Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

It is not often that you see a Ground Force / Survivor level that is completely standalone. They usually come in packs, preferably of 20 or so. Ground Force levels, by nature, are fairly easy to make, so I was a bit disappointed by this offering. It is indeed a somewhat functional Ground Force level, but has far too many bugs to be enjoyable or fun. Pound for pound, this level is of inferior quality to a single level from BlurredD’s Survivor pack. Now for the review.

EYECANDY/TILESET USE: It is usually an important thing for Ground Force levels to have good eyecandy. Why? Because, in such a small level, it is difficult to keep the attention of the players for very long. One of the absolute best things about BlurredD’s Lost Gemz levels are that they are immersive. The environment is themed and it is not like BlurredD just uses the tileset in a normal way. In fact, usually, there is a manner in which the tileset has never before been used that is used in those levels. This level, to the other extreme, never ventures far from the basic Wasteland eyecandy. In fact, it never ventures at all. Everything here is just the basic Wasteland eyecandy and nothing more. All of the blocks are simply the basic ground blocks for Wasteland. This would not be as big of a problem if it was not that the walls were the same blocks. Oftentimes, it is difficult to tell where the bottom of the level is. Perhaps if a more diverse arraingements of blocks was used, it would be easier to tell, and therefore the eyecandy score would be improved.
Pros: There are not many tile errors, if that is anything much.
Cons: There is only one type of tile used. The tile looks like the wall, and the wall looks like the tile. See the problem?
Rating: 1.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: There is not much of ammo at all. In Survivor levels, one generally expects a good arraingement of ammo, ranging from bouncy to flamethrower to ice to TNT. Unfortunately, the only part of that spectrum that is provided is the TNT segment. The level features several groups of fairly fast-respawning TNT and nothing more in the way of ammo. As for the falling crates that create all the pretty explosions, they are completely absent in this level. The only thing even somewhat remescent of that effect is a crate that unleashes one exploding TNT thing. Snore.
Pros: None to speak of, really.
Cons: There is only TNT. No falling crates.
Rating: 1.2

ORIGINALITY: There is nothing original about this level other than the fact this exact level has never been made before. Everything is pretty much ripped out of BlurredD’s Survivor levels, from the somewhat functional anti-Jazz method to the flawed ending area. Nothing here is new by any stretch of the imagination.
Pros: No.
Cons: Yes.
Rating: 1.2

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Here is where the level runs into some very major flaws. The first major flaw, as Violet mentioned, is that the level uses a highly mangled version of BlurredD’s anti-Jazz system. The system, which consists of a bridge, wind left, and warps is about 97% effective in BlurredD’s levels. Unfortunately, in this level, the wind right has been removed, and about 40% of the time, the player gets stuck. Not good odds. The second problem I noticed revolved around the ending area. Instead of having the usual system of sucker tubes for players who are not the controller, there is one sucker tube which just lets the player out of the loop, allowing anyone to end the level. In other words, it is not difficult for a player to just accidentally end the level. Beyond those bugs, gameplay is not exactly the picture of perfection, either. It is not really all that enjoyable and the TNT’s annoyingly fast respawn time makes all of the layout decisions that went into this level practically useless. But at least there is no layer 3, so you get to see all of the cool underworkings of the level.
Pros: The level works. Sometimes.
Cons: The level works.
Rating: 1.5

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: This is just one level. Normally, that would be okay. But in this case, it is a little dull. After all, it is uninteresting to play the same Ground Force level over and over again. Not to mention that this is just a bad Ground Force level overall.
Pros: It is kind of a working Ground Force level.
Cons: Yes.
Rating: 1.5

OVERALL (not an average): Labrat and Violet are both completely correct, although I must strongly disagree with Labrat on the rating. This level, despite its flaws, is just not a good level in general. The combonation of this with the huge array of bugs and glitches makes this one a definite level to avoid. Not to mention that it is only one Ground Force level and is a 1.24 level. A good effort, but unfortunately, it falls way too short of its goal.
Pros: It sometimes works.
Cons: It sometimes works.
Rating: 1.5

GAMEPLAY: F
Flow: F
Layout: D -
Creativity: F
Bugs: F

EYECANDY: F
Tileset use: F
Eyecandy look: D -
Creativity: F
Bugs: F

PLACEMENT: F
Weapons: F
Carrots: N/A
Enemies: N/A

THE FINAL GRADE: F

THE FINAL RATING: 1.5

Pros: It sometimes works.
Cons: It sometimes works.

- Trafton

After playing the hotel level that uses this tileset (uploaded at http://www.jazz2online.com/downloads/moreinfo.php?levelid=2365, score 4.2), I can not say that I was exactly thinking that this would be the best of levels. And, unsurprisingly, it is not. At first, this level does indeed look not bad at all. The tileset itself is partially to blame for this incorrect perception. It looks very 3D-like and is pretty good in general. Still, upon further examination, I found that this small (175×46) battle level suffers from both eyecandy and gameplay problems that may be its deathwish.

EYECANDY/TILESET USE: Much like the hotel level, this level could have easily made for a decent demo level for the tileset which was recently uploaded (http://www.jazz2online.com/downloads/moreinfo.php?levelid=2362, score N/A as of this writing). At first, the level’s eyecandy looks quite good. Everything is in some sort of pseudo-3D and there are some interesting lighting effects. However, when you look closer, it is obvious that this level has quite a number of problems regarding eyecandy errors. The wall tiles look a bit out of place in many areas, and the eyecandy itself interfiers with the flow of the level. What’s more, the level is full of tiles that look off. They are not direct eyecandy errors, but still are problematic and odd-looking enough to deteriorate the eyecandy. Much like the hotel level, this suffers from using a tileset that it does not deserve to use.
Pros: The 3D effect that it gets from the tileset is pretty cool.
Cons: Tile errors abound.
Rating: 5.2

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: There were only three types of ammo in this level. Only basic bouncy, flamethrower, and freezer ammo finds its way into this level. Yes, there are no powerups that I could find. Most of the game will revolve around using the afforementioned types of ammo in order to befeat opponents. Unfortunately, there is so little of even this basic ammo that most of the game will involve the blaster. This is not a horrible thing, but there is still far too little ammo in this level. There are two carrots, both of which are placed oddly and do not really work for the level.
Pros: At least it does not go overboard like the hotel level.
Cons: A little ammo shortage.
Rating: 4.2

ORIGINALITY: There is nothing all that original about this level to speak of. Then again, there is nothing that is all that unoriginal, either. It is more or less your standard battle level. There is nothing that is insanely redundant, but there is nothing that has never been seen before, either. This level is your basic battle level using a strange tileset and nothing more than that.
Pros: Nothing that is found in every other level.
Cons: Nothing original, for that matter.
Rating: 4.5

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Gameplay and design is at least somewhat decent. For the most part, this is a standard battle level with passages and the like. Beyond that, the center of this level is pretty much your basic platform-based battle arena. The level is mostly small, which is not great for it, but the size is enough to keep the level at least half-decent. As I explained earlier, this level suffers from a lack of ammo. That is not a huge problem, though, and there is indeed enough ammo to allow for a battle. Still, it would have been nice if there was a little bit more. Gameplay is slightly above average, but not very much so.
Pros: As battle levels go, the gameplay and design was decent.
Cons: Not enough ammo for a good battle level.
Rating: 5.0

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: This level has nothing that is unique to it. It also has far little too ammo. These two factors add up to make a below average replay value/fun factor. There are a few saving qualities, and the tileset is interesting, so I suppose that this could be fun to some for playing every once and a while. Still, I am not one of those people, and I doubt that many people would enjoy playing the level all that much. Thus, a 4.5 in this category.
Pros: The level is not annoying or really really stupid.
Cons: Nothing to keep people playing.
Rating: 4.5

OVERALL (not an average): This is an average battle level that is quite small, and has far too little ammo. Also, it suffers from some eyecandy problems. Other than that, this is an alright level. It plays okay, other than the lack of much ammo, and is suitable for a demo level, although the use of eyecandy is a little bit too disappointing for a demo level. Still, it is definitely better than the hotel level which was also uploaded that uses this tileset. That does not mean, unfortunately, that this is a very good level. It is not. It is simply average, if that. My final rating is 5.0.
Pros: It could have been worse. Gameplay is at least somewhat decent.
Cons: This level is average. Ammo drain is a problem. It is sort of disappointing that this level has such bad eyecandy, considering that the author was the tileset convertor.
Rating: 5.0

GAMEPLAY: C
Flow: C
Layout: C
Creativity: C
Bugs: C+

EYECANDY: C
Tileset use: C -
Eyecandy look: C -
Creativity: C
Bugs: C

PLACEMENT: C+
Weapons: C+
Carrots: N/A
Enemies: N/A

THE FINAL GRADE: C

THE FINAL RATING: 5.0

Pros: It could have been worse. Gameplay is at least somewhat decent.
Cons: This level is average. Ammo drain is a problem. It is sort of disappointing that this level has such bad eyecandy, considering that the author was the tileset convertor.

- Trafton

EDIT: Fixed carrot thing. And I never said there was anything weird about the background.[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

This level redefines the word “weird.” And I do not necessarily mean that this is a bad thing. Unfortunately, the level tries to live up to expectations that are significantly more lofty than it is capable of living up to. The idea of this being a hotel/battle/treasure hunt/cooperative/single player/capture the flag combonation level is a little out there. Why? Because this level does not really fit very well as any of them. Here is a mode-by-mode look:

HOTEL: This definitely fits as a hotel. There are rooms, a battle room, and a lot of similar things. This is predominately a hotel and nothing more. It should not be called anything else.

BATTLE: This is pretty much a hotel that can be hosted under battle. There is nothing really extraordinary or new about such a concept. There is ammo, and it works decently as a below average battle level.

CAPTURE THE FLAG: No. This level obviously was never intended to be a viable capture the flag level. There is no mask around the outside of the level, and the level flow is horrible. That is, if you can even find the bases (it does take some time.)

TREASURE HUNT: Uh…Sort of. There are gems, and enough to play a somewhat quick treasure hunt game. Still, it should not be billed as a treasure hunt level. It just does not fit that.

SINGLE PLAYER: There are no enemies. This really does not make a very good single player. No ememies and no puzzles. The biggest challenge would be finding the exit.

COOPERATIVE: Pretty much the same things to say as in single player. There are no emeies, so what is the point?

I suppose what I am trying to say is that this is just a hotel with a few other gamemodes quickly thrown in. No thought went into this. As such, I will review it as it is billed – multiple. This will not do horrible things to the score, but it will not work wonders, either.

EYECANDY/TILESET USE: This level would possibly have made for a decent demo level for the tileset, which was uploaded only just a few minutes ago. The eyecandy in this level is quite strange. It is a somewhat realistic-looking tilset from the Rayman series of games. While some parts look really 3D and cool, other parts just look bland. There are plenty of tile errors to go around, and the level seems to be in a state of disrepair eyecandy-wise.
Pros: The 3D effect that it gets from the tileset is pretty cool.
Cons: Tile errors abound.
Rating: 4.2

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: This is supposed to also be a single player level, but it can not possibly be one. Why? Because there are absolutely no enemies in this level. As weapons go, this level is below average. Most of the level has sporadic bouncy ammo and the like, but there are areas in which fairly hard to accessable powerups are grouped together. No level which has very little basic ammo should have two major powerups sitting next to eachother. Carrot placement did not fare much better, with oddly-placed carrot bumps.
Pros: None to speak of, really.
Cons: Oddly placed ammo and carrots.
Rating: 4.0

ORIGINALITY: If anything, this level is at least somewhat original. In that it is quite odd, though. The eyecandy of the tileset is obviously suited for a level which is anything but a hotel like this. Everything looks odd, and that is not a good thing. There are a few original ideas here, and there is at least some attempt to make it work for multiple gametypes. Unfortunately, all of this is completely watered down with the sheer amount of hotel “cliches” in this level.
Pros: At least some attempt for originality.
Cons: Not original.
Rating: 3.7

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: It is hard to measure the gameplay for a level which is as good as this. For a hotel, it completely lacks gameplay. Then again, no hotel really has all that much in the way of gameplay. For a single player level, it also lacks gameplay. The same with a co-op level. For a CTF level, it has some decent gameplay, but makes the horrible mistake of lacking masking on the side of the level. For a battle level, it is substandard in the ways of gameplay. All of this add up to a very low score of 2.5 in gameplay.
Pros: At least it works as a hotel, battle, or CTF level.
Cons: It is not even a co-op or single player level at all.
Rating: 2.5

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: There is very little fun factor in a hotel. After the first few minutes of marveling at the potentially interesting activities like pinball, the entire thing gets boring. Plus, since it is someone else’s hotel, the level host can not even edit it. This is where hotels have always and will always fail. I am going to give this a few points for being a somewhat average battle level, but that is the only thing that keeps it from earning a much, much lower score.
Pros: It can be played as a battle level. Kind of.
Cons: The rest of the level is really dull.
Rating: 3.7

OVERALL (not an average): This is a hotel level that tries to be much more. Unfortunately, it fails at this task, and falls into the sad realm of below average levels that try to be much more. The tileset is worth the download, but is uploaded seperately. Unless you want to see a tileset gone to complete waste as something it should never, ever, ever be used for, this level is probably a good idea to avoid. As ambitious as it may be, this level falls far short of its goals. But that is not all that surprising if you think about it.
Pros: It could have been worse.
Cons: Some really severe bugs definitely get in the way of play. This level has too many flaws to list. It just does not function properly as many of the things that it claims to be.
Rating: 4.2

GAMEPLAY: D
Flow: D -
Layout: D -
Creativity: C -
Bugs: C -

EYECANDY: D+
Tileset use: D
Eyecandy look: D+
Creativity: D+
Bugs: D

PLACEMENT: D+
Weapons: D+
Carrots: D+
Enemies: N/A

THE FINAL GRADE: D+

THE FINAL RATING: 4.2

Pros: It could have been worse.
Cons: Some really severe bugs definitely get in the way of play. This level has too many flaws to list. It just does not function properly as many of the things that it claims to be.

- Trafton

EDIT: Just because it can be hosted under the gamemode does not mean it is that type of level. And it does get boring after playing so many minigames. There are strange-looking parts in the eyecandy.[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

First of all, I would like to congratulate Spaztic on being the 10 million, seven hundred sixty second thousand, eight hundred third person to create a conversion of the classic Super Mario Brothers 3 game. I am sure this will not soon be forgotten. And, while your princess may be in another castle, this is probably a superior version compared to even the best Marionic offerings out there, even though it has been some time since I last played a level featuring Hellraiser’s current Mario Brothers 3 standard set. Even though I have not exactly played every single little part of Super Mario Brothers 3, I have a general idea of it. And I know that this is missing Giant World or whatever, which is pretty much the only thing that it is missing. Still, this is one of the best Mario sets out there.

THEME: Well, uh, let us see…Mario is the theme. Wow. There is not much more to say here. It is the Mario games in a tileset. The theme is Mario, and the entire set is Mario. Specifically, if I was to classify this beyond “Mario,” it would probably be as a platformer-based 8-bit tileset. Graphics quality is not great, but that is no fault of Spaztic.
Pros: One minute into testing: It’s Mario!
Cons: Ten minutes into testing: Oh. It’s Mario.
Rating: N/A.

