Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Hmm… Another Lark’s mix.

Well. It seems to be made for Jazz2 levels, it has well-working loop and no ending ;). And that’s well. We don’t have many of them. But… of what quality..?

Firstly, Lark’s Short Song Syndrom approved to be real. I think all of his recent works (Cerebrum, Tyrian the Level mix, Rock Garden Mix and this (in difference of other, longer tunes, there is not written “Lark” in title of song ;p). Length of this one is 1:26, how everyone of you admits, isn’t much.

Okay, let’s jump into the song. Hmm… Like almost all Technoir remixes, it begins with its background melody. Alex’s Diamondus voice with quiet reversed cymbal and snares… We’re in song. Beats, snares, hi-hats… But… It sounds like I am somewhere in middle. Main Technoir lead is playing, but… from middle. Lark then modified that one lead pattern to nice, well continuous melody. But still, and that’s big minus, we have no lead beginning. And that minds.

Okay. After this comes again original and then (differentely) modified lead. Then comes background with percussion, where can be heared that those two backgrounds are a bit off-tuned. Normal man does not catch it, but after I think 20th listening… It minds… But only a bit, I am not sure if someone different will hear it (just if he will want).

After break, there are orchestra hits patterns. With same orchestra hits samples and Robert’s vocal as in original. Hmm. On rows where are those orchestra hits are also cymbals, which makes the tune more alive, but after ending of those five cymbals it’s more dead than normally. That minds.

It’s once repeated and then lead ends by five radical orchestra hits. Background is still playing and it makes perfect loop.

My review now looks like I hate Lark or this tune. That’s not truth. I just seem it as average.

Tempo is okay, with reservation to hi-hats, repeating every two rows. It’s a bit slow, too… But okay.

Samples… When main passage of song is made from original samples… That’s just bad. But all others works well in this song. Very well.

(+) Most of samples
(+) Lark’s new melodies
(+) Perfect loop
(-) Lead begins in the middle
(-) Original orchestra hit sample
(-) It’s a bit off-tuned
(-) Too short

Now. Download recommendation… Yes or not..? It’s on you. It could be usable for games, which it’s dedicated to. it’s not so poor. But don’t expect hit.

Yeah. I made a review!

Now on to the review.

Eyecandy:
The eyecandy was excellent. There is lots of eyecandy such as: trees, hills, a bunch of different signposts, some destruct blocks, some buttstomp blocks etc.

Graphics Quality:
The Graphics Quality is excellent. It is a bit cartoony but that dosen’t make it bad Graphics Quality.

Example Level:
I like the example level. It shows how to use this tileset very well. The hills are used in the background, there are some trees which I agree with Neon PSY that the apples look like they are part of the trees, some destruct blocks and also some butstomp blocks.

Music:
The music is an excellent choice. It fits the level very well. Good job on picking the music.

Conclusion:
This is one of the best tilesets i’ve ever seen! Keep up the good work LRK.

Overall Rating:
I think this level is good enough that it deserves an 8.0

Download Reccomendation:
Yes! This tileset is excellent. I think everyone should download this tileset. I hope to see ons of good levels made with this tileset. I might be one of those people.

Starting Comments
I luuuv your tilesets! :)

Well, this tileset has about everything an average levelmaker would need. Some vines, invisible tiles, masked messages… :P Yep, not too much, good platform blocks… Well, this is worth a 7.5!

Good thing
Cornerless pieces of wall. I need that a lot… In Natures Ruins you have the vertical outside block, the horizontal outside block, but NO cornerless block, making in impossible to make bigger blocks! Good job on this one!
Bonus Points: 1.0
Bad thing
Missed the V- and H- Poles. (Although you can use the pillars for the ‘castle part’.
Bonus Points: None, no substraction either.

Score:
8.5

Download Recommendation:
It is worth a try to make a good level with this one.

Further Comment:
GO LABRATKID! I love your tilesets! COMMANDER KEEN 4 EVER!

Well you should make Textures…
The tileset is big enough to build a good lvl…Yes it really looks like Cartoony tileset But…Cartoony tilesets are often easy to make…so try making The Real World! hehe…here 8 is good enough… 9 is too much!

Hahahahahaha

The music is awesome

I’d give you a 10 for the use of it but OI cant because imrt tirexcd

DL recommendation everybodys

Wheee! A tileset!

Tiles: Like the Labrat said, This is a cartoony tileset. Although it seems to fit Jazz 2 in the strangest way. Like the apples in the begining match the tree as if it was part of the tileset, kinda. The grass is a bit low I think it could have seemed less….mowed down.

