Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

This level is like Transylvania !

I wasn’t very impressed with the previous version’s eye-candy near and on the sprite layer. The newer version checks almost all the boxes for me, including tolerable use of water and good use of energy blast.

beautiful :3

It’s a very pretty level, and plays well. The one ‘gimmick’ (if you can call it that) is the big clock tower at the centre of the level: there’s some ammo behind it and you can ‘hide’ in it. This is a little unintuitive to me, somehow it seems to make more sense for it to be solid as it usually it is in other levels. But that’s a bit of a nitpick, and easy enough to get used to. I like how there’s a lot of ammo and a few powerups too, which should enable fast-paced games in a level this small, though there are also three carrots which could be quite powerful/annoying in the hands of a defensive player. Then again, there’s not really anywhere to hide in a level of this size.

It’s funny how much of a difference the music makes – I initially played this with music off and thought it had a very nice tranquil nighttime kind of athmosphere. Then I enabled music and that went completely out of the window as the funky guitar kicked in. It’s still a nice track though, and fits the graphics too, in a different way.

All in all, a good-looking and well-made level!

A very Purple-Jazzed up level that encourages a lot of mooning about.

I give 9 because I like the tile set, the level design and the soundtrack.
And I like the fact that there is a giant Moon in the background.

Good but seems unfinished
Jungle Paradise Day looks good for me

I Love this level

A lovely level with a lovely background. The layout is best suited for duels.
However I have some personal nitpicks regarding the bottom right of the map. The carrot there feels like a death trap and your only chance of escaping is a fairly hard RF climb to the top. However the bottom left makes up for that.
Download recommended!

Refreshing and innovative.
However the middle area of this map could use a bit more background eyecandy to connect platforms with one another.
Download recommended!

Interesting idea(s) with a very limited tileset. PJ has done a tremedous job by giving this level a very unique background. The layout and gameplay both serve for fast paced action.
I bet this is one of the fewer levels with no tilebugs whatsoever.
Download recommended!

One of the most professionally made levels to ever come out. Aesthatically this level sets the bar for levelmaking higher than ever before. A good working layout for this levelsize is expected and is indeed solid. Gameplay and visuals go hand-in-hand here. PurpleJazz is one of the few leveldesigners that pays attention to every necessary detail.

I’ve recently given this level some thought and decided to write a review on it. To start off, this level does not have any glaring negatives. Everything in this level certainly works to an extent. The theming is superb. PJ shows again how good he is setting up a theme, put attention to detail and make a nice polished level around it. The combination of tile elements and colouring gives this level a new and fresh feel. From my experience this is not an easy thing to come up with and to deliver constantly, but PJ shows he can surprise us with each upload.

To me, where there is a surprise in theming and eyecandy, it somewhat lacks in gameplay. It’s certainly not bad, however i’m certain we’ve seen every gameplay element in this level before in another level. That is except for the carrot area. But i’m going to be honest that despite how clever the carrot area is, the risk going into the dead end is too short to really have a big influence on gameplay.

To give a short summary on the rest of the level: We’ve seen the triple pathfloors before, we’ve seen the scale of pathways before, the linearity & width around gap placements in paths, the typical spring on every end of a path to go up. It’s not an understatement that the pathing in this level is extremely simple and likely won’t suprise neither challenge anyones skill. There is nothing to me layout-wise that makes me think like… “Oh, that’s new and clever”.

Of course one could argue that this was the plan all along to keep it simple for players. But in my opinion this is a step down in professional levelmaking as we’ve known. The next step in JCS is also about inventing and you need to be taking some risks. This can be great if it pays off and I think we’re not done reinventing multiplayer levels to a big audience. This layout however is as risk free as it can get. I feel like PJ can be more creative to bring new and fresh gameplay elements to the table.

And even if we look at the entire JJNet mappool levels now, where does this level stand? I hate to say it but it really doesn’t feel like it brings a new choice to the table. If i want my typical open layout flatground level, with somewhat equal scorepacing and expected player skill, then there is a lot to choose from already. I could also go with Facing worlds, Byzantine Blues, Starlit CTF, All Your Base, Gauntlet, Ancient Museum, Dragon eyrie and to some extend Stronghold CTF. These levels also have very limited chokepoints and are quite easy to learn.