GRAPHICS: The graphics are, to put it nicely, not the focus of this tileset. Then again, they do not necessarily need to be. This is, pure and simple, a base conversion. I will evaluate for my final score the quality of graphics compared to the original, but for this, I unfortunately have to make due with what it offers compared to other tilesets. And that is not much. While everything looks passable, it is all really low-color and bad. Just like the original game is. Oh well.
Pros: Good for a Mario conversion.
Cons: Bad for nearly everything else.
Rating: 6.7

INVENTORY: This is a conversion. As a conversion, it lacks most of the things that Jazz 2 needs but Mario does not have. This includes, but is not limited to, hooks, sucker tubes, and the like. I suppose you could use those flower tubes for sucker tubes, but for the rest of everything else, you are pretty much stuck. There is not much added by the conversion – little more than the author’s name.
Pros: Everything that was in Mario that is relevant is here. And Spaztic’s name, here, for you freaky Spaztic cult people.
Cons: If something was not in the original Mario, you are out of luck.
Rating: 7.0

ORIGINALITY: To be honest, there is really very little that is all that original about the tileset. It is a Mario set and by nature, turns out looking a bit ugh. At least it covers many areas that the other various Mario tilesets do not. That is the main thing that saves it from a low score here.
Pros: N/A
Cons: N/A
Rating: 7.5

COMPETITION: Hellraiser’s Mario tileset was also pretty good, although not as good as this.
Rating: 8.5

EASE OF USE: This is really, really, really, really easy to use. After all, it is a Mario tileset. How can you get any more simple? There are a few small inconsistincies, and many of the things are difficult to use without looking tacky, but mostly everything is both easy to use and nicely done. This tileset is quite easy to use, and often is very hard to make look bad. As such, it is great for teaching new people how to use JCS.
Pros: Really easy to use.
Cons: Does nothing to make the tileset any easy to use than it already is, not that this is a huge downfall, since only people without opposable thumbs will have problems using this tileset.
Rating: 8.5

MASKING: Generally good. There were a few small things that I noticed, but not enough to detract from the score all that much. Jaggies are not a major problem, although a minority of the tiles do suffer from small little holes in the mask that could theoretically cause a few insignificant problems. It was difficult to get stuck during testing.
Pros: Few, if any, errors.
Cons: None to mention.
Rating: 8.2

OVERALL (not an average): Overall, this tileset’s scores do average out to something significantly lower than my final rating. Why did this happen? Because this is a conversion. Unfortunately, little was done to improve the conversion beyond baseline importing of the tiles and the addition, of course, of a graphic featuring the author’s name. It would have been nice to see such things as poles, hooks, and the like, but this is good enough. I am sure that anyone who is even half a Mario fan will be all over this one. It is a tough choice between this tileset and Hellraiser’s, but so far, without extended road testing, it does appear like this one is in the lead. Well done, Spaztic face.
Pros: Very good.
Cons: Adds no new tiles, which could be a major problem down the road.
Rating: 8.2

SCORECARD
Bugs: A
Eyecandy: A
Background Eyecandy: A
Foreground Eyecandy: A -
Masking: A
Tile Variaty: A
Tiles Included: A -
Added Tiles: B+
Quality: A -
Conversion Strength: A
OVERALL: B+

Pros: Very good.
Cons: Poor graphics quality. Not that that is Spaztic face’s fault.

FINAL SCORE: 8.2

- Trafton

EDIT: My mistake. Hooks and everything are in there.[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

I have to be honest that the most surprising thing here is that BlurredD was not already aware of a completely already existant gametype that has been common in even the most basic of hotels since 1999. Well, anyway, what we have here is a demolevel for the somewhat overused “soccer” gametype. To be honest, it seems to me to be much, much more like hockey than anything else. You run around, trying to hit the shell off of the edge on the opponent’s side. Nothing new here. The only new addition is a scorekeeper’s box which is sealed with a trigger crate. Unfortunately, there really is no practical use for such a box, as you can be pretty much anywhere to keep score. Still, it could be useful in some situations. Is there anything wrong with this level? Yes, there are several things. First of all, like the hotels that started such levels, this just does not feature much in the way of creativity. Organization is another problem. There is no automatic team arraingement. Also, for a seperately released level, it would have been nice to at least of had some method of scoring. Oh well. Now for the review.

TILESET/TILESET USE: Labrat is used fairly well in this situation. There is nothing particurally amazing about the use of Labrat, but it actually is quite decent. This level is, however, quite small, so this is a necessary thing, and not overboard. Regardless of the size of this level, the tileset use is above average. I will not, like anything in the rest of this level, rate this category, however. Just think of it as above average.
Pros: Very nicely done in general.
Cons: Nothing over the top.
Rating: N/A

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: There is not much to say in this category. The only ammo in this entire level is ice, apparently intended to freeze either your opponents or the shell (it is never specified). Other than that, you will have to use your trusty old blaster to defend against the other team.
Pros: Nothing much to say here, being that there is only ice.
Cons: Perhaps something other than the simple standard ice would have been cool.
Rating: N/A

ORIGINALITY: This level is not particurally original. Many other levels of this nature have been made. Still, apparently neither the author nor BlurredD is aware of this. The idea of using CTF is indeed unique (scratch the team rants earlier). However, it also allows you to kill opponents which is…unusual. Still, it probably lends an interesting twist to gameplay. Regardless, this is not very original.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: What is there to say here? Not much, obviously. Gameplay is fairly fun and all, but just is not anything that amazing. It is not new, nor is it unique to this level. It has been around for ages. That is all there is to it. This is a demo level to a concept that deserves no demo, as it is nearly as old as time. Still, this is fun to play online every so often.
Pros: Fun, sort of.
Cons: Nothing new.
Rating: N/A

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: “What is there to say here? Not much, obviously. Gameplay is fairly fun and all, but just is not anything that amazing. It is not new, nor is it unique to this level. It has been around for ages. That is all there is to it. This is a demo level to a concept that deserves no demo, as it is nearly as old as time. Still, this is fun to play online every so often.” That is pretty much it.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A

OVERALL (not an average): I think the above more or less sums it up. It is fun, but really not deserving of a rating. It is not a new concept, and demo levels really should not be rated in the first place. That is all I have to say about it.
Pros: Pretty fun.
Cons: Not original.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY: N/A
Flow: N/A
Layout: N/A
Creativity: N/A
Bugs: N/A

EYECANDY: N/A
Tileset use: N/A
Eyecandy look: N/A
Creativity: N/A
Bugs: N/A

PLACEMENT: N/A
Weapons: N/A
Carrots: N/A

THE FINAL GRADE: N/A

THE FINAL RATING: N/A

Pros: Pretty fun.
Cons: Not original.

- Trafton

First of all, I would like to say that BlurredD must be smited for making me review five levels at one time. Since the original levels have not changed a great deal, and the original small bugs did not hugely effect my rating, the review pretty much remains the same for the first twenty. However, the trouble here is the new five. So it’s time to review them. Yay.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I’ve updated this review several times since originally making it for various reasons, including information addition.
Wow. It’s been ages since BlurredD last uploaded something, so I think I’ll give this a really long review that will beat the pants off of EvilMike’s really long review. This is an early version of it, so I’ll edit it when I get finished. I just wanted to post it in the off-chance that my computer would crash (OK, so maybe the chance isn’t so off) and I would lose everything. So, here we go, reviews of levels one through eight in a twenty level pack. I hope you brought a book.

Level 1: Thermal Scorch
“Thermal Scorch” is the first level in this pack. It uses the excellent 7th Lava Fall tileset. When playing, the background was a bit distracting, but looked very good. This level has very good eyecandy. The playing area consists of many black boxes over, unsurprisingly enough, a lava pit. There are a few small pockets of ammo with bouncy, flamethrower, seeker, and RF contained within. Graphically, this is one of the best levels in the entire pack. It’s pretty easy to move around in, and it’s clear that this level was tested heavily. Very good, and fun to play online. On a scale of one to five: 4.

Level 2: System Clogged
“System Clogged” looks a bit strange at first glance. It features plain gray tiles in combonation with oblong-shaped blue worm-like circles. It’s hard to explain without actually seeing the level. This level’s flow is not as good as that of Thermal Scorch’s, but is still quite easy to move around in. This level adds TNT ammo to the mix, which is a welcome addition because there are many more tiles in this level. I found it pretty easy to fall in, especially late in the game. During single player testing, I noticed a strange bug that stems from the huge amount of animations in this level: my fire completely disappeared in many areas. Still, this is a good level, but I can’t say it’s my favorite of the bunch. It’s graphical blandness and only mildly interesting play make it not the best play. On a scale of one to five: 3.5.

Level 3: Water Drain
This level, dubbed “Water Drain”, which has TNT, ice, flamethrower, and electroblaster ammo, and is one of the more plain-looking levels of the pack, but is one of the easiest to navigate around in. It uses Blade’s somewhat dreary Wasteland tileset. This level has one of the thinnest bottoms of them all. Many areas are just one tile high and are very easy to fall into with one wrong move with the TNT. Others are completely empty at the bottom tile, making it increadibly easy to go out. This is one of the quicker plays in the entire pack, but is no slouch on gameplay. Still, it’s not my favorite of the pack by far. On a scale of one to five: 3.5.

Level 4: Heaven Sent
I was surprised that BlurredD decided to use Agama’s excellent Heaven tileset in a surivor level, but this is one of my favorites of the entire pack. “Heaven Sent” gives out a peaceful serine look, but in no way is it a light play. When I hosted it, it was a very rushed game. TNT and RF were used heavily, and pretty much the entire level was destroyed in less than a minute. The passages are fairly small and it can be slightly annoying to move around, but this does not detract from the overall gameplay. This is especially good with many people, but don’t expect to play this level for long. It’s very easy to go out. An excellent play, though there are a few somewhat annoying bugs that may detract from the level’s quality a bit. On a scale of one to five: 4.

Level 5: No Escape
“No Escape” uses Skulg’s Lava Lamp tileset. Happily, it contains no lava lamps (the level doesn’t, at least.) For the area there is in this level, there are less blocks than average and most of the bottom tiles are not covered, so it’s really easy to go out in this level if you make a mistake. There is one ammo area that is only accessible if seeker ammo is used, but otherwise all areas can be shot and broken. Some of the blocks are different looking, but most are standard. The most annoying part of this level was the flashing background, which surprised me every time. When I was playing this level, several people complained that this flashing light was annoying and wouldn’t take “disable low detail” for an excuse. Still, this is pretty good, and fairly fun to play online despite it’s occationally annoying quirks. On a scale of one to five: 3.5.

Level 6: Electrical Wipeout
“Electrical Wipeout” uses the plain old Tube Electric tileset, which causes it to look pretty plain. In fact, the blocks that were used as shootable reminded me of bad old blocks-as-ground levels using this tileset. This is probably one of the longer levels included in this pack. It takes so long to play because it is vertically tall, and takes a while, even when trying, to get to the bottom. Also, the areas where you can fall through at the bottom are quite thin. It took about five minutes to finish this level, which was toward the high end of all of the level’s play times. This level shines when you have a lot (and I mean a lot) of people in the server. Otherwise, it’s graphical tediousness and long play time make this one of the less interesting levels in the pack. In fact, this may very well be one of my least favorite levels of all these. On a scale of one to five: 3.

Level 7: Polar Chill
Level 8: Tri-Sides
“Tri-Sides,” which uses the huge, industrial CyberSpaz v2 tileset, is also one of the better levels in the pack. There is a unique twist to this level which makes it so different than all of the other levels and adds a bit of spice to playing it. The walls on the side of the level function just like the bottom part. In other words, if you are shot into the wall, or just accidentally fall into them, you’re out. The level never says this (it would be nice if BlurredD mentioned this in the text string at the beginning of the level, but then again, it is fun watching people scramble to try to figure out why they just went out.) Playing the level quickly turns in to a melee of sorts. You’ll have better luck winning this level if you concentrate on trying to knock your opponent into the walls, because it’s much, much, much harder to go out by falling into the bottom. One of my favorites. On a scale of one to five: 4.5.

Level 9: Diablo’s Outlook
“Diablo’s Outlook” is the second level in this pack to use a non-custom tileset, Medivo 1 in this case. This level differs from many of the other levels in that there are two seperate parts to the level, seperated by an impassible wall for most of the level, but an empty space with two platforms that slide in and slide out in the middle of them near the bottom. Passing from each side of the level to the other frequently is a bad idea, since it is really easy to miss the platform and go out by falling to the bottom. The eyecandy on this level is good, unlike the Tube Electric-based level. Still, this is a fantastic level and one of my favorites. It requires more strategy than most of the other levels, but is still enjoyable as a quick or long play. This level also features more non-standard blocks than any other, including some buttstomp blocks that are practically suicide to break. On a scale of one to five: 4.

Level 10: Uncharted Territory
“Uncharted Territory” uses Blade’s aptly named Space tileset. It’s a very metallic level. Other than the background, the entire level in fact is in a metallic-ish gray color. It is a bit plain to look at, but the background is strikingly different from the blocks used. It’s black-and-purple with white comets flying by. Due to the way they were animated, the blocks in this level disappear immediately when shot instead of having the usual collapsing animation. This is strange, but an interesting effect. The losing area looks very plain and bulgy off of the level. This is not my favorite level. It looks a bit off, but it’s pretty fun to play. Still, “Uncharted Territory” is better than almost all of the other levels based on this gameplay out there, but it does not live up to the pack’s standards. On a scale of one to five: 2.5.

Level 11: Twenty Six Second Frustration
“Twenty Six Second Frustration” is a blalant joke on the “Twenty Four Hour Coffee” level that was hosted constantly in 2000. The level uses the unknown but amazing-looking tileset MeZmErIzE (sic), the same one that was used in “Twenty Four Hour Coffee.” Levels made with this tileset tend to fall into two categories. The first is amazing looking. The second is levels that have so many tile bugs or just use the tileset wrong and end up looking like someone that the Fluffy the bunny rabbit deposited on newspaper. This level definitely falls into the first category. If you can get past the stunning looking green blocks and emerald waterfall background, this level turns out to be one of the better-playing levels of this pack. Despite it’s name, gameplay was not frustrating at all. In fact, I can safely say that I thuroughly enjoyed playing this one in particular. It has TNT, bouncy, and ice ammo and is horizontally large. The ammo is scattered out well, and is extremely well placed. This is one of the most enjoyable levels in the pack, and definitely a favorite of mine. It plays great, and is graphically dazling as well. Because of it’s size and fairly solid tiles, it may take a while to play this level, even when there are many people. It’s best with plenty of people, but enjoyable with any amount in the server. On a scale of one to five: 4.

Level 12: An Insidious Illusion
The third tileset in the pack to use a non-custom tileset, “Insidious Illusion” uses the Castle 2 Night tileset. This is one of the strangest levels in the entire pack in that it is reverse. The tiles that can be shot are see-through and appear as background while you walk on the dark tiles. It takes a while to get used to, but is a fun little trick involving invisible tiles. It’s hard to get used to this level, and even after playing it a lot, I’m still confused by it to a huge extent. While this level is definitely unique and interesting, it always appears dark, even with no ambient lighting change. It’s a cool idea, but I can’t say that I like it. The Castle tileset is overused, but the parts using the normal Castle tiles are fine looking. Still, the see-through tiles look strange. Not the best level in the pack, but some may like it. On a scale of one to five: 2.

Level 13: Safety Precaution
Of all of the levels in the pack, “Safety Precaution” (which uses the space-themed “ETs Planet 1 v3” tileset by – of course – ET) is definitely the strangest one. In fact, it’s nearly completely different than all of the others. Instead of having blocks on the bottom, it has springs that block you from falling into the warp. There is only one way to go through the springs, which is to hit them while you are blinking from damage. You will then go straight through into the warp. To spice it up a bit, BlurredD include the automatic firing laser MCE one tile above the springs so, if you are unlucky and hit by them, you go out. The rest of the level features some steel pseudo-3D blocks that can be broken as tiles in any of the other levels can. However, there are areas inbetween the blocks where you can’t slip through even though it appears you can, making navigation sometimes annoying. Also, note that there is a small area in which you can just fall directly and there are no springs, which often can cause a problem. It’s still quite fun to play, and one of my favorites, though it’s hard to move around. On a scale of one to five: 4.

Level 14: Mechanical Clock Chaos
The fourth level to use a non-custom tileset (in this case Labrat 1), “Mechanical Clock Chaos” has some cool ideas in it. The first is an interesting animated device at the start, which doesn’t add to gameplay, but certainally looks great. The second is how the blocks disappear. As time goes on, a clock (hence it’s name), activates and destroys tiles. This is a very hard concept to pull of, but definitely adds to the playing value. It’s great to see interesting new concepts like this in levels. Nice job. The rest of the level is pretty much standard. It has the same bad-looking blocks as in the Tube Electric level. It also has a few areas that you can only get to using bouncy ammo that contain TNT. There’s not much to say about this level. Gameplay is a heck of a lot like all of the other levels, but the clock idea is really fascinating. You won’t notice it much during play, but it’s an advancement in JCSing, which is always welcome. On a scale of one to five: 3.5.

Level 15: Chain Reaction
The fifteenth level in this pack, “Chain Reaction,” uses Overlord’s space/secret agent hybrid tileset Top Secret ]|[. “Chain Reaction” seems to have tiles in a U shape. The right and leftmost sides all have large stacks of tiles, which gradually slope down to the point where there are only two to four tilesets seperating you from the warp in the middle of the level. This isn’t one of the most innovative of the levels, but is still a fun quick play. Most battling will occur on the top of the hills on the left or right, since the middle will quickly be destroyed. This level contains the standard ammo plus pepper spray, which is practically useless other than that it is hard to see and may be of some use if your opponent is stalling. Other than that, there isn’t much special about this level, but it’s good. On a scale of one to five: 4.

