Best pack ever!!!
Well, a review.
—— Basic stuff: ——-
Story:
None.
0/0
Eyecandy:
Beautiful tileset, and only one or two tilebugs through the entire level. Everything was fluid and looked well.
9/10
Music:
Orginal and fits perfectly.
10/10
———— Gameplay: ——-
Level layout:
Everything worked, multiple ways to do things. The only thing that bugged me was that some crates were hard to find but the level was possible, even on hard, thanks to a thing called camping.
That worked because shooting enemies can provide a carrot once in a while, and with respawning enemies… oh well.
And as BlackRaptor said, you can run out of the map on that spot. I noticed but didn’t want to get down there so I didn’t.
6/10 (camping issue’s)
Pickup placement:
It was more than enough. And it was close to being perfect. However, there were almost no carrots, so that made carrot-camping even more attractive.
8/10.
Enemy placement:
The only issue was carrot-camping, but despite that was a problem it was also helpful, otherwise this level is pretty much impossible (on hard). But it was completable, even on hard, and some enemies were hard to kill, and some obviously weren’t…
9/10
Replay value:
A lot of secrets, but you’ll already need to find them in order to beat the level, which definately lowers the replay value. But it is still an interesting level, so it will be played multiple times regardless.
7/10
49/60 —-> 8,1/10
Penalties:
A few tilebugs and other small avoidable bugs. -0,4
Final rating: 7,7/10
DR: Yes, offcourse!
I downloaded this when I was bored and liked this..Very nicely detailed level with a cool layout, tho I managed to run off the map at 29, 47. I don’t like enemy respawn, but the level wouldve been too short and easy without it there
Overall, a solid level. You have a lot of creativity in your level design that you should experiment with further
Holy crap, what a level of polish. :)
Seriously, I didn’t think people ever made levels like these anymore. Download immediately!
Dodges, JCS coordinates start at 1,1 whereas JJ2 coordinates start at 0,0. So yes, there is a slight difference.
“They’re all JCS coordinates, not the JJ2 ones”
?? Is it possible that JCS coordinates are not JJ2 ones??
This level rocks! The eyecandy and gameplay are great. I only don’t like the idea of enemy generators and it’s a little too easy, but everything else is perfect.
Unfortunelly I found bugs:
Stuck: 66,18 ; 66,11 ; 66,5.
Tilebug: 628,25
(They’re all JCS coordinates, not the JJ2 ones)
Anyway, great SP level, download recommended.
Nice battle pack!
{Rating (10.0) clearance. This is not just a battle pack; make sure you play all the levels before reviewing. ~Violet)
Lut Gholein was by far the most amazing level in this pack. Loved it. No D2 bias I swear.
These are very good levels, but nothing here really screams “instant classic” to me – likely to be forgotten in a year or two.
That said, they ARE good levels. The only one I actually dislike is King of the Clouds; it flows too poorly to be fun to play in.
I also think the eyecandy’s been a bit overrated; it’s good, but often messy.
Snooze won’t let anyone (who is anyone) down with this compilation of quality levels.
He certainly ‘took a risk’ with the layout of DDRR and the level looks slightly bland in comparison, but none of these levels are any worse than ‘good’.
The CTFs still seem to be of slightly higher quality than the battles, but that’s how it should be.
All of the battle levels play pretty good imo. DDRR has a great camping spot, which might be annoying for some players. Most of the ctf levels have pretty natural designs; GotS is balanced, but I question the others in that area. Neufrlagar and Junkyard Blues have some truly impressive eyecandy imo, perhaps the best I’ve seen so far.
I’m not going to write a long review, I’ll just give some comments on every level.
Battle levels
Death, Decay, Rose, River is a level with a long name, and it’s one of the bigger levels from the pack. It’s not really an open level, but there are lots of holes and the middle of the level is really open. The eye candy is pretty good, especially for the given tileset. In a TB game I played with some other people I noticed that there are some camp places like the top left. This level has 2 carrots, which surprised me because I thought there were 3. Maybe that could have been better, but it’s good enough as it is.