To put this into perspective: Right before the clanwar CC vs CDF, many of the old warteam members came back one day before it to train the entire mappool. I remember especially Vegito was hesitant at first learning the new levels, but we came to the fast conclusion that a lot of these in the current pool play the same way. Eventhough we struggled in Butrinti, we liked it a lot more cause it felt like there was room for tactical improvement. We have ideas on how to control that level more optimally and where to position ourselfs around chokepoints. I think it’s nice when a level does that. This is why i rather would have wanted something new to the mappool. This is just hard in a level that doesn’t challenge you to adapt much to the level. Galeloch works, but feels generic with what we’ve seen. To me this could have been a 9+ level if it had great gameplay to go with the theme.

Of course despite this PJ is still a very professional JCSer and this level was made very professionally. I just hope we take the next step in JCS by taking some creative risks and making them work. PJ is one those JCSers who can certainly do that.

That’s a really cool edit of my sets. Really, I absolutely love how you used the mountain from my roller coaster set as a way to add a more rich and detailed background, making it look like you progressed further into the island. And the sunset is gorgeous. Thumbs up.

I wish I could download and try the level but my new computer doesn’t even have a slot for the good old Jazz 2 disc. So I can only comment on the screenshots unfortunately.

Also I don’t know the official site policy on editing sets, but anyone reading this comment has my full permission to update and change my sets as they please.

From contest feedback:

+ Good strategic depth regarding the full carrot, possibility to shoot it down with certain weapons or block access by freezing springs
+ Well balanced weapon and powerup placement
+ No area is too easily campable but there are a few spots for breathing
+ Impressive visually without being too distractive to the eye

- The springs next to bases are sometimes hard to land on

/ Seems playable in both 2v2 and 3v3
/ The level is fairly big in size, but at the same time very open which compensates for it

Copy pasted from contest feedback, note this is rated on its suitability for 2v2/3v3

+ Fun Full NRG area
+ Very suitable ammo/PU choices given the layout, and logical ammo placement
+ Interesting to have ice feeling useful in a level with spring trolling (for once)

- Does feel a bit like there’s not much safety in the level, which is great for 2v2 in fairness, but may encourage double hunting (which I personally like, but I know others don’t)

Other comments:
I recommend 2v2/3v3
I found the EC somewhat distracting in-game, but lowdetail really helped, good job building support for ppl who are blind like me!
I’d like if the small C’s were a bit more easily accessible, perhaps a personal nitpick…
Rating omitted since ez-product

Great Job PurpleJazz!

You Finished Good Map and Mist And Map is good Too with 8 bit color

But Very COOL Map!!!

The background layers in this map will blow you away, though the sprite eyecandy lacks a bit. The layout seems to work well for larger games. Download recommended.

EDIT: Slightly increased rating because of the improvements made regarding the sprite layer eyecandy. PJ has done an excellent job to give this level an unqiue touch.

Mt. Cinder, the volcano mountain.

Gameplay:
Both CTF bases are on the far edges of the map with the blue base on the left and the red on the right, sitting each on top of the tower. Yes, this level is symmetric, which works quite well in a map like this with the Mt. Cinder in the middle. The volcanic mountain is also where most of the fighting will take place apart from the bases, alot of power-ups sitting on the edges of the mountain or scattered in caves right upon entry. It is where you will also find the full carrot at the bottom where the lava will kill you in an instant aswell as a small carrot at the top of the mountain plus each base also have a small carrot. Flying carrots are also scattered across the exterior of the map, the flying carrots can only be used for ten seconds, but it will also deactivate upon entry of the interiors like the towers or the mountain, which is well thought of to prevent too much flying, and that is important in a map of this size. This makes the map suitable for large public games.

Pickups
This map uses different ammo for some weapons like the bouncers being replaced as stone balls or seekers being replaced as fireworks going straight in the air. The choices of weapons suit the gameplay very well, as the fireworks will be most usefull in taking down players who use the flying carrot. There is plenty of ammo around and spawn quite frequent.

Visuals:
First of, this map is freakin’ huge, and with that, finishing it in just 3 days as stated above is pretty impressive. Despite of being symmetric, you can clearly see how much details PJ put in this map. Also the originality is surely visible, with tilesets like BurningTowers3, Rootalopicus and Volcano(you don’t see these alot nowadays)you can safely state this as a one of a kind map. Everything is amazingly put together while it’s not too distracting while playing, but when standing still you will be amazed by the visuals of this map. The music also fits the level just fine.

Overall this is a unique, very detailed map made for public games of atleast 4vs4 or above. Download recommended? Absolutely.

Very nice map, original made tileset. Love it. :)