Level 16: Vacant Mine Shaft
“Vacant Mine Shaft” uses the apparently annoynmous “Mining Operations” tileset, which is now less apparently annonymous and is now apparently made by Violet CLM. The tileset itself is very funny to look at and contains many jokes. It’s also not a slouch on tile quality either. The level, like the tileset, is fun to play but is well-made, too. Both of these together is uncommon in levels, especailly in these days of cloud-and-colored-blocks tilesets and levels. In order to carve out a path in which to play, you shoot the three turle’s hard surface on it’s back (the simple word for it is apparently censored.) at the top of the level. They break many of the blocks, creating three seperate path ways for playing. The path of these turtle’s hard surface on it’s back was planned well. The tiles that are taken away leave a smooth-looking level with ammo visible in the right places and hidden in others. The ammo is fairly standard, but eyecandy is very good. I give extra points for managing to calculate the exact path the turtles censored would take and making the level accordingly, because I can imagine this was very hard. This level is fun to play and amazingly well-crafted. One of my favorites. On a scale of one to five: 5.

Level 17: An Insidious Illusion II
“An Insidious Illusion II” is apparently a secret to level 12, “An Insidious Illusion” using the infinitely more interesting Jazz 1 conversion of Battleships (“Jazz 1: Battleships”), which was converted by CelL FoR. The level was much easier to get used to than the original “An Insidious Illusion,” but it still isn’t my favorite level. The black background with white stars contrasts well enough from the dark blue background to avoid confusion, but it’s still ugly. I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the idea, but this level falls into the middle of the pack in the pack (no pun intended, fortunately.) Some may enjoy this, but I do not count myself amoung them. The tileset is good, though. On a scale of one to five: 3.

Level 18: Mean Green Elevator Machine
“Mean Green Elevator Machine,” which uses the excellent “J2LC – Alien Space Lab” tileset has one of the better backgrounds of all of the levels and an interesting concept. The level is checkered with solid and non-solid blocks. There are start positions in the non-solid ones without ammo. The level is surrounded to all sides with a stream-like thing that warps you out of the game if you touch it. However, the most striking thing about the level is the optical illusion that it uses. While it wasn’t immediately evident to me when I started playing, I realized that the background makes it look like the entire level is moving, much like an elevator. In fact, it’s actually the background that’s moving, not the level. It’s still an interesting idea, though I have seen it before. This one is slightly above average compared to the pack in gameplay, but the eyecandy is simply amazing. Not only is the optical illusion good-looking, but there are no tile errors and the level is great-looking as well. On a scale of one to five: 3.5.

Level 19: Crater Maker
“Crater Maker” uses the “Space Warbase” tileset by Disguise, the same one that is used in the level Zatox CTF. However, it appears that BlurredD used it a little differently than it was used in Zatox. The level’s start looks sort of industrial, with gears and such, but the actual level is more classic Zatox. There are comets flying around in the background and annoyingly yellow “caution” blocks used for the shootable blocks in the level. There are two things that make “Crater Maker” different from the other levels, the first of the way it distributes weapons. The actual level itself has no weapons in it, but when you warp at the start of the game, you fall through several lines of ammo. This limits the amount you have, so you have to make sure to use that amount you get with care or you may end with only your trusty but slightly plain blaster. The second is that most of this level destroys itself. Shoot one of the crates and TNT explodes. Many nearby crates will also explode with it, destroying a lot of blocks at once. This can knock opponents clear out of the game in one sweep, but can also be troublesome for the person who initiated the chain reaction. The yellow blocks which are used are so bright, they often become annoyingly distracting, but it wasn’t much of a problem. One of the better levels in this pack I think. On a scale of one to five: 4.5.

Level 20: Tower of Death
Just when I thought I could get through the entire pack without getting a single missing tileset error, the last level caused one. Mumbling, I went off and downloaded the tileset pack for the level, which I only needed one tileset from. The tileset which I was missing, “Where Bad Rabbits Go,” is a great tileset that I really should have had in the first place. Once I could stand to look at my reflection in the computer screen, I prepared to review the twentieth and final level in this pack. I then ran “Tower of Death” in single player and realized, much to my annoyance, that I would have to host this level in multiplayer or it wouldn’t work. It took a while to realize what in the world I was supposed to do in this level (and several deaths), but it turned out the idea behind the level was simple: climb or be hit by the laser shield MCE and fall. The level is pretty derned tall, and it took me in excess of twenty seconds to get to the top. When I did, it was pretty much a standard battle with whoever was able to outrun the laser’s fire with me. At the end, it turned into a melee not to fall into the bottom when the laser got to the top (it took it’s time.) This level and the laser shield evasion and outrunning is an interesting idea. However, it has been done before, but not quite like this. Still, this is one of my favorites, especially with a lot of people. On a scale of one to five: 4.5.

Notes
In order to play the level, someone must be active so that they can be the level “controller.” This person will need to go into the warp (in the starting room’s top left corner there is an area where the controller can go in) and then start the level. The controller also gets five coins, which can be used to end the level. To end the level, the controller must first go out and then go to the top left corner of the out area. Then the level will end.

This level stops people from playing as Jazz because Jazz has a distinct advantage. There is a trap at the beginning which involves a bridge that stops Jazz players from getting into the areas. Those who dislike Spaz may find this annoying, but it’s fair.

Explination of how Survivor is played
Survivor, which goes by many names, is pretty much universal in gameplay: there are many blocks in a level. These blocks can be shot. Eventually, when many blocks are gone, you get to the bottom. The person who avoids falling into the warp at the bottom for the longest time wins. There are several variations, but this is the one used in the pack.

Is this really survivor?
The quick answer is no. The gameplay type used here is in fact, not Survivor. There really isn’t much of a name for it, but it’s not Survivor. The actual name of the gameplay type is Ground Force. The gameplay type was invented by ET. One of the levels in this pack, in fact, uses ET’s tileset entitled “Ground Force” which was specially made for making levels of these type. As the levels caught in, people started calling them by the more descriptive name of “survivor” levels. The name stuck, and is still used today. The actual gametype is named Ground Force, as Violet mentioned, but calling it that while probably confuse most players, because so few know that it was originally called that.

AND FINALLY, THE VERDICT…
This is going to be hard to rate. At first my idea was to rate it by adding up all the values that I assigned it on a scale of one to ten, but since those were compared to the other levels in the pack, I quickly realized that that would give it an unfairly low rating. So, I decided to play them all and see how good they were as an entirety. After much debating with myself, I cam e to the conclusion that my rating would be somewhere between 8 and 8.7. I eventually decided on 8.5. There are 20 levels in this pack of varying quality, but most are 7-8.5. All together, though, I can see a lot of effort was put into this pack and while many of the levels are similar to eachother, it nonetheless presents a unique new twist on a gameplay type with a few levels that differ from the normal formula. This pack is sure to become a classic, especially certain levels of it. I’m going to give it an overall 8.5. This is definitely the best pack of this type I have ever played, and there is no dobut that BlurredD is an amazing level author. This is definitely a download recommendation. The tileset pack alone contains many must-have classics, and the music is not half-bad either. It was hard to rate this beast, but I think that 8.5 and a download recommendation is fair. Great job, BlurredD. I look foreward to your single player pack, but this definitely made for a great afternoon of reviewing and playing. Great job.

-Trafton
Edit: I included that Mining Operations was made by Violet.
Edit: Added individual ratings, updated “rating” section.
Violet: Time to throw fish! My review was about 3,000 characters longer, with or without spaces included. ;-P
Evades several waves of angry trout.
More STUPpingly STUP edits: I’m glad that some of the glitches have been fixed, and I like the screenshot of the Odyssey tileset that was included (though I already have an early version, because a certain person leaked it onto J2O.) My rating remains the same, though I’m really glad the bugs were fixed. Think of this as a 8.59. ;-P

NEW LEVELS (HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE)
Level 21: Cursed Pharoah Ruins
“Cursed Pharoah Ruins” is an Egypt-based level which manages to squeeze everything single Egyptian cliche into one name. Regardless, this is quite a nicely crafted Survivour level, much like the rest of them, in fact. This level is definitely an improvement overall quality-wise compared to the originals. I would like to say at this point in the review that it is very important to review these levels in multiplayer, as they simply do not function at all in single player. What is there in this level? Basically a lot of somewhat randomly placed floating platforms and squares and such. The tileset, the very, very, very, very good Egypt by Agama, is used fantastically as it should be. The level is indeed somewhat small, but it is still quite nice and very much fun to play. One of my favorites of the pack. On a scale of one to five: 4.5.

Level 22: Intergalactic Space Carrots
Yet another somewhat badly named level using the Carrotus tileset.

“Boo, hiss. Boooooooooo. Hisssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Booooooooooooooo. Carottus sucks. Boo, hiss. Boooooooooo. Hisssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Booooooooooooooo.”

I am sure we are all farmilar with such cries by not, and to be honest, this level does not do all that much to make these objections invalid. This level simply reminds me way too much of some not-so-good Carrotus levels I have seen over the years, which is in many ways, it’s worse feature. The entire level just suffers from a lack of excellence. The beginning area looks okay and such, but the level itself uses non-standard tiles for blocks to shoot. This ends up looking alright at first, but really ugly after a good time of playing. Still, it is decent, and I am undecided between a 3.0 and 3.5 for this level. So far, a hit and a miss for the five new levels, although this is only a miss relative to the other excellent levels.Boo, hiss. Boooooooooo. Hisssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Booooooooooooooo. Boo, hiss. Boooooooooo. Hisssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Booooooooooooooo. On a scale of one to five: 3.0 or 3.5.

Level 23: Bathtub Catastrophe
This is yet another very nice level using the Survivor gametype. This time, however, the focus reverts back to another default Epic tileset, this time Colon. Colon is, for all matters practical, not an easy tileset to make look odd or unusual without totally screwing up the eyecandy in the level that is using it. However, BlurredD manages to make an unusual but very nice-looking level here with good gameplay to boot. At the beginning, the entry way into the level uses the very standard eyecandy that Colon provides. At first, I thought the bathtub mention meant something related to the sewers (ick). I was relieved to find out, however, that this simply eluded to the rest of the level, which features bathtub-like eyecandy. It is hard to explain what exactly this looks like, and one has to download the level for themself in order to understand it. But I definitely find this one to be one of the most enjoyable levels in the pack. On a scale of one to five: 4.5.

Level 24: Devastation
Devastation is a somewhat uninspired-ish level using Skulg’s depressing goth-like “Death Metal” tileset (death and metal…wow!). This level is not uninspired eyecandy-wise, surprisingly. It is the gameplay which seems just a little bit lacking compared to the rest of them. In what way, you ask? Well, the level plays well enough. The problem is that the level plays way too quickly. The entire level is just the bottom few layers of bricks, and this makes for a quickly ended game, especially when a lot of people are there. So the game eventually turns out to be a mad dash to jump on top of something or hit a lag clone to avoid falling out of the game when all the tiles come down. A skilled player trying their best could probably bring an element of non-random play to this level, but for casual play, the winner is often far too random. Still, it is a solid-looking level and good for non-competitve play. On a scale of one to five: 3.5.

Level 25: The Sludge Grounds
The final level (again) uses the “ETs Planet2 v3” by (gasp!) ET. It is obviously a space-themed tileset that was used in EvilMike’s “SPACE LEVEL WITH ISLANDS” level. It is nice looking, and definitely fits the name of the level in every way. This is probably one of my favorite levels out of the entire pack, although there are a few small things that make it a bit annoying. The entire level features very inspired gameplay. The TNT with the springs is something that you will see in no other Survivor levels. In fact, it is something completely unexpected and, after 24 levels, it is nice to see that BlurredD still had a few ideas of how to make this level interesting. And the rest of it is interesting, too. Gameplay was all-around well done and just fun to play in general. Quips? A few. There was an area in which a spring nearly unavoidably bounces you into a warp that most players would not expect to exist (in the ceiling, to the left of the TNT). But, other than that, this is definitely a good twenty-fifth level and final (at least temporarily, judging from the somewhat unexpected release of this pack) BlurredD Lost Gemz Survivour level. On a scale of one to five: 4.0.

Yet again, nice job. My final grade for the pack is a 9.0. Very well done. Keep up the good work, BlurredD. I hope that you will consider producing more Survivor levels when you get some more good ideas and a well-earned break.

- Trafton

Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.

EYECANDY/TILESET USE: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Pros: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Cons: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Rating: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Pros: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Cons: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Rating: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.

ORIGINALITY: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Pros: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Cons: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Rating: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Pros: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Cons: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Rating: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Pros: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Cons: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Rating: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.

OVERALL (not an average): Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Pros: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.
Rating: Not applicable. This is not the first time someone has modified Battle1 to improve and get rid of one of its many bugs. Unfortunately, this is a fairly trivial edit. This bug is more or less destroyed by Respawn.exe, and it is not exactly nececssary in the entirety to create this in order to eliminate it. Not to mention, it changes the flow of the level. No longer can you kill someone waiting for the copter. Now you have to chase them. Otherwise, this category is just like the original Battle1.

GAMEPLAY: Not applicable.
Flow: Not applicable.
Layout: Not applicable.
Creativity: Not applicable.
Bugs: Not applicable.

EYECANDY: Not applicable.
Tileset use: Not applicable.
Eyecandy look: Not applicable.
Creativity: Not applicable.
Bugs: Not applicable.

PLACEMENT: Not applicable.
Weapons: Not applicable.
Carrots: Not applicable.

THE FINAL GRADE: Not applicable.

THE FINAL RATING: Not applicable.

I will not give this level a rating. If you really, really, really want that bug fixed for some reason, download this. Otherwise, I am sure you can live without it.

- Trafton

There seems to have been a lot of levels lately which are extremely small, yet do not quite qualfy as a microbattle level. These levels are mostly fairly quickly made and of middling quality. This one, unsurprisingly, is no exception to the rule of mediocrity. A fairly uninspired level by nature, it falls into the realm of below average due to a few moderate to major problems. And, finally, its fate is sealed by a major bug revolving around falling off the level. This level is not an epic by any means. It is more like a picture book with the last page torn out. Now for the review…

EYECANDY/TILESET USE: Jungle is used adequately here. There is nothing that impressive about the overall eyecandy quality of this level. It is a fairly standard Jungle level, which nothing amazing. Eyecandy is decent, and while there are not many tile bugs, there are a lot of questionable tile uses that probably could have been avoided if the author was paying a bit more attention. Again, the problem here is although this probably is the best category for this level (tied with weapon and item placement), that does not necessarily mean it is flawless. Still, this category does come out to be decent, although empty and uninspired.
Pros: The eyecandy is one of the best parts of the level, if that is any consolation.
Cons: The eyecandy is still questionable and oftentimes uninspired.
Rating: 5.5

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: As I stated earlier, this section is probably tied with tileset and eyecandy and tileset use for the category this level best fares in. Not that this is saying all that much. There is a sufficient amount of ammo to allow for interesting play, although it sometimes goes overboard. Another big problem with this level is a bug revolving around the stomping of the ammo boxes in the “ammo hut.” This causes, because of the sudden animation of all of the ammo, the disappearance of the player’s sprite. This is really an annoying side-effect and should be avoided whenever possible in any level. This level also contains a seeker, which switches the ammo ammount from below average, mainly basic ammo to too power-up oriented.
Pros: Could be worse.
Cons: Seeker powerup throws off balance. Annoying disappearing sprite bug in the ammo hut.
Rating: 5.2

ORIGINALITY: This level is not really original. It is, more or less, just a standard really small Jungle level. Not much more to say here.
Pros: None.
Cons: Not original.
Rating: 2.7

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Here is where the level hits quite a few large snags. The first snag is a major bug revolving around the tree which boarders a line of sucker tubes which are intended to send the player hurdling back into the play area. It is not that hard to cause, especially when a player is trying. If you just stand on the tree and walk slowly to the right, you can bypass the sucker tubes and go onto the other side of the tree. From there, the player can not only not get up, but also can fall off a nearby cliff. The land does stretch for a bit after the tree, but eventually comes to a very abrupt end where the player simply falls off of the level. This is quite a big glitch, and while it is fun to exploit, it should have been caught and fixed before uploading. Beyond that, there are a few things fundamentally wrong with this level. Spaz can access the top area without aide of anything but his double jump, while Jazz must find other ways. This is not a huge problem, but it does leave Spaz in much a better of a position than Jazz. Also, there is an area of this level which looks solid but is in the background. This sort of thing has always bothered me, and probably always will. I dislike invisible things that look like they are solid, especially when it is difficult to get back up after you fall. Due to the size of this level, gameplay is not very amazing and it is hard to give information on layout. However, one thing is certain. The level seems disorganized and sloppy, with little of a layout. Not to mention it is small and buggy. Not a good score in this category.
Pros: It is, yet again, not as bad as it could be.
Cons: The major bug regarding the sucker tube and tree should be fixed immediately. The annoying invisible background eyecandy thing. Jazz being unable to jump to the top area. The level’s size. Really, the list goes on. This level is just fundamentally flawed.
Rating: 3.5

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: I have played this level online, as another reviewer decided to host it for a while after reviewing it. Most of the play concerned exploiting the interesting tree sucker tube bug and killing the player on the other side. While, at first, this can be fun, this is still not enough to raise my score or anything. Not to mention this gets old after about the tenth game of “transtree tag,” so to speak. After that, this level is reduced to a fairly uninteresting and all together too small Jungle level with an uninspired atmosphere.
Pros: The tree bug thing was sort of fun. Sort of.
Cons: The rest of the level is really dull.
Rating: 3.7

OVERALL (not an average): Yet another miniature battle level, and yet another disappointment. I would recommend next time spending a bit more time on the level, and definitely making something bigger and checking it for bugs more thuroughly. Still, I have seen what you have done in the past, and if you spend time and dedicate yourself to making the level, I am sure you can make something pretty good. However, this just is not it. I am afraid that I can not recommend this for download and I am afraid that this level probably can not be fixed well enough. The idea of the level, along with the many major bugs and flawed layout make this a fairly unforgiving repair prospect and probably a good idea to put in the past.
Pros: It could have been worse.
Cons: Some really severe bugs definitely get in the way of play. This level has too many flaws to list.
Rating: 4.2

GAMEPLAY: D
Flow: D
Layout: D -
Creativity: D
Bugs: D -

EYECANDY: C+
Tileset use: C+
Eyecandy look: C+
Creativity: C
Bugs: C

PLACEMENT: C
Weapons: C
Carrots: N/A

THE FINAL GRADE: C -

THE FINAL RATING: 4.2

Pros: It could have been worse.
Cons: Some really severe bugs definitely get in the way of play. This level has too many flaws to list.