Eyecandy: Not much here for foreground, just some rocks, trees, and very small flowers. Very fine trees and rocks and flowers, but There could have been more. Although, aplied in the right way would be fine for a ok level. Alot of some of the stuff is for layer 5, including the waterfall which is only animated on a log type bridge (And not animated too well, but I don’t care).

Event tiles: He has vines and destucts. No hurts, or hooks. The hooks can slide…but no hurt tiles? Come on! We all need those!

All in All: I like this, And If I like the tileset I keep it, If I don’t it’s binned. So guess what this is going to stay on my hard drive. And who knows? I might just make a level out of it. You get a fine…nine.

Ok, it seems the newer folks have never even seen the original Jazz Jackrabbit from 1994. Back then the graphics were far more… primitive than they are now, think of… Super Mario Advance :P This tileset is a conversion, so the graphics were already made. Labratkid merely ported them to JCS, so it needs to be approached from a different angle than, o say, a whole new level. This review will first focus on the regular 2005 version, then explain the differences between that and the evening version.

Conversion Completeness
Violet will probably disagree, but I don’t see anything missing, and I do mean nothing is missing. Aside from the expected stuff like brick and stone platfroms, windows and whatnot, there are some other things in JJ1 nicely reproduced. Advertisement of the Gravis Gamepad? Got it. “Enjoy Epic”? you betcha. The missles you could ride? They’re back, as animated sprites. Platforms moving at insane speeds? What do you think? City Background, transport tubes, Epic Pinball and One Must Fall, this set’s got it all. Sorry, couldn’t resist. :P

Added extras
In this era of J2O, people expect a conversion not only to be complete, but to have some extras as well. JJ2 has more features than JJ1 and it would be a shame not to use them. Check off time!

- Vines: check, with all three kinds of background tiles.
- Poles: same story
- Hooks: none
- destructable blocks: only two, the * and ! kind.
- Sucker Tubes: see previous sections
- Conveyor Belts: none. In an urban world like Industrius he could have easily put some in.
- 3D Background: it’s there but… why is it blue? I suspect palette issues have something to do with it, but it would have been if it was pink like in JJ1, call me a purist if you will. At least it works in 8-bit.
- Text signs: based on the JJ1 ones.
- Trigger blocks: only the outlined ones.
- Inivisible tiles: check.
- Rain and Lightning: check.
- Sun and Moon: technically it should be in the previous section, but Industrius had neither in JJ1, that’s why it’s here. Check.
- Credits: Check.

Masking
Perfectly smooth, nothing jagged. It’s always interesting to see those hidden mask messages. Of course, it’s all nonsense. Keen fans can rejoice, there’s a message written in SGA (Standard Galactic Alphabet). If only I could decipher it…

Evening version
The evening version is a simple palette edit, but it’s… not all the way perfect. Everything now has a more orange/rusty tint, and I do mean everything. Labratkid has edited the standard game colors too, so they have the same effect. Intentional or not, i’ll consider it a “happy accident” and will hold nothing against it. I do wish there’s more variaty of shades or colors, I have a feeling a coupel of shades have two entries in the palette.

Example level(not counted to rating)
Just a smal battle level, its biggest goal is showing how to use the set. Those who have played Unreal Tournament may feel right at home, not only because of the music, but the overall setting. There are two mini-arenas next to the main one, an interesting idea. It’s only a tad heavy on the pickups in some areas. Not the best level, but it serves it’s purpose.

Final Verdict
A perfect conversion, but the added stuff isn’t quite perfect. More could have been done. That aside, it’s a recommended for those JJ1 tileset lovers :P

[edit: Thank you Cooba, I now see they are invisible slope tiles. Next time, instead of posting a comment, drop me a PM, ok? I’m not amused at the way you just pointed out mistakes in my review]

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

The tileset is nice but the stuff in it is lame so, I’d like to give you 6 i hope you like it.
(Basically unsupported rating removal. And… uh… I really don’t know what you’re saying, anyway. What’s the difference between the tileset and what is in the tileset? Are you rating the .j2t file format or something? ~Violet)

Good but not good enough!
(Ummm… ok. Unsupported rating (5.2) removal. I really don’t know if you downloaded this. There is no proof at all in this review. ~Violet)

Wow. DN2 was one of my favorite games. I actually might make a lvl with this since I know the DN2 design style so well. (Or maybe convert the other DN2 tiles) BTW: Puffie, theres no Prison in E3.

The Tileset:
Nice. I would like to see the camera looking up tiles. and the turret looking back and forward. Also, theres anothe type of “orange thing”
9.5 EDIT: I gotta give it a 9. ALL the shaft tiles are missing.