Then comes Lut Gholein. This is another pretty big level (170×64) which is also really open, but it doesn’t have as many platforms as the previous one. There are less routes here, but I like this one more than the previous. The hole at the bottom could be frustrating though. And the eye candy is really good here.
King of the Clouds is the next level, which uses an underused tileset (lots of people asked what the tileset was when they saw the level) and it’s been used very well. This level is a bit smaller, and has 3 carrots and 2 Power-Ups (no Toaster PU, which is unique because almost every snz level has one) The ammo placement here is good, though there are lots of seekers (especially in the top left!) This level was pretty fun to play as well.
Then comes The Curse, but I already reviewed that level so on to the next one.
Hornet Hive is a level with a unique level design. You think it’s the end of the level, but the tube at the right side goes to another area. This level is more linear and more campy than the other levels, but it’s still pretty fun. The tileset use is great. With a limited tileset Snooze managed to make original eye candy. I don’t think anyone is going to beat this tileset use.
Now on to the CTF levels.
Steam Machine + Landscape is another level that was uploaded before, but I didn’t review it yet. This is a quite big level with a pretty simple design. It’s also unsymmetrical, but it seems balanced enough. The tileset used is BioWinter, another underused tileset. Yet again snz used the very well. This level has one Full NRG and one +1 carrot, and they’re pretty close to each other. The level has 2 Power-Ups, Toaster and Bouncer.
Neufrlagar is a small CTF level that uses Egypt, a really hard tileset. But as we know Snooze can use almost every tileset well, and in this level he used the tileset very well. This level has 2 Toaster Power-Ups, and 2 +1 carrots. Every base has a Toaster Power-Up and a +1 carrot near it. There is also a Full NRG, which is closer to the red base. A part of this level was made very quickly so I couldn’t really say much about it. But this level is probably meant for duels, so it doesn’t matter too much.
Then comes another level with Snooze in the level name (after City of the Sn00zE, Klassieker F0R the Sn00zE, room of the snooze and Restplace F0R SN00ZE) This level is called Grave of the Snooze. This is another level with a pretty simple layout, and it’s about medium sized. The eye candy here is good enough for the given tileset. The level has 2 +1 carrots and 1 Full NRG. The Full NRG is quite close to the +1 carrot at the right side. This level doesn’t have a lot of ammo at the top middle, but there is a Bouncy PU there that you need to get by using Gun9. The level also has 2 Toaster Power-Ups.
Now on to the last level. Junkyard Blues is probably the smallest level of the pack, and it uses the new tileset called Aftermath. This level uses the Toxic palette. The tileset has been used very well, and it will be hard to make better eye candy with this set. In this level the bases are close to each other, but this is a duel level. The level has a ’3-floor layout’ There is a bottom area with the bases, some ammo and a Bouncy PU, a middle area with 2 Seeker Power-Ups, some ammo and a +1 carrot, and the top area has a +1 carrot and some ammo. Overall, a nice duel level. And, I don’t know why, but this level reminds me of my own level called Forest Green.
So overall, this is a great CTF/Battle pack by Snooze. I know I’ve overrated some levels by Snooze, like some levels from NAII and NAIII, but I’m going to give this pack a well-deserved 9. ;0
pack is tedium :—D
(mby moar later)
hm…this battle pack is quite intresting to me and fun to play ….i like DDRR bcs of all the cool thing in it,though there are some dead ends and stuff that isint quite perfect ;p…The bg on every lvl is amazing…the music of The curse is amazing aswell xP and the level is like i am in there ….so it’s quite awesome…the other levels seem to be great in gameplay….there is one bug in The king of clouds i figured that out when i was stuck…Start poses on lvls are intresting…on The king of clouds it’s rlly cool but when u start enemy can hit u at begining…(while ur falling)…Hmm…Overall:9.7 ;P(I WANTED 9.8 :S
Definately the greatest pack in NA series. Both the eyecandy and gameplay have been improved dramatically since snz’ previous packs. Some have very interesting visual designs with the chosen tilesets; King of the Clouds, Hornet Hive, The Curse in particular. The levels were also very fun to play, and that is what really counts. A well deserved 9!