- Trafton

What is it lately that is causing new levelmakers to make extremely solid and well-done Diamondus levels? I am not sure, but I definitely like whatever poltergeist out there that is causing this most miraculous of occurances. This is yet another level in a long line of very good Diamondus levels from new levelmakers to be uploaded lately (for those who are not paying much attention, the previous levels I am referring to are spazz’s “A Diamond For You All” and raptor’s “Dynamite Diamonds”). Constructive criticism is always a good thing. While this level is quite good, there are a few small bugs and annoyances, which of course I will outline in this review, but those are not big enough to hurt the score of what is, all in all, a great level.

TILESET/TILESET USE: Diamondus 2 which is, for those who do not know, the night version of the original Diamondus, is used very nicely here. There is plenty of foreground, background, and normal layer eyecandy to keep the player interested, and there is not much in the way of eyecandy errors. There are a few small ones, I suppose, mainly revolving around areas in which secrets are covered by layer three. In these areas, the player’s ears or feet can sometimes be seen from above the covered tiles. It is often a good idea to cover all tiles within a one tile radius of secret areas with layer three wall, so the character can not at all be seen through the cracks in the walls. Otherwise, eyecandy was quite good. Diamondus is indeed an overused tileset, but this level is not very bland-looking, which is a very good thing for it. Eyecandy is solid and nicely done.
Pros: Very nicely done in general.
Cons: A few small layer three bugs.
Rating: 7.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: If there is a single thing that is wrong with this level, it could be that there are a few too many gems. I suppose that some people probably would like this huge amount of gems, but I would rather see it toned down just a bit. The same goes for ammo, although less so. There are a lot of areas of both straight gems and ammo in this level. There is some clumping going on, but not that much. Still, I would like to see the ammo especially reduced a bit to make this a bit harder. Enemies are placed very well.
Pros: Pretty good in general.
Cons: Maybe a bit overkill in gems and ammo.
Rating: 7.0

ORIGINALITY: This level could have had problems in the originality category. Why? Because, well, it is simply a single player Diamondus level. However, there are a few things that save it from getting a low score. The first of these is that the level has many unique elements. The bird puzzle of sorts is quite interesting, and so are the various multiple paths throughout the level. Unlike many first levels, this level is not linear. You can choose which path you want to go on, although you might end up having to take all routes eventually in some way. Still, it is nice to see this non-linearity, and is a rare find in a first level. Nice job.
Rating: 7.7

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Gameplay and design waas yet another category in which this level did quite well. There were not many problems at all with the gameplay design. The only problem that I could find was one in which some wind lefts and wind rights took you in a continous circle. I could not, for my life, find any way to get out of this. I may be missing something, but that still seemed really difficult if not impossible relative to the rest of the level, so I will call it a bug. I won’t let such a small, and possibly not existant, bug ruin the score, so I will not detract very much at all for it. Other than that small blip, gameplay was solid and very well-done. It was not linear, and it definitely was quite fun to play.
Pros: Very fun and not linear.
Cons: One problem with the wind rights and wind lefts was a bit perplexing.
Rating: 7.6

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: This is a fairly large level. It is interesting to note that about a third through the level, the level claims that it is about to end. Another sign, however, informs the player that it was just a joke. This is a good thing, because the level would have been fairly small if it ended there. However, it is quite big. There are many routes, and a lot of it goes by quite quickly. This is one of those levels which is fun to play several times. Definitely a good replay value.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: 7.7

OVERALL (not an average): The spectre of quality first levels made in Diamondus strikes again, and this time the ghostly figure delives better than ever. This level is a high-quality single player level that definitely is worthy of play. For a first level, or for that matter, an any-level, this is quality and definitely shows a huge amount of promise. Keep making levels, as this is very, very, very good and shows pretty much none of the mistakes most first-time levelmakers make. Great job. This is definitely worth a download.
Pros: Very good. Not linear. Fun to play. Great for a first level.
Cons: The wind bug was a bit annoying. A lot of ammo, perhaps too much. Small layer three bugs. None of these are major enough to do anything to the score, though.
Rating: 7.5

GAMEPLAY: B+
Flow: A -
Layout: A -
Creativity: A -
Bugs: B

EYECANDY: B+
Tileset use: B+
Eyecandy look: A -
Creativity: B+
Bugs: B+

PLACEMENT: B+
Weapons: B
Carrots: A-

THE FINAL GRADE: B+

THE FINAL RATING: 7.5

Pros: Very good. Not linear. Fun to play. Great for a first level.
Cons: The wind bug was a bit annoying. A lot of ammo, perhaps too much. Small layer three bugs. None of these are major enough to do anything to the score, though.

- Trafton

This is a strangely-named level, but nonetheless a quality one. The only fault I may find with it is that it is perhaps too easy. I beat it quite easily, and did not die even once. Still, that is not of as much importance as the overall quality of level is, so I will dwell on that no longer.

This level uses “7th Lava Fall” by Dethman. This tileset is indeed quite good and well-done, and this trancends into the level’s overall eyecandy. Eyecandy in general looks nice and shows some degree of though in addition to the normal plain everyday tiles. The eyecandy is not spectacular, but is still very well-done.

As I said earlier, the gameplay of this level is perhaps a bit too easy for most. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, it may be a bit offputting for those who are significantly experienced at Jazz Jackrabbit 2. There are not too many enemies and there are many oppurtunities in which to heal. Still, gameplay is alright and enjoyable in most cases.

Weapon and enemy placement was sufficiently adaquete. Aside from perhaps having too few enemies, there is not much to notate in this section of the rating. The placement of weapons is also nicely done.

What to make of this level? It is indeed a good single player level that will probably be enjoyable to play. While some may dislike the fact that it is, in fact, quite an easy level, if you get past that, it turns into a fun game. There are some oddly-placed warps that make it less fun, too. However, overall, this is still a nice level and worth your playing. As always, happy levelmaking.

- Trafton

This level indeed is alright for a first level. Regardless, I refuse to rate higher just because it is a first level. After all, that would be absurdly unfair to anyone who made such a level as a second level. Level quality does not change simply depending on when a level is uploaded and what level number the level is for the author.

This level uses the classic “Carrotus” tileset by the Epic team in some more or less intriguing yet simplistic ways. Eyecandy is probably one of the better parts of this level, but not by any weight or measure of significance.

The gameplay in this level is simplistic at best and tedious at worst. In practice, the level was enjoyable at times but suffered from an overall air of mediocrity that can only be described as moderately offputting and more or less morbid.

Weapon placement was perhaps the most guilty section of this area. Weapon placement was generic, boring, and weapons were often all clumped together in one area, which definitely hurt gameplay.

So, what of this level? Overall, this is probably below average. I can not find any time in which I would be able to recommend this, but some might like it. My final score is a 4.5. Good luck with future levelmaking. This level does offer some interesting points, but there is a lot to be wanted that is not in this level. A lot. And, if you wish to improve your levelmaking, I recommend you look after these sorts of things. Regardless, this is not bad, and is worth a download. Good luck with future levelmaking.

- Trafton

“Medivo Battle” is a minibattle level. In fact, at 50×40 (and not much of that used), it is quite mini. Most minibattle levels feature a moderate amount of powerups and are well-fitted for a lot of people. While this level does fit the criterea, it suffers from an overdose of powerups, a lack of interesting eyecandy, and a way-too-easy to get coin warp. This level probably does not have that much effort put into it, but shows some skill. Everything is placed together in a way that demonstrates some knowledge of JCS. However, after that, there are some major problems with this level that definitely need attention before it can be any good.

TILESET/TILESET USE: The “JJ1: Medivo” conversion is used in this level. Unfortunately, it is not used very much. Most of this level consists of being in the air, so there is not much eyecandy for a lot of it. It would have been nice to at least see background eyecandy in the areas in which you were in the air, but there was very little if any. The areas on the ground demonstrated acceptable eyecandy, and although they were not amazingly good or flashy, they were good enough.
Pros: The areas on the ground have acceptable eyecandy.
Cons: The part of the level which takes place in the air has very little eyecandy.
Rating: 3.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: If there is one place in which this level fails, it is weapon and item placement. There are simply too many weapons and items. Powerup overdose is a big problem here. There are almost ten powerups in total within this level. That makes one powerup per about 20 square tiles, which is pretty overdone. You might think that in such a small level, this would make it really easy to be killed. Not so. This level balances out the amount of weapons with invincibility carrots. This is, however, where the level makes a big overestimation. It makes this overestimation in the fact that the carrots have way too long of an effect. The player who gets it is invincible for 15 seconds, while they can go around and kill and heal. This is way too long. While this would be acceptable if there were a lot of players in the game at once, this is not necessarily always what happens. It needs work in this category.
Pros: Not as bad as it could be.
Cons: Overestimation on amount of powerups versus carrots.
Rating: 2.5

ORIGINALITY: The idea of minibattle levels are nothing new to say the least. However, they are somewhat original. Though that does not necessarily mean the level is original. I doubt this level was intended to be micro, and it has nothing that shows that it is in the microbattle format, so it is nothing but a really small battle level. Sigh.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: The gameplay falls short, much like a lot of other things in this level. This is mostly because of the problem I mentioned early with the carrots and powerups. It is true that this is a seperate category. However, it is badly affected by this, and therefore that deserves mention. The rest of the non-related category is not exactly very good either. For instance, the level’s layout is awful. The level flows badly, and collisions are extremely likely. This category is not so good.
Pros: A few interesting places.
Cons: Not many. Masking issues. Not ver interesting gameplay. The carrot/ammo problem.
Rating: 3.2

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: There is not much replay to this, unless you are in a server with a lot of people. I suppose in that case it might be mildly interesting, but probably not interesting enough to keep interest. Wow, that was redundant.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: 3.2

OVERALL (not an average): I think the rest of this review pretty much sums up this level. Too small, not of good quality, and generally not worth it. Sorry, and while this does show effort, I’m afraid that it is too small to be worth anything more than the 3.5 I am getting it. Perhaps consider making a bigger level next time and spending more time on it.
Pros: Eyecandy could be worse.
Cons: And everything including it could be better. Much, much better.
Rating: 3.5

GAMEPLAY: D
Flow: D -
Layout: D -
Creativity: C -
Bugs: D+

EYECANDY: C -
Tileset use: D+
Eyecandy look: C -
Creativity: C -
Bugs: C -

PLACEMENT: D -
Weapons: D -

THE FINAL GRADE: D

THE FINAL RATING: 3.5

Pros: Eyecandy could be worse.
Cons: And everything including it could be better. Much, much better.

- Trafton

I’m afraid that there are two things wrong with that statement. The first is that this is your level, and you should not rate it. We do. The second is that there is no such rating as 7.9, and even if there was, I would definitely not rate it that. Here is my original review for the beta, which I did while I thought it was battle:

Well, the first thing I have to say (this is a standard thing), is that the general rule is that betas should not be uploaded. They sort of mess up the review system, as technically they have to get low ratings, as we rate what is there, not what could be there. And, as such, this level will get a low rating. But it still shows some degree of promise, although it does half several very major problems, such as how it just stops mid-level. It is small in its current form, although there are a few things that I will point out that definitely show quite a bit of promise. So let’s start the review.

TILESET/TILESET USE: I am honestly not sure what exactly to make of this tileset use. In parts, tileset use is mainly dull and uninteresting for the most part, but in other parts the eyecandy is quite good. What balance is there? Well, there is some. Throughout the level, there are annoying foreground things which go by way too fast and do not exactly fit. However, in many places, the layer 4 eyecandy is actually quite nice. It is too early in this level’s creation (yet again, the beta problem) in order to tell how well it will turn out, but for now, it is actually above average. Nice job, especially for a first level.
Pros: Everything seems to fit together, and some looks quite nice.
Cons: Nothing amazing. Foreground annoyances. Some areas are dull.
Rating: 5.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: This part of the level definitely needs work. The main problem with the entire thing is that there are no generators on the items (click on “Create a generator for this event” when choosing the event from the events list and then specify a delay in order to do this). Therefore, once someone gets the ammo, it is gone for good. Unlike many first levels, ammo is surprisingly sparce. There is only a bit of somewhat useless ice at the beginning and some RF ammo in a secret area. There are no powerups or anything, and since nothing regenerates, most of the time the player is stuck simply using blaster and sidekicks. Generators are definitely needed, and more ammo would be nice, too.
Pros: Not as bad as it could be.
Cons: No generators.
Rating: 2.5

ORIGINALITY: This level is not all that original. But, then again, originality is not expected on a first level. There are indeed a few elements of this creation that are fairly original. Tubes are used fairly well, although the entire design is more or less linear. And then there are springs in the middle of a walkway, Battle2 style. I’m still not sure how hot I am on this. It stops you from being able to go through quickly, although it does fill in space. The float ups are nice, and it is rare to see a lot of these advanced concepts in a first level. The thing about this level is, although it does get a low rating, it shows a lot of promise. The techniques used in this level are generally not the sort of thing most levelmakers use until the first or second level. If this was completed and everything was filled in/fixed, it would probably get more than a 6. Which is, all things considered, very high for a first level. Add more eyecandy, fix the generators, and make the level a lot bigger, and you have yourself here a solid level indeed.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: This rating gets quite a bit of a hit because this level allows the player to just fall off a cliff. This is not really acceptable, and should have been fixed before uploading if not anything. Other than that, this level has an okay flow. For some reason, this level bares resemblance to both the race and battle levels that use Tubeelectric (the placement of the ice and the springs that bounce you back towards the wall remind me of the race level, and the springs the battle). Whatever, this level has an okay layout other than the whole falling off a cliff thing. Too early to decide, however, whether or not it is really good. Keep on working, though – it is promising.
Pros: Some areas are very nicely done, and if compled, it will probably be good.
Cons: The falling off the cliff thing and size.
Rating: 2.2

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: Not much to say here. It’s a beta, and therefore not much fun and fairly buggy.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): This level shows a lot of promise. And I mean quite a bit. However, it is too early to pass much judgement. This beta does get a low rating from me because of the bugs and size, but it still shows good promise and you are on the right track. I would recommend adding generators and such in addition to more ammo and probably more eyecandy. Still, you are definitely on the right track, especially for a first level. Nicely done so far. Keep up the work.
Pros: Shows promise. Not bad gameplay.
Cons: Still needs some work. Small. You can fall off the platform.
Rating: 3.0

GAMEPLAY: D -
Flow: C
Layout: C+
Creativity: B -
Bugs: F

EYECANDY: B+
Tileset use: B+
Eyecandy look: B+
Creativity: B+
Bugs: B -

PLACEMENT: D -
Weapons: D -

THE FINAL GRADE: D+

THE FINAL RATING: 3.0

+ PROS: So far, fairly good and promising. Keep working on this level.
- CONS: Still needs some work. Small. You can fall off the platform.