The 50% Set:
Ick. Not useful for anyrhing. lot of stuff to small to use. Lots missing too. This would really hurt the rating. Id say 5 but im not adding that in.

The ex lvl:
Nice. Shows off some features with the cameras and stuff. I dont think im allowed to base rating on this though. 9.5

Music:
Maybe its just my laptop, but its quite choppy and skips a few notes. Id say 9 because its better than a converted IMF/MIDI and ive seen a custom made PERFECT midi of this.

Overall: Well, theres only one thing that counts, the main set, 9.5 EDIT: Changed to 9

Download highly recommended especially for a DN fan.

I get an amnesia error aswell. :-/

I get memalloc()amnesia Out of memory when I try to play this. I have TSF 1.24 so I don’t have a clue on how to fix this problem…

Stuff Placement: cool

Enemies: this is a multiplayer battle

Eyecandy: real cool

Funness: only in multiplayer

if you are in need of a real good battle level for multiplayer, then this is the level fer you.

my only complaint is that the level is too small. you should totally download this.

OMG&JC!!!
JOSEPH COLLINS DID IT!!! Sorry for my off-topicity, but this is just great. Get 8.7 from Joseph Collins, it’s fantastic. Great job you both.

If I ever figure out how to rip the graphics out of Tile Sets, I might try and VGA-tize it. Just for the Heck of it. But then, I might not. Depends on how abmitious I feel. Anyway. . .on with the review!

Introduction:
Welcome to a good ol’ kick in the pants in Hillville, folks. It’s the Hillville/Slug Village tile set from Commander Keen IV: the Secret of the Oracle for Jazz Jackrabbit 2.

Tileset Analysis:
What can I say? It’s all those warm, wonderful EGA graphics us old-school gamers loved so much way back when Keen was. . .er. . .keen! This tileset brings back such fond memories of zapping Poison Slugs and dodging Mad Mushrooms. . . Everything fits together seemlessly from what I can see.

Functionality Analysis
There seem to be a few masking issues with the tileset itself. Unlike most Jazz 2 tilesets, you seem unable to Dash downhill full-tilt, or in Spaz’s case, jump-kick down or up-hill without being stopped. Additionally, having so many “Hook” events overlapping to make the “climbable” poles seems a little sloppy, but I sure can’t think of a better way to make that. The tar pits and fire also seem a little raised, as far as “hurting” goes. But I blame Jazz 2 more than Labrat for those.
Additionally, I think that the characters might be a little too low on the ground, compared to Keen IV. But I could be wrong.

Final Analysis:
Forget what Labrat said about “feeling like a giant” with this 1x tileset. Jazz, Spaz, and Lori are no taller than Keen himself, if you compare.(Doooo eeeeeeeeet.) I think they might be shorter, come to think of it. Anyway. . . Overall, this tile set gets the job done, and then some, looking good and working pretty well. This would be a good set to make a Capture the Flag level or Race level with, for example. Flaws aside, this is a very good tile set.

I recommend this for download, both as a Jazz fan, and as a Keen fan. I hope to see some levels with this set, too!

Introduction:
Gah! My ears!! The title — “Lemon Dust” — must be some sort of reference to being high, considering this thing sounds like it was done on a high of some sort. And that’s not a compliment!

Song Analysis:
So. . .many. . .clashing tones! So very many clashing tones!! It’s enough to make one’s ears bleed.

Sample Analysis:
The entire song reeks of very bad tones, bips, boops, and good samples turned bad. The samples themselves are alright, but the way they’re put into the song. . .is not.

Final Analysis:
I don’t recommend this file for download at all. The horrendous noises. . . The horror. . . Arr.

This is a pretty darn good battle level! And this is why.

TILESET USAGE:
Although this tileset is somewhat difficult to use, Labratkid pulled it off very nicely. There is a nice slowly moving background and there are no noticable bugs with the eye candy. My only problem as far as eye candy is that layer 3 sometimes has bugs where you are partly in front of and partly behind a wall at the same time.

MUSIC CHOICE:
Argh. Although this music seems fitting for the theme of the level, hearing it more than once will cause you to lose your sanity. After hearing it loop about twice, I was annoyed enough with it that I had to turn off the music and put on some MP3s. In other words, I don’t like the music. At all.

WEAPONS AND AMMO:
Everything here seems balanced and well placed. I don’t have anything to really report here. GOOD JOB, LARK.