New Ages III was uploaded some time ago, last spring if I remember right. The waiting time has been long since from what we know Snooze from, is the small amount of time which he requires to create a level. I have to admit this level pack came a bit out of the bushes, as it first looked like Snooze was creating and uploading single levels until the last month or so. So even this pack came out with a quick progress, and the quality is even better than the previous New Ages-packs.
These levels draw you into themselves with their original and interesting atmospheres and looks. No level does really feel boring to play because the atmosphere and eyecandy, eventhough some levels just might feel a bit emptier because they are such ‘outdoor’ levels. The author took the effort to create you entertaining environments with pretty limited sets, and that is something that has been accomplished here well. As an example take the ‘Hornet Hive’ (naivbtl05) that uses Woodlands set by Blade. Basically I don’t have anything to complain about in the eyecandy, although it might not be superior in every level.
The gameplay in this pack is quite high-quality as well. The pack includes the earlier uploaded singles which are; ‘The Curse’ and ‘Steam Machine + Landscape.’ Most levels have a simple layout and design, and that way the levels aren’t hard to navigate and are easy to learn. The level sizes and spaces are also variable. The levels are that way quite versatile, as they can fit duels, while also some bigger games. No level here is giant though, so I recommend not to play anything bigger than 4vs4 though.
There are a few exceptions though. While ‘DDRR’ is a nice castle-themed and medium-big sized battle level, the gameplay reminds me about Blade’s old Battle-levels, especially since the tileset used is by Blade himself. The design is just a bit too random, and the level contains too much of holes, easy camp-spots/dead ends. Some levels including this, don’t have that smooth flow either. although I really like when the level requires jumping and isn’t filled with springs, this just feels too much like those Sandstrand ‘O Hazes-levels too. Played a 3vs3 TB here and that proved my thoughts quite right.
‘Neufrlagar’ uses Agama’s Egypt, and while the level looks neat and feels like another decent duel/2vs2 map, it also feels that some areas are just empty and don’t have a real purpose or use. I’m sorry I couldn’t have mentioned this earlier, because I always saw this level as unfinished only and wasn’t sure about the progress. However, this is neither nothing too serious, but it drops the fun-factor a bit.
What I find fun is how the levels also have secret passages and things or tricks you might not find out the first time you play. This is something what the newer level-makers don’t usually do. After all these are like ‘Dream’-levels that can contain anything and be very unrealistic, though sometimes things are just overdone a bit. Personally I also feel that some levels like ‘DDRR’ and ‘The Curse’ don’t have the very perfect music choices, but who am I to tell that alone.
So, 5 battles, 4 CTF’s. A bunch of levels to try and play, huh? Myself I prefer the CTF-levels, since I am for now a bit more familiar with them and they fit the best for duels. This is definitely download of the month so far, and most levels are bash-quality. Well done Snooze! Download!
SJ
This is a practically fun to play winter-themed level from Snooze in a while. His previous one was Land of Kaamos from last year. This time the game mode is CTF, and the level design is well executed, since the author tried to make it as balanced, versatile and fun to play.
According to the level atmosphere, you’re located in a freezing mountain range(or a valley) at the sunset, where you should find the fastest route across the snows to the opponent’s basement. A big steam machine is built around the landscape as you can guess from the level name. The machine helps you to move short distances to other locations by it’s tubes. The feeling in the whole level is great, thanks to an awesome tileset and a good music choice too.
The level has a long horizontal dimension, but it has also got some heighth. The level is no maze. It is easy to learn, but it still offers enough of different possibilites to make your way to the opponent’s base. You just need to learn how to take advantage of all heights in the level. What I also think that suits the level, are the carrot placement and Power Ups(although they’re just the default Bouncer and Toaster, nothing new.)
I recommend this level for you all, and recommend it more for something bigger than duels. 2vs2 games should work ideally here, as we once tried with Snooze & friends. A problem in duels especially might be the top-level that can be campy, but otherwise in bigger games it doesn’t really matter. Eight point three.
SJ
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