- Trafton

EDIT: Generally demos are not allowed and I do tend to rate everything. However, I will leave this unrated upon your request. Just remember in the future that demos probably are a bad idea to upload. Sorry if I hurt your feelings. :)

And here is my review for the final. What all has changed? Not a huge amount. It is still a good level with a few problems. But it is now bigger, and there are now a few more eyecandy problems, and a few more gameplay problems. Let’s review, shall we?

TILESET/TILESET USE: I am honestly not sure what exactly to make of this tileset use. In parts, tileset use is mainly dull and uninteresting for the most part, but in other parts the eyecandy is quite good. What balance is there? Well, there is some. Throughout the level, there are annoying foreground things which go by way too fast and do not exactly fit. However, in many places, the layer 4 eyecandy is actually quite nice. It is too early in this level’s creation (yet again, the beta problem) in order to tell how well it will turn out, but for now, it is actually above average. Nice job, especially for a first level.
THIS TIME AROUND: Well, there has been a lot of stuff added. Most of the eyecandy is alright, although there are some fairly major annoyances. The entire level looks okay, although there are destruct block portions that are, for all intents and purposes, ugly. Everything looks like it would work one way, yet works another.
Pros: Everything seems to fit together, and some looks quite nice.
Cons: Nothing amazing. Foreground annoyances. Some areas are dull.
Rating: 5.5

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: This part of the level definitely needs work. The main problem with the entire thing is that there are no generators on the items (click on “Create a generator for this event” when choosing the event from the events list and then specify a delay in order to do this). Therefore, once someone gets the ammo, it is gone for good. Unlike many first levels, ammo is surprisingly sparce. There is only a bit of somewhat useless ice at the beginning and some RF ammo in a secret area. There are no powerups or anything, and since nothing regenerates, most of the time the player is stuck simply using blaster and sidekicks. Generators are definitely needed, and more ammo would be nice, too.
THIS TIME AROUND: There are still a little too few ammos, but now that I know this is single player (sheepish smile), that is not such of a big problem. Rating raised accordingly. However, there is one problem – the enemies, they are often right below you when you exit the suckers. There is no way to avoid this. Better placement would have been nice.
Pros: Not as bad as it could be.
Cons: Enemy placement needs work.
Rating: 5.2

ORIGINALITY: This level is not all that original. But, then again, originality is not expected on a first level. There are indeed a few elements of this creation that are fairly original. Tubes are used fairly well, although the entire design is more or less linear. And then there are springs in the middle of a walkway, Battle2 style. I’m still not sure how hot I am on this. It stops you from being able to go through quickly, although it does fill in space. The float ups are nice, and it is rare to see a lot of these advanced concepts in a first level. The thing about this level is, although it does get a low rating, it shows a lot of promise. The techniques used in this level are generally not the sort of thing most levelmakers use until the first or second level. If this was completed and everything was filled in/fixed, it would probably get more than a 6. Which is, all things considered, very high for a first level. Add more eyecandy, fix the generators, and make the level a lot bigger, and you have yourself here a solid level indeed.
THIS TIME AROUND: Nothing much to add.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: This rating gets quite a bit of a hit because this level allows the player to just fall off a cliff. This is not really acceptable, and should have been fixed before uploading if not anything. Other than that, this level has an okay flow. For some reason, this level bares resemblance to both the race and battle levels that use Tubeelectric (the placement of the ice and the springs that bounce you back towards the wall remind me of the race level, and the springs the battle). Whatever, this level has an okay layout other than the whole falling off a cliff thing. Too early to decide, however, whether or not it is really good. Keep on working, though – it is promising.
THIS TIME AROUND: The gameplay is more or less the same as I previously said, minus the falling off the cliffs thing.
Pros: Some areas are very nicely done, and if compled, it will probably be good.
Cons: The falling off the cliff thing and size.
Rating: 5.5

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: Not much to say here. It’s a beta, and therefore not much fun and fairly buggy.
THIS TIME AROUND: Not much more to add, although it is no longer buggy. Yay.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): This level shows a lot of promise. And I mean quite a bit. However, it is too early to pass much judgement. This beta does get a low rating from me because of the bugs and size, but it still shows good promise and you are on the right track. I would recommend adding generators and such in addition to more ammo and probably more eyecandy. Still, you are definitely on the right track, especially for a first level. Nicely done so far. Keep up the work.
THIS TIME AROUND: It is finished and thus vastly improved. However, it still needs some work. Good job so far, although you may be a little too proud of your work. I hope you will not act like others and only look at the negative things I say and the rating instead of the positives. No one can be good so early in and while having a competitive additude is good, become egotistical is not. Not that you have, but just something to keep a look out for. It is easy to slip into.
Pros: Shows promise. Not bad gameplay.
Cons: Still needs some work. Small. A little easy.
Rating: 5.7

GAMEPLAY: B -
Flow: C+
Layout: C+
Creativity: B
Bugs: B

EYECANDY: C
Tileset use: C
Eyecandy look: C
Creativity: C+
Bugs: C

PLACEMENT: C
Weapons: C+
Enemies: C -

THE FINAL GRADE: C+

THE FINAL RATING: 5.7

+ PROS: So far, fairly good and promising. Keep working on this level.
- CONS: Still needs some work. Small. Enemies are placed annoyingly.

- Trafton

“Sunshine Walking” is an interesting idea. It is not often that new level makers use their own tileset in a early level and it does not work very badly. While I can not say that this is my favorite tileset by any measurement at all, it does offer some eyecandy, there are other problems. The gameplay was not exactly amazing, either. And a lot of this can be traced back to one thing – the tileset. The tileset’s mask is one of the major faults of this piece. The tileset often caused me to get stuck and because of poor masking on the diagonal surfaces, the level flowed badly. It is also fairly small and there is not all that much to bring the level’s quality back up. At least for a while after first using JCS, I recommend people use other’s tilesets. Building your own tileset and then using it in a level is definitely a challenge, and perhaps one that this amount of experience does not allow for.

TILESET/TILESET USE: It is often hard to compare the quality of new tileset-using levels, as no other level has used them before. But there is one thing which is definitely obvious what sort of quality the tileset is of, and the tileset use. While it is apparent that the author did attempt to make the best use of his (I think) first tileset, it is also apparent that the tileset is not exactly ready. The masking, if anything, is at the most fault here. There are a lot of jaggies throughout the level that the player can get stuck on, which not only reduces flow, but also proves troublesome and makes the level look bad. The eyecandy itself is not wonderous either. The entire level was indeed quite bland. Overall, not a good job here.
Pros: It is nice to see that the author went to the trouble of creating a tileset for this level. And then it is obvious some effort was put in.
Cons: None of this was enough to save the level from having bad eyecandy.
Rating: 4.0

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Here is yet another area in this level that needs some serious work before being good enough to be even average. First of all, the level has very little ammo. Most of the ammo is more or less easy to get, though, and the lack of ammo is not that bad, considering how short the level is. Still, it does not look as if much thought was put into the selection of where to put all this ammo. The same goes for enemies. Enemies are placed in some interesting areas, but everything seems to not have been thought through well enough. The enemies are placed in areas which are inconvinient and downright hard to get to, therefore making the player go out of his or her way simply to kill one, when they could just be evaded just as easily.
Pros: Not as bad as it could be.
Cons: Bad placement all around.
Rating: 4.5

ORIGINALITY: The idea of this level is not that original at all. However, there are a few parts of this level that are more or less interesting, although none of them are used very well. The first thing is that this level uses the author’s presumably first tileset (at least first publically released tileset, I think.) The tileset does not exactly look very good and functions poorly, but does provide some originality to this level. The second thing that you somewhat rarely see is the warps in areas in which the player could simply fall to the ground – they warp you back to start. These warps, however, are annoying and quickly become more of a burden than an interesting part of gameplay. They are easily avoidable, though, if you are actually trying. Good examples of somewhat original concepts used badly.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: When I first saw the areas in which there was no floor in the level, I was sort of expecting that I would be able to just fall through them. Fortunately, the author decided to place warps down there. This did not add all that much to gameplay, but was better than just getting stuck down there and being unable to get up. The rest of the level fared similarly. Nothing was as bad as it possibly could be, but nothing was very good, either. The masking of the tileset, yet again, was this level’s biggest problem. Flow and everything was hurt by this. It was difficult to smoothly navigate the level. This level simply does not play very well. Oh, yes, and this level is too easy and short.
Pros: A few interesting places.
Cons: Not many. Masking issues
Rating: 4.5

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: I obviously do not like this level as much as the previous reviewers. It was not fun to play more than once, in my opinion. In fact, it was not all that fun to play the first time.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: 4.2

OVERALL (not an average): It is apparent that the author did put some degree of effort into this level. Unfortunately, that effort was brought down by the poor tileset. It probably would be a better idea to use someone else’s tileset until you can get both a good hang of how to use JCS very well and a good hang of how to make tilesets. Still, this level is not all that bad, and while it is below average, there are much worse. Continue making levels with others’ tilesets. This does show promise, although it also needs definite work.
Pros: Shows promise. Uses authors’ own tileset. Shows effort.
Cons: The tileset is badly done and masked.
Rating: 4.5

GAMEPLAY: C -
Flow: D+
Layout: C
Creativity: C
Bugs: C -

EYECANDY: C -
Tileset use: C+
Eyecandy look: D
Creativity: C
Bugs: D

PLACEMENT: C
Weapons: C

THE FINAL GRADE: C -

THE FINAL RATING: 4.5

+ PROS: Does show effort, and the author did use his own tileset.
- CONS: Major masking issues. Not good gameplay. Too short.

- Trafton

Here is the player’s manual without all the formatting and such for those who are unsure of whether to download or not:

..:: Player’s Manual: Domination ::..

Setup
You need at least 6 people; two of which will be scorekeepers, the others will be actual players
It is recommended that you play on a stable server – timeouts are annoying.
Set the game on CTF, one point to win.

This is where the players will all start off, including the server and the scorekeepers.
This is the scorekeeper’s box. To get in here, go through the warp, which is just above it in this level. If you can’t find it in other levels, ask someone.
This is the crate that locks the entrance to the crate area. Simple enough.
This crate lets the scorekeepers through first. Scorekeepers must make sure that they fall on your designated point or they won’t end up where they should be. (Below the box, there are different coloured blocks that have a warp just above. No two scorekeepers should have the same warp!)
Lastly, this is the Start Crate. Note that this crate is NOT Jazz-friendly.

During Gameplay
Player’s Objective: locate the domination points and guard them against the opposing team
The way you achieve points is to be on that point by yourself or with your team. Only one team must remain on a point in order to rack up points.
For every 5 seconds since you made the claim, your team receives one point. The first team to come up with exactly 60 points on one domination point wins the game.
If at least one player from both teams occupies one point, counting stops until only one team remains there once again.

Guidelines
If a player gets stuck/disconnected, counting stops (no points awarded) until (s)he is freed.
If a tie is declared, the first team to get a +3 streak in kills wins. Or, you can play a next game tiebreaker.
Part seconds don’t count. (ex. 3 seconds doesn’t count for one point)
Every so often, scorekeepers must say who is winning, and by (approximately) how much. (ex. “Red is winning by about 10 points.”)
If a different team dominates a point, the scorekeeper is obligated to say which team currently has that position. If no team occupies a point, it is considered “open”.
Finishing the Game
One or both scorekeepers will pick up a gold coin in the starting box. In the area they warp to afterwards, there will be a coin warp. Note that this warp is only to be taken when a winner/tie is declared.
The coin warp takes the scorekeeper to a little area where they will then score one point in CTF, starting the level switch.

Notes
It doesn’t matter what team the scorekeepers are on – just as long as the players are happy with teammates and opponents.
To make it easier on scorekeepers, man made writing utensils and paper for them to use in the game. (Ticks or numbers – take your pick)
It is important that the scorekeeper is worthy of everyone’s trust, as he/she will be the only one keeping track of points for that specific domination point.

From the Author (of this document)
You may not edit this document without my permission.
Contacts: MSN Messenger, Email: Fire_Pokemon__@hotmail.com (I’ve had this mail since I first started playing JJ2 – in ’98. I never bothered to change it since. Stop laughing.)
I don’t own this gameplay – don’t sue me!
Feel free to make your own Domination levels (you can also include this document).
Last updated: April 14, 2003

================================

First off, I would just like to say that I am reviewing the level and not the gametype. I am debating whether or not to include a rating, but for now I will not. Since the gametype does decide some of the elements of the level (notably its size), the level would probably get a fairly low rating (six point something or other). So I will not give it one for now.

TILESET/TILESET USE: Blade’s “Space” is used fairly well. There is not an increadible amount of eyecandy, but it is suitable for a level such as this. The theme seems to be, unsurprisingly, a space station, and it looks pretty good. I found no eyecandy errors, and nothing I could find looked questionable. The level is small, and that probably does make eyecandy a bit easier. All of the different tile types were used and everything, and generally everything was quite well-done. Nice job.
Pros: Everything seems to fit together, and looks quite nice.
Cons: Not all that surprising, considering the level’s size.
Rating: 7.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Again, this factor was not bad. All of the ammo was not powered up, but that is not a fault. In fact, for a level of this type and size and gamemode, this is probably a good thing. All off the basic ammo was positioned well where players could access it without too much trouble, and it was not that hard to find everything. Overall, this meter was very good.
Pros: Very nicely done.
Cons: No major ones.
Rating: 8.2

ORIGINALITY: It is a new gametype, so it definitely is original.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Gameplay was generally good. The only real complaint I had involves the fact that the level is sometimes hard to navigate. That and teaching players who join what the gamemode is, but that is not a level flaw. Too small, though.
Pros: N/A
Cons: N/A
Rating: 5.7

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: This would involve rating the gamemode, which I am not going to do. So nya.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): This is a solid, but small level, that is well suited for the gameplay. No rating, though, since this does not deserve much of a rating as a demo level of sorts.
Pros: Solid level for the gamemode.
Cons: Small. Not good for any other gamemode.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY: B
Flow: B -
Layout: B
Creativity: A
Bugs: A

EYECANDY: A -
Tileset use: A -
Eyecandy look: A
Creativity: B+
Bugs: A

PLACEMENT: B+
Weapons: B+

THE FINAL GRADE: N/A

THE FINAL RATING: N/A

+ PROS: Good for the gameplay.
- CONS: Nothing much, that is, if you are playing this level in its true gamemode.

- Trafton

This took a while to write, and there probably are quite a few errors, mostly because, well, I am tired and I wrote this all in somewhat of a rush. It is not as long as I wanted or thought it would be, but oh well. This level pack is fantastic, and there simply is no excuse in the world that I can reasonably think of to not download it. It really is that good.

For those interested in seeing the original SXR, you can download it here. It was recently fixed and everything, so yay. It’s a great pack, as is this, and might be good to play before playing this pack. Besides, it’s a killer pack, anyway, even if you do not play this one, which I hope you do play. But anyways…

To start off, this is sort of a followup to the legendary SXR pack, but not really. It features no storyline, but it is by the same person, and the general level style is the same. I hope this review sheds a bit of light on what is, in my opinion, a fantastic level pack. We’ll see.

First of all, I would like to apologize for the short review. I did not really have all that much time this weekend to work on it, and it seems to be a little inconclusive to me. But it is good enough for now. I might edit it again, because I can not stand keeping this review so short when there is plenty of useless rambling that I could do to add onto it.

Well, this is apparently Spaztic’s followup to the legendarily Shellion’s Xtreme Revenge pack. It has been quite a while since the original SXR was released (which was, for its time, and even now, an amazing level pack), and I was questioning how good this pack would be. From what I have seen so far upon writing this, though, the wait was worth it. This is simply a really good pack. While it may not have as many levels as Rabbit Honour Guard or some packs that have came along, it still features quite a number of enjoyable levels that are generally well-made. There is not a storyline, which is probably a complaint that will be heard a lot, but that is not as important as gameplay. I would rather have a level pack featuring absolutely no storyline but amazing gameplay to a level pack with a great storyline but horrible levels any day of the week. Storyline or not, NIP is a gripping pack from the start to the end. It well balances the traditional puzzle-like elements of SXR with a few areas of action and makes for a challenging, enjoyable experience. I highly recommend this pack, and it is definitely one of the best packs to come along in quite a while. It does have a few flaws, and not all of the levels are great, but all together, this is one of the most creative and well-crafted level packs to come along in ages. Above all, it was a pleasure to review, even though it took ages to write. Now that the intro is over with, let’s review, shall we?

