Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

They made me write this message.

I’m not here to rate the levels, my attention is on the tileset they use.

Art Style:

Nothing short of superlative. The fact that the city blocks are ripped from UT isn’t a problem for me. Every time I play UT3 now, I just see 7th Lava Fall dotted in around the place. Even Desolation has to give way to defeat here. An almost perfect 9.9 here.

Diversity of Tiles:

What can I say, plenty of little tools here. It’s so easy to make trains with this tileset, and all of the train levels look amazing. Of course, the possibilities don’t end there. I used this tileset for HWS Altair once, and I found so much to take advantage of in this tileset. Most of the tiles mesh so easily, and nothing is off-limits to the JCS’er. Wipes the floor with its opponents with a 9.7.

Layer Management:

This is where Desolation has the edge, since this wasn’t the primary goal of 7th Lava Fall. Of course, all tilesets have weaknesses, but hey, 7th doesn’t trip over itself here.
Have fun with the 8.8 this one picks up.

Environment:

So many options are present. Customisable ships and other vehicles, twisting pipes, lava streams, lava pools, fans, metal beams and goodness knows what else all comes together to make a peerless tileset. If that wasn’t enough, turn Mask mode on, and look at the mask messages. Yes, Jesus saves, and Dethman has infused the truth into this tileset, netting a 9.7 in the process.

Result:

Art Style – 9.9
Diversity of Tiles – 9.7
Layer Management – 8.8
Environment – 9.7

Total —> 9.525

Final Rating: 9.7

I may have said that Desolation transcends this, but Desolation 7th doesn’t, as it obscures the Christian messages and doesn’t look as good as either of its two originators. That and Desolation just scrapes a victory, only because of the increased versatility and the fact that it was made by a team.

(Unfortunately, this is not a tileset upload, although your thoughts on the tileset used by the levels are certainly appreciated. ~Violet)

I don’t know what people are talking about when they say that this is one of Agama’s lesser tilesets. None of her tilesets are anything short of spectacular.

Art Style:

Ticks all the right boxes for me. The shininess of many of the tiles and the crazy palette modifications have won me over many times. Seems loosely based on Orbitus as well. I am pleased to award this a strong 8.9.

Diversity of Tiles:

Such a wide range of scenery to place in a level, with the elaborate pipes already offering a swarm of possibilities just by themselves. Let your imagination run wild, JCS’ers, this one takes a solid 9.4.

Layer Management:

Hm, this might be the weak point of this monster, but that being said, it still smashes weaker tilesets to dust. Many could get away with just layers 3 and 4 forming the main body of the level. I give this a 7.8.

Environment:

What a crazy environment we have here, lavish with detail and eyecandy, although it’s not a good choice for novices. My advice, get some practice first, then make a beeline for it when you’re good enough. Solid 9.5

Result:

Art Style – 8.9
Diversity of Tiles – 9.4
Layer Management – 7.8
Environment – 9.5

Total —> 8.9

Final Rating: 9

Agama doing what she does best: making masterpiece tilesets, again and again.

Art Style:

One of the best forests I’ve ever seen, takes Tarzan’s Treetops by the scruff of the neck and drives it into the dirt. Makes mincemeat of lesser tilesets. Solid 8.5.

Diversity of Tiles:

Obviously many of the tiles do the foliage for the canopy and leaves, but there’s plenty of room for complex branches and other great things. The wood structure things are also a very good little quirk. I made a level using this and showed it to my 3-year-old brother, and he loved the animals that can be animated. Nets a 9.6.

Layer Management:

Okay, this may not be another Desolation, but it can do very well here too. Most of the layer work will be focused onto the canopy and leaves with many levels, but that’s no restriction. I give this a 7.8

Environment:

I don’t really care about any of the disadvantages of a forest location here, as this tileset has none of them. Agama truly shines here, making her skills felt even to the younger generation. Tileset walks away with a 8.3 under the belt here.

