Condemned

  • Rating: 8.5

Reviews and comments

    Foly 20 Sep 2013, 14:30 (edited 20 Sep 13, 14:33)

    9Recommended:

    This level comes back often at JDC events and when it does, it is very fun to play. That said I also think this level plays best with many people. I’m not sure if this level would work with 3v3 or maybe even 2v2, but I’d love to try some time. On to the reviewing.

    Gameplay – 52/65
    First thing I noticed about this level is that it is very open. Because of this you’ll move around fluently and won’t bump into stuff easily. Also springs and vines are used well to let the player go quickly up and down. The warp is usefull to go up and get higher ground since it’s risky to go up the slopes at the right top of the level. The warp back down leads to a +1 carrot, it’s a bit more risky though. At the start the warps felt a bit useless but I think it’s something you got to learn in this level.

    Another good thing about the gameplay in this level is that rf, bouncer and toaster are ballanced in this level. There are enough slopes and edges to prevent shooting rf’s too far and making bouncers more usefull. Besides that I think fire is most usefull in the vertical parts. I think the area at 61, 60 should be easier accessible. This is not because it is a campy area but I think making the passage one tile bigger will make it less bumpy. You could for example move the entrance down a bit so you can still have a safe area at the top. One more thing is the tube at the middle. I think this can be very usefull but the only problem is that it’s a bit hard to see it’s there, not a problem if you learn the level though.

    The ammo is well spread through the level and there is plenty of it. The only area that seems empty is the left upper warp. A total of 4 carrots with small delay is probably the main reason this level is better with more people. The placement of the middle one and the right bottom one is excellent. Putting seekers at the right top one could make it campy, but I in this case it can be easily countered with bouncers and rf’s. I think the carrot in the water shouldn’t be in a dead end or at least make it a bigger area, it’s already in the water which makes it already risky enough to get it. Also the seekers at the right bottom in the level are a bit too hard/risky to get. Besides that I think the right side of the level seems to be a bit more filled with good pu’s/carrots than the left side, this isn’t that bad though. The bouncer PU is hard to get with normal bouncers, also I think in a tense battle it’s kinda hard to see but eventually you will know where it is.

    Eyecandy – 23.5/25
    Well there isn’t much too say about the eyecandy, it’s just great. Layer’s 1 to 3 and 5 are used very well to created nice decorations in the walls. Because most of this decorations are in the walls it isn’t distractive for the gameplay which is ofcourse a big plus. I was thinking about more decorations at layer 5 that are not in the wall, but I’m not sure how much this would improve the level and the background is good enough (and original too!). The tileset has been used before but not with this palette. The palette is pretty dark but I together with the music this increases the atmosphere. The level is open enough to not let the darkness become overwhelming.

    Originality – 7/10
    I don’t think the gameplay in this level is something completely new. One thing that adds to the originality is the water, not just because it has water but also because the gameplay around it is good. About the eyecandy, I think the background is very original and adds to the atmosphere. Besides that the good quality of this level’s eyecandy is not something most level makers can reproduce.

    Total: 84.5/100
    This level is definatly one of the better battle levels on j2o. Like I said it is used much in JDC events and I bet it will be used many more times in the future. Download recommended ofcourse!

    Note that this rating is lower than my quick reviews, this is not because the level is worse but because I’m a bit more critical.

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