NIP Start (Emerald Isle)
GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: The first level in the pack, unlike the original SXR, puts you right in the middle of the action – no storyline yet. A text sign, and a bee, introduce you to the N.I.P. (Nothing in Partcicular) pack and then you start playing. When I first began playing the level, I noticed quite a few parallells to the previous incarnation of SXR. Namely, the level emphasised searching for hidden secrets as much as action, and possibly even more. At times, this caused a lot of confusion. For instance, there was one part where I was stuck for quite some time, and another where I just could not find how to get out. There was one area (with bouncing crates and springs) in which I suddenly just self-destructed for no apparent reason. I tried again, this time with jjgod, and the same thing happened. I’m interested in knowing what caused this and if I’m missing something, but if it was supposed to be some sort of puzzle…well…it could use instructions. Gameplay was still really well-done and generally SXR-like. I have no major complaints, although it was, at times, a tad confusing. Still, that can be good in some ways.
PROS: Fun to play and challenging.
CONS: For those who like a lot of ammo and a lot of enemies, you may be disappointed.
RATING: 8.5

TILESET/TILESET USE: Eyecandy was also good, although near the area where there were many enemies at once before the bouncing springs, I noticed a few tile bugs. The tileset used is Diamondus, which is really quite overused, but still came out looking more or less spiffy. The background was nice (Carrotus and Diamondus, for all of their overuse, are capable of making some derned pretty backgrounds), and the rest of the eyecandy was lush enough to keep interest. Still, there is no getting past the fact that it is, after all, Diamondus, and Diamondus is as overused as heck. Although I can’t fault this level in tileset use – it certainally uses the tileset to the best it can be used without going overboard or doing anything ultra-strange.
PROS: Good looking in many parts.
CONS: Dull.
RATING: 7.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Enemy and weapon placement was also good, although the later was a bit sparse. There were plenty of enemies and for the lion’s share of time, you’ll be fighing them with nothing more than your trusty blaster. There are a few weapons scattered about, but really most of this is simply aiming and shooting with the blaster. Different ideas about different weapon placements, I suppose. There was also some food in this level, although not enough to make sugar rushes a huge possibility.
PROS: Challenging.
CONS: Very little ammo.
RATING: 8.2

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: This level is enjoyable to play again, although it is fairly linear. There is only one possible route to the entire thing, and after playing it once, one knows all the secrets, so the second time is not quite as fun. After not playing this pack for a while so all the secrets are forgotten, playing it again would probably be fun. That is not the fault of the author as much as the fault of the nature of this pack. Still, it’s fun to play several times, mostly because it is challenging, and definitely original.
PROS: Fun to play and definitely original.
CONS: Not a great replay.
RATING: 8.2

OVERALL (not an average): Overall, this level is quite good. For those who are not used to playing levels which make use of secret hidden elements, this may be quite a challenge. It is about as difficult as SXR was, and has many similar chararistics. The puzzle-secret elements are similar, and the enemies seem to be placed in a similar fashion. Before beta testing this pack, I was worried that this would resemble SXR a lot and would not have progressed along with the general levelmaking quality. Fortunately, it seems to have progressed well and so far, this pack is superior to SXR in most ways. There were a few areas in which gameplay or eyecandy was dull or uninteresting, but that was the minority of the time. Generally, this level was enjoyable, well-made and challenging. Well done so far.
PROS: Great gameplay.
CONS: Uninteresting eyecandy.
RATING: 8.2

GAMEPLAY: A
Flow: A
Layout: A
Creativity: A -
Bugs: A -

EYECANDY: B+
Tileset use: A
Eyecandy look: B+
Creativity: B+
Bugs: A -

PLACEMENT: A -
Weapons: B+
Enemies: A

THE FINAL GRADE: A -

THE FINAL RATING: 8.2

Fungi Jungle
GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Much like in the original SXR (here I go making paralells again), all of the levels use somewhat the same formula. What I mean by this is that they are all centered around the same general idea – moderately difficult enemies and some hard-to-find secrets that constitute the puzzle elements. It, much like the previous level, also features a good balance of the two that benefits the gameplay spectacurally. It’s fun to play, much like the last level, and is challenging as the rest of these levels are, although a bit less hard than the previous level, perhaps. The puzzles are slightly more challenging, though nothing huge has changed since the past level. Like the former level, this level is fun to play and challenging, but does not do anything revolutionary.
PROS: Enjoyable. Puzzles.
CONS: Not enough action for some.
RATING: 8.5

TILESET/TILESET USE: Yet again, a tileset that is used fairly often – this time the Jungle tileset. Fortunately, Jungle is used significantly less than Diamondus, and thus ends up looking fairly good. There were few tile bugs, and although there was a few places in which eyecandy was more or less plain, generally it looked good enough. I feel as if I am repeating myself a lot from level to level within this pack, but they bare many similarities. That is not to say, of course, that they are too similar so that they are not interesting. It’s just that there are generalizations one can make from level to level in this pack fairly easily. And, of course, when it’s quality that is the rule, I have absolutely no objection to the generalizations being there.
PROS: No errors.
CONS: Nothing amazing, again.
RATING: 8.5

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: As you would expect with a level that is placed within the jungle, there are quite a few Monkey enemies. Yet again, there are not a ton of weapons, nor is there none, but overall there seemed to be few weapons. Some players may love this, and some may despise it, but I’m sort of inbetween the two opinions. Sure, it may be more difficult, but that can be a good thing, too. Most weapons are oriented to the various puzzles. Enemy placement was good, although I wish there were a few more non-Monkey enemies.
PROS: Well-placed enemies.
CONS: Very little ammo.
RATING: 8.0

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: I could put the exact same thing as last time here. The level is emphasised on a combonation of action and puzzle elements, and generally, since the puzzle elements are mainly secret-based, the second play the level will be significantly easier for those who happen to have a better memory than I do. Originality was also similar – there was nothing that really stood out about these levels, but they are high-quality, and therefore original in some ways. The way the secret-based puzzles work was more or less revolutionary in SXR, and, while it is no longer as amazing, it still is different from most levels that you see.
PROS: Fun to play.
CONS: Not extraordinarily original.
RATING: 8.0

OVERALL (not an average): Overall, this level is quite good. For those who are not used to playing levels which make use of secret hidden elements, this may be quite a challenge. It is about as difficult as SXR was, and has many similar chararistics. The puzzle-secret elements are similar, and the enemies seem to be placed in a similar fashion. Before beta testing this pack, I was worried that this would resemble SXR a lot and would not have progressed along with the general levelmaking quality. Fortunately, it seems to have progressed well and so far, this pack is superior to SXR in most ways. There were a few areas in which gameplay or eyecandy was dull or uninteresting, but that was the minority of the time. Generally, this level was enjoyable, well-made and challenging. Well done so far.
PROS: Fun to play and well made.
CONS: Nothing spectacular.
RATING: 8.2

GAMEPLAY: A -
Flow: A -
Layout: A
Creativity: A -
Bugs: A -

EYECANDY: A -
Tileset use: A
Eyecandy Look: A -
Creativity: A -
Bugs: A -

PLACEMENT: A -
Weapons: A -
Enemies: A -

THE FINAL GRADE: A -

THE FINAL RATING: 8.2

Sticks and Stones
GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: “Sticks and Stones” (which is apparently an inside joke that I miss) is a School v3-based level with some interesting gameplay, although it is not all that different from the previous levels. In this level, it seems that action is relatively more emphasised than puzzle elements. Sure, there are still quite a few puzzles, but most of them revolve around trying to find your way through layer 3 hidden elements, as opposed to finding crates and such. There are quite a number of enemies in this level, and there is a stretch where there are absolutely no puzzles but plenty – and I mean plenty – of enemies to kill you. A sign after that area reads “do not fear death” which is sort of odd, since it is positioned over a small grass pit that instantly kills you (do not fear it, even though it kills you? Eh?). The rest of the level was more or less similar to the previous ones, with a few crate puzzles, but it still seemingly had more enemies than the last few. I did not find any major gameplay errors that detracted from the fun, although at some times gameplay was more or less confusing. Still, good overall.
PROS: Well designed with some more action than the previous levels.
CONS: Some of the puzzles are a bit stupid.
RATING: 8.5

TILESET/TILESET USE: The “School v3” tileset is fairly cartoony, and Jazz is not exactly made to be in cartoony environments. If you look at most sucessful tilesets, you find one thing in common – the tilesets are either equally or less cartoony than Jazz himself. And using “School v3” presents a problem to level builders – frankly, the tileset really does look significantly more cartoony than most others. This level sort of uses a Who Framed Roger Rabbit approach in that it mixes cartoony tiles with the more realistic grass and park-ish tiles. This works well for the level, and in general, eyecandy came out to be very well-done and did not look bad at all. The extremely cartoony tiles, such as the teachers, were used in minimum – probably a good choice overall because, while they are funny, they just would not look right in this pack, which mainly features tilesets that look equally or less cartoony than Jazz. Tile bugs were relatively sparse. I could not find any while playing and not expressly looking for them, and that is what is important. There were a few, mostly really small, insignificant ones, but that is to be expected. A good level eyecandy-wise, as well.
PROS: Good use of a fairly difficult to master tileset.
CONS: Nothing amazing in the foreground or background.
RATING: 8.5

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: As I said previously, this level certainally does make quite a lot of use of enemies. The main enemies you will encounter whilst playing this level are rapiers, stand monkeys (often humerously positioned on top of ceiling lights), and skelletons. The rapiers, with their annoying going through walls, often are the most annoying enemy in this level, although not being able to get a stand monkey dead that is throwing bananas at you can be fairly agitating, as well. There are more weapons in this level than in the last two, mostly in the form of powerups. The freezer powerup is, as usual, more or less useless, but there are others. If you like lots of enemies and a challenge, you will definitely like the enemy placement in this level. However, if you are a fan of a lot of weapons, you will probably be disappointed.
PROS: Good for those who like lots of enemies.
CONS: Bad for those who like lots of ammo.
RATING: 8.5

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: Unlike the past few levels, this level does not suffer that much from the knowledge of the puzzles. This is mainly because the vast majoraty of the difficulcy involved is the enemies. There are many more enemies in this level than in the past few, which definitely makes it both harder and a better replay overall. The puzzles in this level are sort of lame and cheap at times, but generally they are fairly fun and worth another play (after you forget the combonations, that is). Most of the crates are easy to find and everything, so that’s not particurally interesting. Regardless, this is fun and mostly original, although not the world’s best replay-wise.
PROS: More action means better replay value.
CONS: The puzzles in this level are definitely inferior to the ones in the previous levels.
RATING: 8.5

OVERALL (not an average): So far, this is the most “action-packed” level of the pack, if you will. It does not, however, slack in the puzzle category too much. Most of the puzzles do involve simply finding where layers are, but that’s not a huge problem. In fact, in most packs, that would be a welcome puzzle addition. The fact that this makes it below average for this pack in the puzzle category is simply a testement to how well-designed most puzzles in this pack are, and that is a good thing. For those who like action levels, this will probably be so far your favorite level in the pack. Puzzle-oriented players probably won’t absolutely love this level, but it is still worth a play, as it is well-made and a good example of a balance of a challenging amount of enemies while still making it possible to beat.
PROS: Action-filled and well-done.
CONS: Some of the puzzles are bleh.
RATING: 8.5

GAMEPLAY: A
Flow: A -
Layout: A
Creativity: A -
Bugs: A

EYECANDY: A
Tileset use: A
Eyecandy Look: A
Creativity: A
Bugs: A -

PLACEMENT: A
Weapons: A -
Enemies: A

THE FINAL GRADE: A

THE FINAL RATING: 8.5

Shock Core
GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: “Shock Core” (hasn’t that name been used before?) is a level using yet another really, really common tileset (much like nearly all of the levels in this pack) – Tubeelectric. Personally, this is so far my favorite level in the pack. I am a sucker for the use of springs to get the player from one place to another, especially if they are done in a fairly complex sequence, and this level is chock full of that sort of thing. This level seemed to be much more focused on action than anything else, although there was not exactly a ton of it. This level was relatively easy compared to the others, but that is not a huge problem. In fact, I like it this way. It is sort of a nice break between all of the action-filled levels preceeding it. Generally, this level’s gameplay just seemed to have a higher quality to it. I am not sure exactly why. Towards the end, everything seemed a little bit more rushed, but that is nothing huge, as the rest of this level was absolutely fantastic. So far my favorite gameplay-wise. Great job on this one.
PROS: Very well-designed.
CONS: Possibly too easy to some.
RATING: 8.7

TILESET/TILESET USE: I will admit that Tube Electric can look really good when a lot of effort is put into it, and a lot of effort definitely was put into this. The eyecandy of this level is some of the best I have ever seen in Tube Electric. There are very few areas in which there are any boring patches. It is good to see a level that can start with great eyecandy (and gameplay, for that matter) and continue with such good looks until it is entirely over. Levels that hold quality standards like this get high ratings, and this level gets a high rating, too. There were no eyecandy errors that I found, but this level does generally keep the player on his or her feet, plus there are areas in which stopping is completely impossible. Still, from what I have seen, there are no major eyecandy errors to speak of, and everything looks quite good. Nice job, Spaztic Face Head Head Face. Oh, yes. And reg. ;)
PROS: Great Tube Electric use.
CONS: None to mention.
RATING: 8.7

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Enemy placement was spiffy, as was everything else about this level. There were not many chances to get ammo, but that is not a huge problem. The focus of this level is using blaster in order to kill the various enemies, and I have no problem with that. As for enemy placement – enemy placement was good. The eyeballs are very annoying, but in some respects, that is a good thing. The level is not all that challenging, as I mentioned previously, but that is neither a con nor a pro. It is simply a fact. Generally, the enemies seemed to be placed well. There were less of them than in the previous levels, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Well done overall.
PROS: Well done.
CONS: Possibly too easy for some enemy-wise.
RATING: 8.5

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: This level is definitely original, and I like it a lot. Tube Electric has, of course, been used in this way before, but then again, Tube Electric has nearly been used in every way possible. Still, the gameplay is the unique part of this level. There are not many levels that use this exact sort of gameplay, and it works well. The combonation of sort of “cutscenes” of bouncing around on springs (not really cutscenes, but they aren’t really part of gameplay, so they are sort of the equivilant) and actual gameplay is intriguing and works well for this level. It is original and fun to play, and definitely deserves the 8.7 it is getting in this category. Well done, Tic Face.
PROS: Great fun to play over and over.
CONS: The easiness might be a con for some.
RATING: 8.7

OVERALL (not an average): In my opinion, this is the best level of the pack so far. There are no real glaring problems in this level, unless you consider it being easy one. I like the cutscene-esque spring use and the eyecandy. In fact, there is very little about this level that I do not like. The only thing I gave less than 8.7 was the weapon and enemy placement, but that was mainly because it was easy and there were not all that many weapons to rate. That does not mean at all that this level is bad in that category. It is far above average, in fact. Other than that, I gave everything 8.7, and definitely, it deserved it. This is a really cool level, both gameplay and eyecandy-wise, and I highly recommend that everyone play this.
PROS: Very well-done.
CONS: Pretty easy, if you find that a bad thing.
RATING: 8.7

GAMEPLAY: A
Flow: A+
Layout: A
Creativity: A
Bugs: A

EYECANDY: A
Tileset use: A+
Eyecandy Look: A
Creativity: A
Bugs: A

PLACEMENT: A
Weapons: A -
Enemies: A

THE FINAL GRADE: A

THE FINAL RATING: 8.7

Toxic Sunset
GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: This level is weird, and I mean that in the best way that it can be meant it. This level uses Disguise’s space-themed tileset that I am sure you are all quite familiar with, and does a very nice job of using it. What is truly strange, however, is some of the gameplay elements. This level bares absolutely no resemblance to any other of the levels so far in the pack, but that does not at all mean it is bad. Many of the features of this level revolve around jumping and climbing – skills that are usually not used in this SXR-ish gameplay that this pack has caused me to get used to. There are more crate-related things, but this level does not have nearly as many layer-searching things as the previous ones did. Most of the secrets hidden by layers are actually things like gems and such that are interesting, but not really essential to gameplay or anything.
PROS: Very well-designed.
CONS: Possibly too easy to some.
RATING: 8.7