Result:

Art Style – 8.5
Diversity of Tiles – 9.6
Layer Management – 7.8
Environment – 8.3

Total —> 8.55

Final Rating: 8.7

Personally, I think this tileset looks WAY too good to be a first ever tileset. but I’ll take your word for it, BlurredD.

Art Style:

Very good in all areas, although the pink version isn’t to my taste, not that that makes any difference. Gets a good 6.8

Diversity of Tiles:

This knows no bounds. Almost all of the tile groups have a different use, but all of them go well together. If you want a visual demonstration of this, look at the “Pride” level in Dreamscape. Nails a staggering 9.9.

Layer Management:

Odyssey doesn’t seem to acknowledge layer configurations all that much, which is downright handy when making levels, because it makes equally easy work of two or three layers for the main body as it does with seven. Configure whatever you please, and you’ll do well with any setting. Gets a potent 9.5.

Environment:

Blackraptor took full advantage of this. Yes, anything that goes in space will work, as will abandoned facilities. Odyssey does all of that, and there’s no end to the detail that it can feed into a level, although it is VERY hard to master. Kudos to those who can. I give this a 9.1.

Result:

Art Style – 6.8
Diversity of Tiles – 9.9
Layer Management – 9.5
Environment – 9.1

Total —> 8.825

Final Rating: 9

BlurredD holds nothing back as he unleashes the fury of the storms, jolly good thing Jazz has the ability to hide in the fortress, hm?

Art Style:

Subtle, it doesn’t scream “EYECANDY!” at you on first sight. It creeps up, but is just as good looking. I for one could never make a tileset anywhere near as good as that. This one claims a 7.5

Diversity of Tiles:

Hm, there is much to be desired here, but that’s not a problem to a skilled JCS’er. As for the clouds, though, I’ve never seen any other tileset that even comes close to doing that, and with WSF you get the double whammy of the advanced lightning effects. I just WISH that the rain was better done. Even after a slashing from the weak rain, it still gets a 6.8

Layer Management:

BlurredD never seems to have trouble with this. WSF can make levels look good regardless of layer configuration. Having chewed up the lesser tilesets, WSF takes a good 7.6 here.

Environment:

One of the few times I’d do a castle level, I’d choose this without any hesitiation. Most of the other castle tilesets can’t even hold a candle to this. This gets a solid 8.0

Result:

Art Style – 7.5
Diversity of Tiles – 6.8
Layer Management – 7.6
Environment – 8.0

Total —> 7.475

Final Rating: 7.5

(added in rating since it was accidentally left N/A. ~Violet)

Every now and then you get someone who just makes tileset-making look easy.

Art Style:

Despite not liking the ankhs, the tileset makes a desert city look a lot less boring than it does in real life. A difficult environment to make a masterpiece from, and Agama has done extremely well. I give this a 7.4.

Diversity of Tiles:

There’s certainly a lot that can be done with houses. Holiday Feaw and Town House have proven that, and so does this one. I’ve played Mirror’s Edge, and I can just see this tileset serving a good use there. Excellent work, Agama, this one gets a 7.9

Layer Management:

This one is another merciless blow to the head when it comes to layers. The tilesets that can make the main body of the level with fewer parallel layers are the ones that shine, which this one does. Agama has once again proven her superlative skills. I give this a 7.7

Environment:

I’m not a fan of desert cities, but nevertheless, that doesn’t impair the rating of this tileset at all. Purely because of this tileset, I can bring myself to make a level in an environment I usually never use. Well done, this gets a 7.1

Result:

Art Style – 7.4
Diversity of Tiles – 7.9
Layer Management – 7.7
Environment – 7.1

Total —> 7.525

Final Rating: 7.7

I have to say, make a level like this and put UT3’s song Mekalopolis over it. Okay, rating incoming:

Art Style:

It might not seem like it could do this, but these tilesets can go toe-to-toe with the likes of masterpieces in the hands of a skilled JCS’er. I give this a 5.6, and that’s not just to be flattering.

