Custom / Concept, by 
“Cracco Balloon Races 2” is basically the quintessential sequel. It is, all things considered, well-intentioned. There is nothing to suggest that this pack was excessively rushed, nor that little effort was put into it before release. However, there is just something missing from it, or rather a number of things, that makes it not add up to the sum of its parts. To be truly successful, a sequel must only improve on the original, but maintain a lot of creativity. This sequel to the original “Cracco Balloon Races” succeeds on a superficial level. It features good gameplay that is, all things considered, fun. And it does remain true to the premise of the original. However, the dedication is perhaps too obsessive. There is little more, different leveldesigns notwithstanding, that makes this sequel seem sequel-y. Rather, it is simply about equal in interest to the original. And, after the time the original has been out and played, that simply is not good enough. The starburst-esque claims made in this level’s description perhaps do more damage to it than anything. This is not a gala event of any sort. It is a race level, and by all accounts, an excellent one. However, it is touted as being much more complicated than it really is. Each level has its own name, when honestly they are simply different-looking ways of doing the same formula. Take this level at face value and ignore the pitches. It is quite fun in that case, especially for those who have not played the original.
GAMEPLAY/DESIGN: This level is 980×40, making it effectively 80×5 larger than the original Balloon Races. For those who have not already quite guessed from the name of the level or the previous release how exactly this level works, it goes a bit something like this: you hop from balloon to balloon, avoiding various obstacles, trying to get to the other side of the level. Each level features a unique look and unique roadblocks (for the most part) that try to stop you from reaching your ultimate goal. The levels are oftentimes character-dependent, although some of them can work with both characters (for those who enjoy trying levels with characters that supposedly do not work for them: do not try very hard; this level’s labels are more or less accurate on which characters can and cannot traverse certain challenges). If the balloon part of Balloon Races sounds generally like a ploy, it is. There is no reason for which this level could not feature another sort of obstacle, something that, while playing, occured to me many times. As nice as it is to have a themed race level, it would be more interesting if there was more creativity involved than simply different ways to stop the player from getting to the other side over balloons. Gameplay quality depends on your personal preference and the “sublevel”. NOOB is basically the test level for the game, and features nothing more than a few sucker tubes blocking your way. Getting past it is hopefully easy. FAKETREES is sort of like NOOB, except harder and, instead of just balloons, it features trees. GHOSTS features yet another one of those annoying disappearing ground tests that relies on good timing and luck as much as game playing skill. FROSTY is simply a windy version of the earlier simplistic balloon levels. EVVIL is kind of the opposite of the previous levels, perhaps because of the extra “V”, and here you try to jump from ledge to ledge whilst avoiding the balloons. SPRINGTIME features springs which you must freeze to get through. OWNED is the sort of race level that I have been complaining about since the dawn of time and will continue to until the end of the Earth. There, you try to find the balloons that are actually balloons. This is the sort of level that bothers me, mostly because a significantly higher amount of luck is involved than skill, but also because it is monotonous. MINI is the novelty level, featuring much smaller ledges. HOVER is another really annoying luck-based level, where this time you simply navigate pitch-blackness to reach your goal. STUFF is a trigger zone-based level but otherwise pretty similar to earlier levels. MIX is apparently a mix of previous levels, with both freezies and bouncers to stop you from reaching the other side. OMGDASDADASADSADASDSA or whatever it is consists of a decent puzzle, which will either be a breath of fresh air or the most annoying thing ever, depending on your puzzle-related disposition. I had a strong sense of deja vu for much of this, as if I had played similar levels in the last pack. And, in fact, many of the levels were at least loosely based on the previous Balloon Races. I suppose creativity does have its bounds. The next complaint I have is the difficulty level. I am tired of levels simply throwing in a high level of difficulty and then insulting any player who complains about it. I may be a bad player, or a n00b, or whatever you want to call me, but test levels like these are simply too hard. While I think Foo Races is a bit on the easy side, this is nonetheless a very frustrating level. Players tend to give up quickly on the first few levels, which is not fun. This is less of a race than a “can you finish?” sort of level, which there are already far too many of. It is more fun to compete with other players than to idle with them because you cannot get past one of the levels.
PROS: Challenging and fairly creative, considering the limited options. Does not do a carbon-copy of previous levels.
CONS: A bit too much like the previous pack. Does not feel as fresh or new as the original. Unneededly hard.