TILESET/TILESET USE: Tileset use was good, although it was nothing amazing, and there were a few small errors that I did not exactly like. Still, it was nicely done and I like the tileset, so I will give it an overall 8.5. The space-themed tileset is somewhat of a departure from the previous levels, which mostly use nature-themed or electronic tilesets. This level sort of does not fit in the middle of the pack, but that’s not a bad thing at all. It’s, in fact, a refreshing break. If there was one complaint I could have said about the original SXR, it would be that it was far too much of the same thing over and over again. This gives a good break from the general SXR gameplay and is not a slouch in eyecandy, either. The eyecandy is not all that different from the other levels, but it is still good. There were a few very small errors that brought down the rating slightly, but not really all that much. Nice job overall.
PROS: Great tileset use.
CONS: Small bugs.
RATING: 8.5

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Enemy placement was spiffy, as was everything else about this level. There were not many chances to get ammo, but that is not a huge problem. The focus of this level is using blaster in order to kill the various enemies, and I have no problem with that. As for enemy placement – enemy placement was good. The enemies were very annoying, but in some respects, that is a good thing. The level is not all that challenging, as I mentioned previously, but that is neither a con nor a pro. It is simply a fact. Generally, the enemies seemed to be placed well. There were less of them than in the previous levels, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Well done overall. (And, yes, I am aware that was simply a copy and paste of the review on the previous level. However, the fact that it is quite relevant mixed with the fact that I am quite lazy makes this sensible. So do not complain or I will throw fish towards your general direction, fiend.)
PROS: Well done.
CONS: Possibly too easy for some enemy-wise.
RATING: 8.5

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: This level is definitely original, especially compared to the other levels in this pack. It does not have the same cutscene thing going for it that the last level had, but it had its own share of interesting ideas. There is nothing that I can exactly point out to attest to this fact. You simply have to play the level to understand what I mean. There were some areas in which everything seemed to be repetitive, but those were the vast minority. The only problems I found related to replay. There are not all that many enemies, nor are the puzzles extremely difficult. Still, this is offset by the originality of this level, and definitely, this level is worth playing again. Fun factor is also high, especially because it is so different from the other levels in this pack. Well done.
PROS: Great fun to play over and over. Original.
CONS: The easiness might be a con for some.
RATING: 8.7

OVERALL (not an average): There were a few bugs that brought down the score of this level some. If I could, I would give it 8.6, but unfortunately I can not. I will lower this to 8.5 due to the bugs, which often did not fit into one single category. Still, this is a nicely done level. It is different from all the rest in that it features both different eyecandy and gameplay. The gameplay is probably more different (pardon my poor English use) than the eyecandy, namely because it is a lot different than the rest of the levels. Still, the eyecandy does have some notable differences. My favorite part of the level, however, might have been the order in which the arrows near the spike platforms went. If you were to follow them, you would go around in a continous circle. What help.
PROS: Very well-done.
CONS: Pretty easy, if you find that a bad thing. Bugs.
RATING: 8.5

GAMEPLAY: A
Flow: A
Layout: A
Creativity: A
Bugs: B+

EYECANDY: A -
Tileset use: A -
Eyecandy Look: A
Creativity: A
Bugs: B+

PLACEMENT: A
Weapons: A -
Enemies: A

THE FINAL GRADE: A

THE FINAL RATING: 8.5

All that Glitters is Cold
GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: The classic phrase “All that glitters is gold” is manically twisted in order to create the name of this solid Dimensions (aka Sirius, by Agama) tileset. This is a good level gameplay-wise, but there was a fairly major bug that caused quite a lot of problems. Namely, it is the masking in this tileset. This was, I believe, one of Agama’s earlier tilesets, and it sort of shows. Not to say that this tileset is bad. It’s great. However, the mask needs some SERIOUS work. What I mean here is that it is really easy to get stuck in a corner of a tile. In fact, I did it several times, completely on accident. Other than that, the gameplay is mainly good. I will give this an 8.2, although I probably should give it lower, but it is still a good level in general. That bug should be fixed by placing warps around it, though, first.
PROS: Gameplay was generally good other than the few small bugs.
CONS: The mask of Sirius causes some major problems in this level, and warps should have been placed in their correct positions so that this would not cause the player to get stuck (eep!).
RATING: 8.2

TILESET/TILESET USE: Tileset use was good, although it was nothing amazing, and there were a few small errors that I did not exactly like. Still, it was nicely done and I like the tileset, so I will give it an overall 8.5. The space-themed tileset is somewhat of a departure from the previous levels, which mostly use nature-themed or electronic tilesets. This level sort of does not fit in the middle of the pack, but that’s not a bad thing at all. It’s, in fact, a refreshing break. If there was one complaint I could have said about the original SXR, it would be that it was far too much of the same thing over and over again. This gives a good break from the general SXR gameplay and is not a slouch in eyecandy, either. The eyecandy is not all that different from the other levels, but it is still good. There were a few very small errors that brought down the rating slightly, but not really all that much. Nice job overall. (Yet again, I am lazy, but this remains still accurate. Yay for lazy accuracy.)
PROS: Great tileset use.
CONS: Small bugs.
RATING: 8.5

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Enemy placement was spiffy, as was everything else about this level. There were not many chances to get ammo, but that is not a huge problem. The focus of this level is using blaster in order to kill the various enemies, and I have no problem with that. As for enemy placement – enemy placement was good. The enemies were very annoying, but in some respects, that is a good thing. The level is not all that challenging, as I mentioned previously, but that is neither a con nor a pro. It is simply a fact. Generally, the enemies seemed to be placed well. There were less of them than in the previous levels, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Well done overall. (And, yes, I am aware that was simply a copy and paste of the review on the previous level. However, the fact that it is quite relevant mixed with the fact that I am quite lazy makes this sensible. So do not complain or I will throw fish towards your general direction, fiend.) Oh, yes, and a few more things to add. There are very few weapons in this level, although there are a few more enemies. But not many.
PROS: Well done.
CONS: Possibly too easy for some enemy-wise.
RATING: 8.5

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: Beyond getting stuck, this level is more or less enjoyable. It is not extermely original, although the tileset use definitely is. Still, this is deteriorated by the bug that was caused by getting stuck. Had this been fixed, the replay would probably have received a bit of a better score. Other than that one fairly major blemish, this level is mostly fun to play. For some reason, Sirius/Dimensions looks a little dim to me. That is a tileset problem, of course, but not a big one, and that really is not the fault of the levelmaker. Other than the bugs I just mentioned, the level was fun to play and a good replay, although there were not all that many enemies.
PROS: Great fun to play over and over. Original.
CONS: The easiness might be a con for some. The major bug.
RATING: 8.2

OVERALL (not an average): Again, the major thing that is causing problems for this level is that one bug that causes the player to get stuck. Other than that, this level is more or less very well-done. There are a few problems, and this level just suffers from an overall lack of excellence. There is not anything that is not in any other levels in the pack, and while the layout is good, it is not anything that is really all that notable. A solid level, but probably nothing to write home about, other than the bug which I hope is fixed quickly. Luckily, this is single player, so there is not a huge problem with simply typing jjnowall/jjfly to get out, but I would much rather see that the bug was fixed instead of having to go around it. Other than the problems I mentioned, it was nicely done.
PROS: Nicely done.
CONS: A few small bugs and one fairly major one.
RATING: 8.2

GAMEPLAY: A -
Flow: A
Layout: A
Creativity: A -
Bugs: B

EYECANDY: A -
Tileset use: A -
Eyecandy Look: A
Creativity: A
Bugs: B+

PLACEMENT: A
Weapons: A -
Enemies: A

THE FINAL GRADE: A -

THE FINAL RATING: 8.2

Mines of Moria II
GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Mines of Moria was my least favorite level in the original SXR and, well, this dismal distinction continues on into NIP. I just do not like this level in many ways. Mostly because the eyecandy is really, really uninteresting. But, then again, how interesting can Mez01 get? The answer is not very interesting at all, save for the occasional miracle which I have not seen happen yet. If this level has one thing going for it, though, at least it is gameplay, more or less. Gameplay is generally good. It consists of getting lots of crates and keys and is definitely good for those among us who are fans of puzzles. For everyone else, though, this level is fairly boring. There are a lot of Dragons, too, and it shapes up to have okay gameplay, but redundant and sort of uninteresting. Unfortunately, this is not much of a conclusion level and probably the least interesting one of all the pack. Needs work, and definitely a new tileset.
PROS: For those who are fans of running around collecting things, you have met your perfect level. Congratulations.
CONS: For those who are not fans of running around collecting things, you have met your perfect enemy. Congratulations.
RATING: 8.0

TILESET/TILESET USE: This is sort of off-topic, but I just realized that I have spent this entire review and several others typing “Tileset/Tileset Use” instead of “Eyecandy/Tileset Use.” Oh well. Anyways, this level uses the fantastically dull Mez01 tileset by Mezz. This tileset, for its day, was quite good. Unfortunately, its day was exactly 24 hours long and happened nearly four years ago. Today is not its day, nor was the day the 9535345423523498549230573498572348952347985234759753409
2857342089534728590347509823475023498573409572349085734095
8347250942375872340985723490852347598275049728905723489057
3408952347523457234-59834572340546545468367356908769857654th Mez01-based level released its day. This level makes okay use of Mez01, although that is not saying much. I suppose that this is about as good as Mez01 can get, but that really is saying quite little. Just uninteresting tileset use and everything. This remains the least interesting level of the pack, in my humble opinion. The finishing tube thingy was, however, quite well-done and looked really cool. Still, that does not make up for the relatively mediocre quality of the eyecandy in pretty much the entire rest of the level. Oh well.
PROS: Great tileset use.
CONS: Small bugs.
RATING: 7.5

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Personally, I would rather have had this level completely left out. It is really annoying. The enemies mainly consist of the following: dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon, and then possibly a few more dragons. Sound fun? It is not particurally fun. You get the idea.
PROS: It’s okay. And if you like dragons, well, you’ve found the perfect level.
CONS: Dull. Repetitive.
RATING: 7.5

REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: This level is not fun by any stretch of the imagination. Sorry.
PROS: Collectors will like this.
CONS: Everyone else won’t.
RATING: 7.5

OVERALL (not an average): Dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, dragon, key, and dragon. That is the most accurate summary of this level possible.
PROS: Fun for collectors.
CONS: Dull gameplay and eyecandy.
RATING: 7.5

GAMEPLAY: B+
Flow: B+
Layout: B+
Creativity: B+
Bugs: B+

EYECANDY: B+
Tileset use: A
Eyecandy Look: B+
Creativity: B+
Bugs: B+

PLACEMENT: B+
Weapons: A -
Enemies: B

THE FINAL GRADE: B+

THE FINAL RATING: 7.5

AND NOW THE VERDICT…

FINAL PACK RATING: 1.0

…OR NOT…

…NOW THE REAL RATING…

…SERIOUSLY…

…IT’S COMING…

…AND HERE IT IS…

…THIS IS IT…

…IT IS…

FINAL PACK RATING: 9.2 (rounded up from 9.1).

This level pack is, for the most part, absolutely fantastic. Despite the last level being annoying as it could possibly be, this level pack is solid, skilled, and overall fun to play. There are a few small things that could be changed, and I would probably like to see a storyling and a suitable ending level. Still fun. Well done, Spaztic. Definitely worth a download. One of the best packs to come along in quite some time, and positively a great effort. It is not often you see a pack that demonstrates not only such a great deal of levelmaking skill, but also a dedication to finishing it. While it would have been nice to have a storyline and everything, this is a great pack, and all things considered, a storyline is not all that necessary. If you look, you can find plenty of errors in the levels and everything. But nothing is perfect. If you look hard enough, you can find errors in everything. But that is not important. I give this upload a 9.2 because it demonstrates a great pack with a lot of effort. Sure, there may be a storyline missing, and it may not have a climactic ending, but it does what it is supposed to do – be a very good and well-made level pack – with near perfect accuracy. If you look close enough, you can find plenty of problems. True. But that is true about anything. What is important is how much quality there is in something and how much effort is put into it. The original SXR was, all things considered, not perfect, and definitely not perfect by today’s standards. But nothing is perfect, and that is the point I am trying to get across. This level pack does not reach the level of effort which it probably took to create such masterpieces as Rabbit Honour Guard and Tomb Rabbit, but it should not be compared. This is not an ultra-huge project or anything, nor is it something which is attempting to revolutionize the JCS levelmaking field. It is just a pack, and a great one at that. You may notice that my final rating is much higher than any of the individual level ratings. This is, of course, adjusted. After all, it makes no sense to give the same score to a single level which deserves an 8.2 and two levels which both deserve 8.2 – one has to take into account the effort required to create two levels. And, of course, one can not give two levels that deserve 5s a 10 – it does not make sense. So I find a balance, and in this case, that balance is at a very respectable score of 9.2. To my knowledge, this is not the average of anything. In fact, in all truth, there is no practical reason behind how I arrived at the score. It is simply gut feeling. If the levels were to be released seperately, I would give none of them 9.2. But together, even though they are not as much a pack as they are a group of levels with no storyline, but they are still quality works. While the rating may not make sense, there is one thing that always make sense. And that is reg ;). So, as I finish this unfortunately short review, I beg you all to remember to reg ;) well and reg ;) often. Oh, yes, and download this level pack. Now. I promsie you that in no way will you be disappointed. If ever there was a deserving sequel to SXR, this would be it. Complaints? Some. Sure, it has no plot line. And it really does not have that much of a continuous flowing point (which can be explained by the lack of the storyline). And, yes, the last level is not exactly the best in the world. Still, the pack is what it promises to be – a very solid collection of very well-done levels from Spaztic. Nice job, Spaztic. I recommend everyone download this, and quickly. It does not get much better than this.

Oh, yes, and reg. ;)

- Trafton, who will probably end up not typing anything for about two weeks after this. Or at least he wishes he wouldn’t. Oh well.

-Trafton

[This review has been edited by Trafton AT][This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

I have to say that the first time I saw this rating, I thought that it would be extermely overrated. And while it is significantly overrated, I have to say that I am pleasently surprised by the level. For a first level, this is really, really good and absolutely shows quite a lot of promise. Keep working on levels – this is nicely done.

TILESET/TILESET USE: The tileset used is the somewhat difficult but still nice-looking “Colon” tileset. Everything fits together fairly well. There is not anything amazing about the eyecandy, though – it is more or less plain as a general rule, and the walls look sort of messed up, but generally everything fits together and it looks good.
Pros: Everything seems to fit together.
Cons: Nothing amazing.
Rating: 7.5

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: Weapon placement was probably the worst aspect of this level. There are a lot of barrels put together in one place in some areas (“clumping”) and the basic ammo is a little sparse and seems to be placed in some not-so-interesting ways. Still, there may be some room for improvement, but generally weapon and item placement is good, especially for a first level.
Pros: Well placed.
Cons: Some clumping.
Rating: 6.7

ORIGINALITY: There is not anything ultra-original about this level. It is just a solid, Colon-based level. There is little here that has never been seen before, and nothing amazingly original, but, well, it is still really good for a first level, and that is what counts.
Rating: N/A

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: This level is relatively small, more or less. It’s probably about half way between small and moderate-sized. The layout is fairly unusual though still nicely done. Flow was a bit difficult in some parts, and I often did hit into walls, but that is not as important in battle levels as it is in Capture the Flag levels. Gameplay is good, though there are a few problems that need to be worked out before this level can be really good. Very good for a first level.
Pros: Nicely done.
Cons: Small. The flow needs a bit more work, even for a battle level.
Rating: 7.5

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: There isn’t anything that is really amazing about the level, but it is still generally fun to play.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): Colon is not an easy tileset to use, even for more advanced levelmakers. This level uses Colon well and also has solid gameplay. It may need some work, but for a first level, this is extremely promising. The flow needs work, even though it is a battle level, but is still not bad. Many of the common mistakes that occur when making a first level are completely missing here, which is definitely a good sign. Keep making more levels, as this definitely shows some very good promise. Nicely done.
Pros: Shows promise. Not bad gameplay.
Cons: Still needs some work. Small.
Rating: 7.2

GAMEPLAY: B+
Flow: B
Layout: B+
Creativity: B+
Bugs: A -

EYECANDY: B+
Tileset use: B+
Eyecandy look: B+
Creativity: B+
Bugs: A -

PLACEMENT: B
Weapons: B

THE FINAL GRADE: B+

THE FINAL RATING: 7.2

+ PROS: A solid level, especially for the first.
- CONS: Nothing amazing, still. Small. Ammo clumping. Still, very good for a first level.

