It’s big enough for a battle level, there is enough ammo and there are enough passages. Well, there are some nice ideas and you tried to improve the level at certain points, still, most things aren’t sufficient at all and I can’t give a download recommendation for it.

Review by Quickz

Posted:
2 Oct 2007, 20:22
For: Fortunate Fortunes CTF (Plz download and rate!)
Level rating: 4.4
Rating
4.5

“Plz download and rate!”, well, here you are :)

To start with, I think this tileset is quite hard to use, since the masking isn’t the best and there isn’t much variation in it. When I walk through the level I can see you tried to use all tiles, which is definitely a good thing. Layer 8 is, as Fawful said, quite boring. Try to use layer 6/7 next time for some more exciting background-eyecandy.

About the event-placement. There are huge ammounts of RF’s and bouncies in this level, including the PU’s of those ammo-kinds. The shapes aren’t too original, try to change that in your next level, and some variation in ammo would’ve been nice (some toaster, gun 8 or even seeks). When I walked through the level for the first time, I didn’t even found the bouncy PU, which definitely isn’t a good thing. There is one central Full NRG and two +1 carrots, they are placed well enough and quite fair, I guess.

About the gameplay, well, this tileset definitely doesn’t improve it. I bumped into walls/ceilings a lot. I don’t like the one ways at the central right platform. The start positions are at weird places, quite close to the bases, which can cause annoying recapturing. The level is open and quite vertical, so the idea of putting bouncies and RF’s in this level is good, but perhaps a bit overdone as I said before.

Anyway, nice try and keep trying, since you definitely have some potential!

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
21 Sep 2007, 11:32
For: Unconventional Coffee
Level rating: 8.4
Rating
9

Well, I finally found some time to review this level by FireSworD.

The lay-out of this level is great, since it’s vertical, which we don’t see that often. This tileset – Colon – perfectly fits the level, which brings me to another strong point of this level: it doesn’t have floating platforms. It looks like one big house, which I really like. It is symmetrical, but that doesn’t mean it’s unoriginal (see all points above).

About the gameplay. There are several ways to reach the bases. You can use the fly carrot, the float ups, the coinwarp or just climb your way up. Obviously that’s good, since players won’t be able to camp certain area’s and it stimulates using the whole level. A place you can camp is the coinwarp, but that isn’t a bad thing. It makes it worth to use it.

There are three carrots, all Full NRG’s , and five PU’s. Left has Toaster and Ice (which may be handy in the pits-version), while right has a Bouncy (great in vertical levels) and Gun 8-PU. The Seek PU is in the center, but at a tricky spot, since there is only one way out. Three Full NRG’s seems a bit much, but I don’t think it is a big problem with 5 PU’s in the level. The placement is okay too. The spots are campable, but not really save though, since they are quite open.

The flow is good as well. Especially the part from the center to the side carrots is really nice designed, with a perfect placed red spring. The eyecandy is good enough, I actually like it a lot. Lots of eyecandy isn’t always better. Layer 6 and 7 are just great, they create a real atmosphere.

This level seems to be hard to play, but you will learn it fast enough and probably like it ;)

Well, I think this deserves a real high rating, since it’s original in many aspects. Disagree with me, I don’t care ;P

RecommendedReview by Quickz

Posted:
17 May 2007, 23:25 (edited 19 May 07, 17:29)
For: Daring Rebels
Level rating: 7.6
Rating
8

Daring Rebels, a battle level of Hitch for Purplejazz his contest.

Let’s start with the eyecandy, which is definitely one of the strongest things in this level. First of all, you used (almost) all the tiles in this set, so that’s a good thing to start with. This set gives you lot of opportunities for some good eyecandy. The EC is everywhere different, not repeated too much. I especially like the stalagmites, you placed them well and they really look nice. You used all layers, which worked out quite well. The different speeds of the lavafalls are nice. And yes, DS is right about those bugs, please fix them.

Okay, now something about the gameplay. First of all, the PU’s are well spread through the whole level, which is a good thing. Seeks and bouncies, more important in this level in my opinion are at the top, while the two +1 cars are at the lower half, which kinda forces you to use all areas in this level. The flow is okay in most parts of the level. Though especially the area with the Electro PU isn’t. I don’t like the combination of red springs with float ups at all, but most other springs are placed well.

Finally something about the placement of stuff. Let’s start with the carrots. There are two +1 cars and a Full NRG which you can get by using 50 coins at the coinwarp. Well, fifty coins is a lot to get, especially with 3 useful PU’s, so that is quite a good idea, sinc collecting coins is fun. The level contains four PU’s, electro is maybe useless (but it fills up that area well), the other three are well spread. Seeks are hidden in a warp, which is good. The ammo is placed well in nice shapes. The level has all kinds of ammo which is fine too. Overall the ammo is placed well, leaving no empty areas.

You used your space well, putting four PU’s, three carrots, some coins and a coinwarp in this level, but quite well spread. As I said before, you need to use the whole level, which is a good thing. I’m not sure about the layout round the coinwarp, but well, it isn’t disturbing as well, so I guess that’s okay.

Download recommendation: – Yes, this will play well in some battle server. Especially collecting coins is fun!

+ Good atmosphere
+ Variaty in eyecandy

- Red springs with float ups

Rating: 8.0

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