RATING: 6.2
TILESET/TILESET USE: CraccoBoy’s use of his own tilesets and nothing else continues in full stride in “Balloon Races 2.” This time, the tileset in use is Cracco Party Casino (bad Elvis impersonators not included). It is more or less a good tileset, although the colors feel very fake to me (even considering that this is supposed to be a casino). The tileset is not supposed to be realistic, though. The colors have, however, improved since the original. Before, they appeared as unearthly hues that only a low-flying pilot could appreciate. Now, at least everything looks like it could reasonably be put in the same room and look like it fits. Not to say that it is completely streamlined and natural now, but at least it is improvement. The animation on the balloons is also a lot less jerky than in the previous version of this level, and while the level does suffer from the equivilant of visual verbosity, it at least maintains truth to a somewhat 8-bit casino atmosphere. The trees seem to float in the middle of nowhere (they are, after all, fake) and look suspiciously like balloons covered with leafs. The water in SPRINGTIME looks more like many blue shark’s fins, and there are many things that appear to just float magically, but it still looks realistic. Or at least more realistic than it theoretically could have looked. Oh, yes, except for the background, which is just horrible.
PROS: An improvement in realism over the original.
CONS: The colors are still just a bit too bright, the natural items just a bit too artificial-looking, and the scenery a bit too out-of-place.
RATING: 6.2
REPLAY/FUN FACTOR/ORIGINALITY: Ah, the saving grace of race levels. This is the category which is either life or death for race and puzzle levels such as this. Is it fun to play, or not? Isn’t that the entire point of a race level? In this case, this category is sort of a disappointment, but not a surprising one. Race level is not the title I would appoint to a level such as this, but that is what we have been asked to review it as. There is very little race involved here. It is hard to complete the final level, and this is mainly because the level intentionally makes it hard. It does, however, do a better job of balancing everything off than many other levels. It still, though, feels as if the difficulty of this level was added in simply so that many players could not finish it and so people would rate it higher just for being hard. This level is not any better for “highly skilled players” than it is for anyone else. Sure, they might be able to finish it more easily, but even for them, there is no fun in finishing if no one else can. There is a certain element to race that makes it more fun. The feeling that any moment, a player could come up from behind you and pass you. In this, you could theoretically take a nap on one of the higher levels and it is doubtful that many would pass you at all. The excitement simply is missing. This is like a game of chess without much thought put into it at all, and most players do not expect a game as long or difficult as chess from a race level. We want a fun, simplistic level. A fun level. And this simply tries too hard to be hard to be fun.
PROS: Challenging. This could be good for some. A decent replay, being a race level.
CONS: Repeat after me: hard does not mean good. Hard does not mean good.
RATING: 6.5
OVERALL (not an average): Aside from not quite being as new or creative than the first version, this level is much harder. While hard levels are getting high ratings lately, they are still being overrated. I would rather see a lot of creativity in a level than an artificially inflated challengingness. This level has its bright spots, and is by no means a bad level, but simply does not satisfy that wish for race levels that there will be another race level that will stop trying to be something bigger than it is. Race lovers have a simple view on playing. They do not care about the story behind a race level. They just care about going as fast as they can through a level. This level will find its fan base. It is not boring, but just not exciting enough. And, as many sequels before it, simply is too sequel-y. And way too self-important.
PROS: Challenging. Balloon racing is still enjoyable.
CONS: Slow and pointlessly hard to beat. Not much of a race level because of that. Ugly background.
RATING: 6.5
GAMEPLAY: B -
Flow: C+
Layout: B -
Creativity: B
Bugs: B+
EYECANDY: B
Tileset use: B
Eyecandy look: B -
Creativity: B
Bugs: B
THE FINAL GRADE: B -
THE FINAL RATING: 6.5
~ Traft
REVIEW EDIT IN RESPONSE TO CRACCOBOY’S COMMENTS: I suppose I may have been the most tad bit confused by the name of the level, which sort of suggests that this is, indeed, a race level; regardless, the level is presented as a race level. I still maintain, in fact, my original rating even if this was a test level. I was afraid that it would turn out to be a test level upon this review, so I was more generous with rating. The eyecandy and general lack of originality are enough to drag this down to something in the 6.5 to 6.7 range. I am going with the former due to the classification of this level as “Race” and the name. I do, however, understand your position. It does remain, however, that this level is stated to be a race in several locations. It is a decent test, and if it was uploaded as such, I would probably adjust my rating to 7.0-7.2. If it is, in fact, uploaded as such, contact me and I will do so, although I do not have enough time to provide a revised review in such of a case.[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]