Diversity of Tiles:

NOKA certainly had this one handled. Although over 800 tiles had to be removed from the Secret Files versions (Technoir(2/3) – NOKA), it hasn’t lost its punch as much as I thought it would, which is good. It’s still capable of chewing up lesser tilesets for breakfast, so I’ll give it a 7.1

Layer Management:

No problems here at all, this tileset will only need 3 layers for the main body of the level, leaving plenty of elbow room. The true worth of the tileset shines through when silos are involved. Those things are built for JCS’ers to work wonders with. This gets a 7.5.

Environment:

Man, this place has many uses. Although the pink versions do look a bit vulgar to my eyes (you can thank 7th Lava Fall for that), that doesn’t hold it back at all. This takes a good 6.8.

Results:

Art Style – 5.6
Diversity of Tiles – 7.1
Layer Management – 7.5
Environment – 6.8

Total —> 6.75

Final Rating: 7

Don’t keep saying that you suck if you can’t make a good tileset. Negativity is the greater of killers.

BlurredD never ceases to amaze. This is the only tileset I know that is capable of transcending the almighty 7th Lava Fall.

Art Style:

This just proves how teamwork is such a powerful asset. Each part looks as amazing as the last. Grassy caves, stone castles, metal fortresses, all of them look so amazing. The whole tileset is a masterpiece. I give this a 8.6

Diversity of Tiles:

What a diversity we have here. A whole section of the tileset (the red letters and numbers) is capable of saying almost anything, especially in the hands of a good animator. The environments can be mixed and matched with impunity, and almost no part of the tileset shows any level of letting the whole thing down. Masterful, and worthy of a 9.2

Layer Management:

I wish there were more tilesets that could use just layers 3 and 4 for the main body of the level. That is such a rare thing to accomplish, but Desolation has held its own, even leaving 7th Lava Fall in a cloud of smoke. So many JCS’ers have proven the superiority of this tileset, again and again. I give a 9.6 to this part.

Environment:

The proficiency of this tileset knows no bounds here, mercilessly rivaling the versatility of even Phantasmagoria. There are almost no limits to the possibilities of this masterpiece in the hands of a skilled JCS’er, like BlurredD himself. This gets a 9.4.

Results:

Art Style – 8.6
Diversity of Tiles – 9.2
Layer Management – 9.6
Environment – 9.4

Total —> 9.2

Final Rating: 9.2

Teamwork makes all the difference.

First off, I can say nothing but spectacular. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to rate it.

Art Style:

Wall-to-wall gorgeous sharpness and close attention to detail. Looks good in every variant. This gets a solid 8.0

Diversity of Tiles:

Quite a good arrangement of options here. Some stone for more natural caves, with the addition of dirt, and some very good-looking clouds. Not only can it do two types of sky, but the added bonus of stars and two types of planet can really make the difference. Most people will be using the metal and city buildings, but that’s probably because of how good they look. I give this a 7.6.

Layer Management:

Very strong and very competent. It’s possible to use just two layers for the main level, which is extremely rare for a tileset to do, and makes a huge difference to the quality. Does not fall short of excellent on even its weak points. Worthy of a 9.2 here.

Environment:

Where does the amazingness end? Variant determines the environment, but all of them look insanely good. While Acrid can do environments capable of making Jazz mutate, Borealis can mercilessly chill, Crispy burns away critics and Deadly is just downright ominous. This one gets a 8.6.

Result:

Art Style – 8.0
Diversity of Tiles – 7.6
Layer Management – 9.2
Environment: 8.6

Total —> 8.35

Final Rating —> 8.5

I did try and use this tileset once, and it just doesn’t work for my JCS’ing style, so I’ll ignore that during rating.

Art Style:

Since I’m so used to Desolation and WTF levels of detail, I can’t say that the visual look is any good, but I’ll be fair and give it a 4.0, because I don’t want to penalise anyone for that.

Diversity of Tiles:

Plenty of different types of tile to see here, so have fun making patterns in the solid and non-solid parts of the level with the main blocks. Some very good animations and compatibility with light events, and the all-too-rare lasers. That in conjunction with the other types of environment (the caves and wreckage) nets this aspect a solid 7.8

Layer Management:

This one can definitely handle the layers well, since many will only realistically need 3 layers to make the main part of the level, while some other tilesets may need as many as 6. The good part of needing only 3 is that there’s more room for background scenery like cooling towers and distant mountains. I give this a 7.4.