OTHER CRAP:
There are two coin warps. One of them costs 20 coins, and one of them costs 50. They each give different goodies (I forgot what they are ;D), which is nice for if you are in a rush and need some big guns. Or, if you are trying you luck, you can go for the full 50 coins. I LOVE THAT.

SUCKS/NOT SUCKS:
This level officially does not suck.

MY VERDICT:
Download this level. Although it’s a bit small, you can have quite a bit of fun in it. And best of all, IT’S FREE.

Hey, Labratkid, RUNESCAPE is COOL! Mort MYRE TOO! :P

I liked the tileset, even though i may not revieuw that, i like it :P

CrimiClown, even makes the bad guys SMILE!

=[Owned]=

I played this level for myself and in R3p’s server. And I’ll post a review for this level.

Introduction : a level by LaBRaTKiD of OLC. He used his own tileset for this level. Let’s hope it will be a good level with his own tileset.

The eye candy looks good in first place. This tileset doesn’t offer too much eye candy, but LRK did a good job, especially for a level with a size like this. The background looks good, and the rain ain’t a problem. Layer 5 has enough eye candy, but the level looks terrible with low detail on. (not that someone would play with it) There are good light effects in the level. Layer 3 has enough eye candy as well. I can say I like the eye candy in this level.

The layout is quite simple. You run a straight and very long way to the base. The level has a high width, but it’s not big in height. This is expected with a level by LRK. This level’s layout is almost symmetrical. The flow is quite good. You really fly through the level while running left or right. Both sides have vines above the base. At least this is not something about springs. The destruct sceneries are original, but can be annoying when you need to get through something ;P I am glad that they work only one time, because they can be annoying if they regenerate all the time. Almost everybody has it’s own layout style, and this level proves that, because it’s a typical-LRK layout. There aren’t many platforms in the level. So the layout is very solid. The layout is quite open in some places, but is closed as well. There are 2 ways to each base, which is good. It’s not that hard to defend the bases, but it’s possible to kill a defender easily. A 3v3 would be possible easily here. The border ain’t complete, though.

The placement is a bit strange. There is alot of gun8 in some places, and there are too many crates. There is only 1 carrot in this level. There could be at least 1 +1 carrot in it. There are 3 Power-Ups. (No Seeker, yay) Toaster, Bouncer and RF. You do not use Gun9 to get the RF PU, but Bouncies. Unfortunately, there is no fast fire in this level. Some interesting and nice shapes were used. The big group of gun8 is something that lowers the rating, but it wouldn’t be needed if there was no ammo near it. I couldn’t find the Bouncy and Toast PU’s at first, but at least I found them. 1 PU in a level of this size is a bit too… few =P

This level isn’t unoriginal. This is the first level with the tileset used, and it has a good music file. I haven’t seen many levels with this size, and some good light effects were used. Some interesting shapes of ammo were original, and the level as a open and also closed layout. Good use of vines, etc.

Ratings :
Eye candy : 8.
Gameplay : 7.9
Placement : 7.7
Originality : 7.7
Final rating : 8 + 7.9 + 7.7 + 7.7 : 4 = 7.825 = 7.8.

Download : Yes.
Host : Sometimes. Not too many times, but it’s better hosting this than hosting the old levels I get sick of.

-DarkSonic[si]

Starting Comments:

Hehe, Lark’s first level. ;D I just played through recently, and thought I’d get my evil fingers to write a little useless comment.

Played with: Jazz
On difficulty: Medium
Playing time: 5 minutes

Playability:

There was some random stuff like food, enemies and lots of springs at the end. Not really that much thought was put into event placement, but hey, that’s what everyone’s first level is like. :P
After the springs part I could not find a way to go on.

Score: N/A

Balance:

Poorly balanced, with some random enemies which mostly don’t make sense at all. :P The last part was not bad, but very Jazz/Lori biased. Mine was even worse, trust me. :P

Score: N/A

Creativity:

Like I said, it doesn’t look like much thought was put into event placement, and it is not really creative. The spring obstacle part was not bad though.

Score: N/A

Eyecandy:

Sux0rs eyecandy. ;D Not as confusing as in my first level, but still lots of tilebugs. :P

Score: N/A

Fun Factor:

I like stuff that doesn’t make sense, so yes, great fun factor! :P

Score: N/A

Overall:

This comment doesn’t make sense at all, but who cares, I have nothing else to do. ;D My first level was worse than yours, with lots of stuff that doesn’t make sense and such. I like the dullness of this level. ;)

Overall Score: N/A

Download Reccommendation: YES!!! BEST LEVEL EVER!!

speaks to himself Shut up dude!