- Trafton

EDIT: One last thing. The carrot is contained within an area of destruct blocks. It would probably be better, if you want people only to be able to warp into it, to use one way instead of thsose blocks and surround the area with riochets so no one can shoot through to get it. If you want people to have to go through blocks to get there, use buttstomp scenery. Just a tip, although it is not that flawed the way it is.[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

Well, this is another TSF-based tileset by Waz. I really wish Waz would begin making his tilesets in 1.23, as it is much more convinient and would likely fetch many more reviews than in 1.24. Still, this is a solid nature tileset and, although it has plenty of good competition, it is still worthy of making levels with. Unfortunately, the likelihood it will be used is diminished by the fact that it is TSF. Well, anyway, on to the review.

THEME: The theme is nature, although there are a few blocks that are sort of out of place. Perhaps it is some nature near Roswell, New Mexico. What I am referring to is a crashed space ship which can be used for eyecandy. This seems a bit out of place, but does not blend all that badly into the eyecandy of this level. There are some grey blocks used for supports, and of course there are the normal ground and nature tiles. It feels like a nature tileset, and is therefore well-done themewise.
Pros: It feels, tastes, and looks like a nature tileset.
Cons: The spaceship is way too cartoony.
Rating: 7.5

GRAPHICS: The graphics in this tileset really do look fantastic. The shading of everything, along with the tile quality, looks fantastic. Again, the only part in which graphics quality is compromised is definitely the space ship. It looks out of place and seems to have been put in at the last minute – it looks bad and is badly drawn. Still, this tileset features outstanding graphics quality.
Pros: Graphics are very, very well done.
Cons: The space ship not only looks out of place in the level, but it looks badly drawn. There are a few other graphics inconsistincies, but not too many.
Rating: 8.5

INVENTORY: There are a few things that are missing here. Spikes, hooks, and (eep) sucker tubes are all missing from the tileset. The rest of the stuff is here, but this area still needs work.
Pros: Most stuff is here.
Cons: A few things are missing, such as sucker tubes, hooks, spikes, and the like.
Rating: 7.2

ORIGINALITY: There is not much originality going on here. Plenty of other tilesets in this realm exist, and that is bad for the overall originality. There are some interesting parts of this tileset that do consititute some originality, but most of it is badly done. For instance, the spaceship is indeed original and not something you would often see in a nature-themed tileset. This could be attributed to one reason: it just does not fit, and besides, it looks pretty bad. Aside of a few minor blemishes, this tileset is good, but not original.

COMPETITION: There are plenty of nature tilesets out there that compete with this tileset, but there are plenty of nice things about this tileset that keep it in the running. Most of the tilesets in the nature area are probably inferior to this one, but there are still some great tilesets in this category that definitely beat this one (“Nature” by Disguise, for instance.) Still, it’s enjoyable and a good tileset.
(No pros given)
(No cons given)
(No rating given)

EASE OF USE: Tileset ease of use may look fairly easy at first, but it is not as easy as one would think from a quick glance at it. Namely, the tileset lacks some tiles that are more or less requirements in such tilesets. Still, if the tile that you need is there, this tileset is fairly easy-to-use.
Pros: The tileset layout is good, and most things are there.
Cons: A few tileset tiles that you would probably need are simply missing.
Rating: 7.2

MASKING: Yet again, the spaceship is badly masked. The vines and slopes also look a bit questionable, and the former seems to be automasked. Other than that, masking looks alright.
Pros: For the most part, masking is good.
Cons: Spaceship, vines, and slopes need some work.
Rating: 7.5

OVERALL: This is a great tileset, at least by appearance. However, once you get down into the technical parts of the tileset, there are a few problems. Graphics are great, but the other categories are mostly in the 7 range. This is by no means a bad tileset, but it just does not live up to its graphics, especially the spaceship, which should have been dropped completely. Good quality, but needs some work before it can live up to the quality of its graphics. And please, PLEASE, make 1.23 tilesets instead.
Pros: Looks fantastic.
Cons: Some of the “technical” aspects of the tileset need work. Spaceship. It’s TSF.
Rating: 7.7

EYECANDY
Eyecandy Look: A -
Usability: B+
Tiles Available: B+
Foreground: A -
Background: B+

TECHNICAL
Tiles Available: B+
Masking: B+
Tile Fitting: B+

OVERALL: B+

OVERALL RATING: 7.7

Well, it’s that time again – Anniversary Bash is coming this weekend (the 12th and 13th). This pack features the battle levels for AB (CTF will be coming in a bit). AB is Anniversary Bash, an event that occurs once every year on the anniversary of the release of the shareware version of Jazz 2. Since I did not make the levels, please do not rate this, though feel free to review them). Here are a few shorts reviews of the various levels in this pack (I will post extended versions once I get enough time to):

1. Officials Vs. Competitors (ab5btl1.j2l)
This is a good and fairly unknown Medivo level. I like it, so I thought I would include it. My apologies to whoever made it, as I’m not sure.

2. e-Line Circuits by BlurredD (ab5btl2.j2l)
This level features a very creative and well-done layout and some neat-looking eyecandy. Also, I thought that BlurredD should have three levels in here.

3. Mystic Forest Cave by Spy (ab5btl3.j2l)
This is a really good Jungle level, and far underhosted in my opinion. The flow is nice, especially for a battle level, and it is a classic.

4. Universal Warground by CelL (ab5btl4.j2l)
What would AB5 be without an array of levels based on Disguise tilesets by CelL?

5. Toxic Waste by Shadow GpW (ab5btl5.j2l)
One of my favorite all-time Shadow levels, and definitely a great battle level. Plus it has a lot of cheese.

6. Chocolate Lamp by Violet CLM (ab5btl6.j2l)
This level is nice, as it is a break from a lot of dark-like space themed levels. It’s an enjoyable, fun level with enjoyable gameplay.

7. Carrotus Squash by martin aka partydude (ab5btl7.j2l)
Definitely a classic. You really can’t go wrong with Martin’s levels, even if it does use Carrotus.

8. Shine-O-Rific Land by EvilMike (ab5btl8.j2l)
This level uses JJ1: Diamondus and is a fun level, especially when there are quite a few people. Even though it is small, it balances that out with good weapon placement. An old favorite.

9. Tribal Temple CTF by Cell (ab5btl9.j2l)
Something about this level just makes me want to put it in the pack. I really don’t know what that is though. In any case, this is a worthy level, and one with no serious flaws.

10. Sandstrand O’Hazes by spy (ab5btl10.j2l)
This is a popular level, and while I am not a huge fan of it, something made me want to put it in the pack anyway. So I did.

11. Green Beret by Bluez (ab5btl11.j2l)
Like six hundred people asked me to put this in the pack, and I like it, so it’s in.

12. Hectic Housewars by Disguise (ab5btl12.j2l)
I wanted to include a Disguise level, and this one was his most recent, so I elected to put this in. It’s fun and definitely a unique level.

13. by EvilMike (ab5btl13.j2l)
I included this half because it’s a great level and half because I like to be yelled at for including a level featuring a shield.

14. Forsaken by BlurredD (ab5btl13.j2l)
What can I say? A BlurredD level using Agama’s Egypt. I love Agama tilesets and this level definitely makes great use of Egypt.

15. Virtual Headache by Project Forward (ab5btl15.j2l)
Perhaps one of the best collaberation levels of all time. A great use of Jungle, and tons of fun to play.

16. Higer Fragging Rate by FireSworD (ab5btl16.j2l)
A great FS level. I had to include one level using 7th Lava Fall, and this definitely was the best this year. Nice gameplay, good weapon placement, and all-around a fun level.

17. 60,000 Feet Under by BlurredD (ab5btl17.j2l)
It’s always a good idea to have plenty of default tileset-based levels in AB packs for obvious reasons, and this is one. Well done with good item placement and gameplay. And it’s by BlurredD, so why not.

18. Rockingham II by Merlyn (ab5btl18.j2l)
It may be a Carrotus level, but it’s amazingly well-done. I feel bad for including two entire Carrotus levels, but well…this is just too good to resist.

19. The Dark Fortress by CelL (ab5btl19.j2l)
A fun and definitely unique Castle level. Plus it’s by CelL.

20. Spider Swamp by defalcon (ab5btl20.j2l)
A fantastic level using the famous Agama tileset. This was apparently a first level, and a great one at that. Fun to play, and even more fun to just sit back and look at.

21. Chemical Reactionz II by MidN aka Chimaera (ab5btl21.j2l)
By (in my opinion) the most underrated levelmaker of all time, this is a great Labrat level. I had to put something by MidN in here, and this is a great level, not to mention fun to play.

Special thanks to Bobby aka Dizzy, FireSworD, and Violet CLM for help along the way. Also thanks to the AB5 organizers and hosts. I hope you enjoy this pack. See you at AB5!

EDIT: Various longer reviews.

16. Higher Fragging Rate
“Higher Fragging Rate” was intended to bring some strategy into the fairly strategy-deprived world of battle levels. This is a step in the right direction, but there are a few more steps before battle is truly a strategy-heavy mode. The level may be gameplay-centric, but it is not short on gameplay. It has an elevator-ish background with a foreground that is sort of industrial (it uses 7th Lava Fall by Dethman, which usually ends up either looking like a city or some sort of factory, this time it is a factory.) Weapon placement is good, but not amazing. The flow is good, but there are some places where it is hard to move around. It did, at times, remind me a lot of battle1, with a lot less ammo. It’s definitely worth a download and the eight point two I’m giving it. Great job, FireSworD.

17. Rockingham II by Merlyn
I had the pleasure of playing this excellent battle level online and must say that while I am a CTF lover, this is one of those few levels that actually makes me consider playing more battle levels (not that I’m un-lazy enough to get around to doing so.) If you thought that there was no room for battle levels in Carrotus to get anymore (or any less, for that matter) innovative, you may want to rethink your assumpitons, let alone your entire world view. Most battle levels fall into a fairly narrow margin of creativity. A lot of them are fashioned off of the gameplay of Battle1, and these days the sight of one that truly attempts to put some strategy into the realm of battle is a rare commodity. While it does not go as far as to revolutionize the entire gameplay as a whole or introduce some psychadelic funky eyecandy set, it does what it does best: be a really, really, really good and solid Carrotus battle level.

When you first start playing the level, it is hard not to compare it to Every Other Carrotus Level Ever Made. After all, Carrotus levels have been stereotyped more than Michael Jackson has had pretend skin diseases. This level is not predictable in any way, shape, or form. That’s why it is so strikingly different from other Carrotus levels out there (I am not saying the tileset can not be used with interesting gameplay, it’s just that levels using Carrotus often are similar in gameplay – solid but uninspired, much like the tileset). Gameplay is always very good. Weapon placement is one of the two areas, however, that were not perfect and could have been improved if it was thought about enough. While most powerups were fairly well-placed, certain areas had an overkill of powerups that seemed a little too out in the open. While I can’t say that this effected gameplay that much, it still was just one of thost things that annoys me without actually mattering that whole too much. However, WCS (Weapon Clumping Syndrome) is annoying beyond belief, and this level has a very minor case of it. A few weapons moved around here and there would be nice. The second area that could use some minor improvement was eyecandy. Generally, the level looked solid and had sufficient eyecandy to keep you interested, but in many cases there were small overlookings in the scenery. A few tile errors here and there did not exactly help how the level looked, but unless you were specifically looking for them, it probably won’t bother you too much. Since I informally beta-tested it, I must say that I am disappointed that the author did not fixed either of the two mentioned tile bugs after we pointed them out, but nonetheless that doesn’t detract a huge amount from the overall feel of the level. Flow was excellent for a battle level. Flow isn’t as important in battle levels as it is in Capture the Flag, but that doesn’t mean I like to see levels just ignore it, and this one certainally pays due attention to this often overlooked aspect of the battle genre. Another interesting thing which may fall under the “pros” column or the “cons” column depending on personal preference is the use of coins and a bonus coin warp in this level. You don’t see this often in battle levels, since the “roast as fast as you can” additude of battle levels does not exactly lend itself to hunting for various coins to get a powerup which you will probably lose after being killed a minute later. Still, while few people were able to get this powerup, the coin price seemed fair, and its inclusion certainally did spice up the level a bit.

What you have here is an example of a Carrotus level at its best. While it may not echo every other Carrotus level ever created, it achieves the hard-to-garner goal of being new and lemony-fresh without being so revolutionary puritist players who refuse to play anything more revolutionary than Chemical Warfare won’t play it. It bridges the large gap between classic and innovative, and bridges it quite well. While it may have a few quirks, the amazing level of concentration, ability, and knowledge of how gameplay structure works in a new JCSer is about as common as unpoisoned water in Death Valley. Even if you aren’t a fan of battle and aren’t amazed by this rating, it is definitely worth a download just to see the great skill of a new level designed. I seriously recommend you download this pack, and I think that a 8.2 rating, while it may not seem extraordinary, is still quite high. This may be the highest rating I’ve ever given someone’s first officially released level, and I really hope to see future releases from this level’s author. Rockingham II is really that good.

21. Spider Swamp by defalcon
This is a very nice battle level using Agama’s excellent Swamps tileset. When I saw someone using Swamps, I was in dobut, since it’s a somewhat hard set to use. But neither graphically or play-wise does this level fail. The level excels especially in ammo placement, which is near perfect. It also flows very well. The only problem is that the level is very small. It takes a long time to make a large but very good level using this tileset, so I won’t knock this level that much for it. However, this level would not be suitable for multiperson duels or the Battle Server (though I would have no complaints if the Battle Server accepted it.) All in all, and excellent level, definitely worth a look. A big download recommendation.

I hope you enjoy these levels. See you at AB5!

- Trafton[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]

This level is just…no. That’s pretty much all that I can say for it. It’s a simplistic level using the Diamondus tileset, and at that, it’s a really, really, really bad one. It features absolutely no eyecandy, a gameplay that is nowhere near new, and well…it’s bad. The entire level is just one small enclosed platform with seekers and ice surrounding it. The idea is to shoot the person off of the platform, down into the water below. A simplistic and somewhat effective idea, but just not fun. First of all, one has to rejoin to play again. Secondly, this level has its share of problems. No multiplayer start, for instance. I can not imagine that this took longer than a minute to make. Now for the review.

TILESET/TILESET USE: The tileset used is Diamondus. What is there to say about the tileset use here? Perhaps that this is absolutely horrible tileset use. While there are not many tile bugs (not to say that there are not any – the platform looks strange), there is too little eyecandy for that to be a tangable benefit. This ends up being one of the most ugly levels to come along in recent history, and definitely not enjoyable to look at. The best-looking part of this level is perhaps the water, and the author did not make that.
Pros: None to speak of.
Cons: No eyecandy.
Rating: 1.2

WEAPON/ITEM/ENEMY PLACEMENT: All the weapons in this level are located slightly above the play area, where there are some seekers and ice to be used during play. There is not much to be said for this. Distribution seems random, though it would be hard for this not to seem like random distribution, all things considered. All in all, weapon placement is absolutely unacceptable.
Pros: None.
Cons: Quite a few.
Rating: 1.0

ORIGINALITY: There is nothing original about a platform with ammo and then water below. This gametype is no where near new, and it really can not be considered a full gametype.
Rating: 1.0

GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: Gameplay? Gameplay?! There is no gameplay! This level is a platform, ammo, and water. There is absolutely nothing more to it than that. What to make of this? Well, it is not fun. It is plenty glitchy. And you can not host it multiplayer because, well, there are no start positions. Gameplay was also unacceptable and this level should not have been uploaded.
Pros: NO.
Cons: YES.
Rating: 1.0

REPLAY VALUE/FUN FACTOR: The problem with this level is that there frankly is no way to replay it, in that the level crashes if you try to host it. Not that you would want to replay it in the first place. There is nothing interesting about this level at all. Period.
Pros: N/A.
Cons: N/A.
Rating: N/A.

OVERALL (not an average): This is an unoriginal and frankly terrible level. You have to add the start positions yourself, and even then the gameplay gets steadily more painful. There is no system to gameplay – you just have to rehost it when everyone is out. I think this level can be summarized with one word, and that word is “no.”
Pros: No.
Cons: Let’s see…it doesn’t work, it’s bad…shall I go on?
Rating: 1.0

GAMEPLAY: F
Flow: F
Layout: F
Creativity: F
Bugs: F

EYECANDY: F
Tileset use: F
Eyecandy look: F
Creativity: F
Bugs: D

PLACEMENT: F
Weapons: F

THE FINAL GRADE: F

THE FINAL RATING: 1.0

+ PROS: Absolutely none.
- CONS: Doesn’t work. Really bad.

- Trafton