Environment:

This is one cool environment. Since the variant that’s being used changes the location, that’s always a good thing. The good thing about Aftermath is that all three variants can look just as good as each other: put the wreckage and still-functioning scenery alongside the correct lighting and the palette tricks, and you’ve got a masterpiece. This bit gets a 8.2.

Result:

Art Style – 4.0
Diversity of Tiles – 7.8
Layer Management – 7.4
Environment – 8.2

Total —> 6.85

Final rating: 7

I can’t remember the number of times I’ve mentioned how great this pack is.

Not a fan of the genre of music that “Apocalyptic End” uses, but that doesn’t lower the grade that it gets, what with all of that fire and lava.

“Intercity Grudge Match” is just spectacular. Not only does it use UT music, but the combination of BlurredD’s skill and the Desolation tileset makes it truly awe-inspiring.

I can say as much about “Dethroned” as I did with “Intercity Grudge Match”. Again, another amazing piece of work from BlurredD, and also proving that a person can produce a truly amazing result from one of their own tilesets. The same can be said for “E. Prime”.

Not many of the other levels jumped out at me as well as those, but they are no less awesome than the ones I’ve stated.

What we can see in this pack is the true capabilities of BlurredD, the brains behind JJ2+. I am aspiring to you, BlurredD. Your pack gets a 9.5 from me.

Okay, simple review.

Art Style:

Unfortunately, I’ve seen too much of the crazily good tilesets like Desolation, 7th Lava Fall, Swamps of the Sleeping Jaguar, WTF and all of those to give it a good rating for the visual look of it, so I’ll be fair and give it a 5.0

Diversity of Tiles:

Quite a wide selection of different pieces of terrain, a good number of animations, plenty of eyecandy and detail to go around, good work there. This section’s worth about 7.8.

Layer Management:

Quite good at using a small number of layers for the main part of the level, leaving more room for more distant scenery and background detail. Worthy of a 7.3.

Environment:

Half-city, half-resort appearance to the tileset. Looks okay during the day, but evening and night variants look quite a lot better and more atmospheric, especially with light events dotted around the place. This one nets a 7.4.

Result:

Art Style – 5.0
Diversity of Tiles – 7.8
Layer Management – 7.3
Environment – 7.4

Total —> 6.875
Final rating: 7

Nice work on that, I’ll be sure to make good use of it.

woops, saved it one time in 1.24 jcs, but I made it in 1.23 xD

Edit: Converted it back and reuploaded it…

Why bother using the 1.23 version if you made the level in TSF?

I had 20 minutes to kill so I decided to play this, since the preview of the level interested me. Interesting and original use of the swamps tileset (though this style has been done before) and I liked the eyecandy and cave-like atmosphere; it was a refreshing change from the typical swamps level. Also this was challenging to play (I wouldve got a gameover if you didn’t hide all those extra lives here) though i thought some of the enemy placement was kind of cheap. However, the ammo placed throughout made this a lot easier (seeker/toaster ftw), though unless you are really skilled at this game you’ll probably find that instead of using any strategy, just spamming seekers everywhere is the best way to go. Save points were generously placed here, but i think they were needed since the combination of hard to hit enemies and death pits would get frustrating otherwise. I also really liked the boss battle here. Not much else to say really, good eyecandy/innovation, ok placement of pickups, good level of difficulty and fun to play = 8+ and a download reccomendation.

-blacky

SE dying a lot in SP = SE giving a high rating

On the other hand, I didn’t enjoy surprise enemies, enemy generators and very large amounts of seekers in this level. I was able to shoot almost every enemy on my way with seekers. Also the boss fight was way too easy imo.

Nice and original, however kinda repetitively looking use of the tileset.

Fine enough.

As I promised I would like to rate this 9.5. Everything is almost excellent.

jjj

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