n00b
31 Mar 2008, 20:35 (edited 1 Apr 08, 21:34)
Featured
1
Veg, I challenge you to describe how the drivel I just played was fun in any manner and what the hell they were supposed to train you for. Last I checked, not many levels force you to contend with spikes, flailerangs, dragon fire, a handful of other enemies, and the boss you’re supposed to hit all at once and the ones that do Suck. Hard. The only training this pack provides is how to be good at this pack.
I’ve tried hard not to touch this, I’ve been burned far too much on past boss packs and their staleness. However somewhere down the line something caved in. Luckily enough this pack was different. Despite that, it has to be the worst set of boss battles I’ve ever played.
The pack tries desperately to be challenging and over the top and sacrifices fun and good design for it. None of these levels offer a modicum of fun, and the ounces of cleverness they display are completely outsed by the fact that the levels are designed not to be completed. I know what you’re thinking. However most level packs have challenge that is not repetive, rewarded well, and knows it must be eventually overcome because the player needs to know what happens next. These levels are not chained by any significant storyline, location or gameplay changes. They have it in their minds that you just murdered their wife and kids right and front of them and pissed in their shoe. They want you dead and could care less if you make it to the next stage. When difficulty is designed solely for the sake of being difficult, everything else suffers.
Let’s take for instance the final fight against Devan. It is a multi tiered fight where Devan constantly moves up ropes that can only be shot at by hanging at the rope above him. If DX focused on making the ropes themselves difficult (like maybe using the suckers on ropes concept from a previous boss) and allowed Devan to go up more than two floors, this would have been a good battle. It instead focuses on making the entire arena intent on killing you. The arena is cramped and its easy to get hit by fire, and more than likely you’re going to get hit by the Tuf bosses every time unless you play the boss fight really, really slow. Which saps out all of the fun of fighting Devan. Dude has 200 health or so, and your arsenal is rather limited, and will quickly become just the blaster. I don’t have time for this.
Also don’t give me any damn excuse for the eyecandy. I don’t give a crap that its only a few boss levels. These levels look like all DX did was take a bunch of concepts from older packs and then put them all together in one tiny-ass room, hit the “blend” button and then repeated that seven more times. Heck sometimes he even forgot to change the boss. This does not show effort on the designing end. I could have made this pack in five minutes minus the time it would take for testing. Show me that there was some effort put into this pack. A review that says “Well the gameplay sucked but at least it was pretty” is way better than “This is pure trash on every front”. Hell at the very least change the tileset. This could have just been one level that looped itself with a hub where the player picked which boss he/she wanted to fight. Actually that sounds kind of cool, it’d be much better if the pack actually did that.
However “Bosses” doesn’t want to be cool, it just wants you dead because it thinks you raped its mother, and thats a shame.
cooba
25 Mar 2008, 13:58 (edited 1 Apr 08, 11:54)
4
This pack was predictable like no other. In half of the total 8 boss combats, Tuf Bosses are put out of player’s reach to back up the otherwise weak boss. That way of making a boss harder is older than I remember, probably dating back to Violet’s TTJJ2 pack (precisely, its final level). Old or not, it’s okay if done right, but six Tuf Bosses at once in the first level definitely isn’t right.
Tuf Bosses aside, these levels are filled with other hazards, mostly spikes and respawning enemies (more annoying cliches), spike balls and smoke rings to a lesser extent. None of those are affected by difficulty settings for some reason or another, which is unacceptable.
Some (unfortunately, not all) of the levels seem to have the general idea behind, which is hindered by the lacking execution. The penultimate level (which I like the most because it doesn’t have Tuf Bosses) becomes the easiest once you figure it out – which is a shame.
There’s not much else that can be said about this. I did not mention the visual aspects because this pack is apparently devoid of those. These levels are repetitive, frustrating, and don’t seem to have taken more than 5 minutes to make, each. If you say that 5 minutes is too less, then ask yourself if these levels were at all tested.
Ischa
29 Mar 2008, 15:05 (edited 4 Apr 08, 13:33)
2
Rating Bosses
To start:
I thought it was a Boss fight training, but when I encountered the first Boss, I think everyone who uses this pack as a Boss fight training is ill.
Eyecandy: (20 pts)
The Eyecandy is fair, however all of the levels are set in the castle. I think it was better if you have chosen eight different tilesets for all levels. I think if you have chosen eight different tilesets, I would give you more of the twenty possible points. But in the fifth level you used a pretty good Castle Eyecandy with those moving platforms. And in the second Boss level there are flying springs. I don’t see this very often. So I think it’s a bad fair gameplay, but you can do better!
Result: 7 pts
Gameplay: (20 pts)
BAAAAAAAD. There are eight ‘Boss-fights’, but I think it are eight ‘Boss Tortures’, because it is almost impossible to kill one of the eight Bosses. In each level Tuf Bosses are hidden behind the wall (so they are out of player’s reach). Maybe it was better if you have used one or two Tuf Bosses, and NO MORE than three! You have used at least SIX Tuf Bosses and that’s the reason why the Bosses are almost impossible to kill.
Result: 0 pts
Story: (10 pts)
There is no story. So this factor does not count for your final rating.
Result: N/A
Obstacle placement: (20 pts)
Very-very bad. There are too many Tuf Bosses, but apart from them, there are also respawning enemies, smoke rings, Spike Balls and loads of spikes. And you can guess it: MUCH-MUCH-MUCH TOO MANY OF THEM!
Result: 0 pts
Bonus placement: (10 pts)
No bonuses, but you really needs them, because without carrots it is impossible to kill the Bosses! So once again no points.
Result: 0 pts
Conclusion
You do not need arenas with Tuf Bosses in it to make a Boss harder. For example, download this level.
http://www.jazz2online.com/J2Ov2/downloads/info.php?levelID=1908
And if you want to create a… well… nontraditional Boss, download these examples. http://www.jazz2online.com/J2Ov2/downloads/info.php?levelID=4930
And also my friend Gus uses nontraditional Bosses, so please download those packs.
http://www.jazz2online.com/J2Ov2/downloads/browse.php?userUploadsID=4964
Check them out and then try again.
Total points: 7
Maximum number of points: 80-10(story)= 70
Calculating: 7÷70×9+1= 1,9
Mark: 1,9
Download recommendation:
My god. If you want to have fun with hard bosses, this is it. This is harder then trying to beat Jazz 2 without getting hit, on hard, with only blaster, and only 20 enemies defeated!
Eyecandey
Wow. did you even try? No this is bad. just a couple of castle blocks put together to make the most boring thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t stand the eyecandey.
1/10
Gameplay
You may think that this may be fun but no. the bosses are impossible. You got dragons, vines, spikes, and tuff bosses in one little arena making it look like a room of torture. The bosses are impossible to defeat without JJGOD enabled. Even if this for a joke, tit’s not funny.
1/10
Ammo
AH! No enough. You WILL be using your blaster the most and with all those enemies, you might as well write out your will right now.
1/10
Enemies
EVIL! The room is trying to kill you. You won’t live!
1/10
Final score: 4/10
Score: 1
Rank: F
DR? what do you think?
Bluespaz7
1 Apr 2008, 17:41 (edited 1 Apr 08, 17:45)
1
Like, wtf? Why did you make this?! This is just 8 similar bosses all in really frustrating arenas that take all the fun out of fighting the bosses. More effort next time, please.
~BS7
Tahget
3 Apr 2008, 18:47 (edited 4 Apr 08, 11:32 by cooba)
2
wow, they’re really hard. the only one i’ve managed to make through is the one with bolly, and that’s because I’ve first destroyed all spikes. this pack is really, really too hard. I don’t mind the lack of eyecandy though (it’s a practice level, they don’t need eyecandy)
[Review changed to quick review. For more information, see \Review Rules\. – cooba]
1
No-no…MAN! Its pack is not good! Its only BOSS levels…AND its too easy levels! I can’t rate you NORMAL state!
Download Recomendation—-NO!
Bah, don’t rate something which was considered as fun training.
It is fun to beat the bosses the ways Dx thought up to beat them. It wasn’t for eyecandy or something. Seriously, if you bash this so much, I’d say this is as boring as the JJ2 SP challenges Valco thought up. I am not gonna bash those either, so get rid of these levels if you’re gonna rate them for eyecandy or sth. They’re fun ;\. OR rather, they’re as frustrating as the SP challenges however these are shorter than the challenges :).
Sorry if it sounds like a Personal Attack, wasn’t mean like that. I just make my point clear>: [
I could only manage to beat the first boss level but the other 7 are well… FAR TOO HARD!
CrimiClown
25 Mar 2008, 14:27 (edited 25 Mar 08, 14:28)
Ran out of ideas, Ðx? I remember making the exact same without Tuff Bosses four years ago, if not more.
Edit: Okay, it was three years ago.
To prevent these reviews, just don’t allow it to be rated.
Ðx
25 Mar 2008, 14:07 (edited 25 Mar 08, 15:08)
Well Cooba, it actually took more then 5 minutes ;).
It was not tested, and it was more for fun.
EDIT:
Heee CrimiClown, nope these are new one’s xD