Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Well, how’s about the first official review of 2009?

To start off, the name of the one song kind of set me off [sex.xm—the song title is “underwater sexual intercourse”. !!!???!!!]. I didn’t like that, maybe rename it?
Now for the levels themselves.
Fight In Flight 1 is a very interesting level. You fly around on a CTF map with hoverboards. The layout was a bit annoying, as most/all the powerups and weapons were inside the walls, and there were WAAAY too many fastfires scattered around the level. The concept was very good though, I was originally making one of these myself but stopped in lieu of other projects. There is also an alternate version of this that has springs, which is nice for those who really don’t like hoverboard combat.
Fight in Flight 2 is also interesting. It utilizes one of the concepts I first introduced in my battles [the textured bg being used as fog], but one of them wasn’t made translucent. The mountain isn’t as far down as should be, and this level is just a symmetrical copy of….itself. Still the idea is great, the execution is mediocre, but the bird kind of confused me a little.
The next level is an exact copy of level 1, except that it is in the water. Very interesting, and points go for that concept.
So to sum up I’d like to say good job, and a neutral dl rec goeth to you, because I’m not quite sure which way to lean. Keep coming back with more, and importantly the most, get testers.

Wasn’t this a cheat program five minutes ago? Yeah, I think it was.

Please remove the links to the ilegal jj2.

Those kind of links are not allowed on this community.

Nice idea. I haven’t checked the tabs themselves yet, because I don’t feel like playing any JJ2 music right now :p….but in any way, do you think you could tab the next ones with Guitar Pro? That’d make it a lot easier to handle (and more fun to play along), especially with songs that have several distinct layers (as, iirc, I think it is with Tubelec, which was mentioned in your thread).
But anyway, nice idea! Way to go. Therefore, even though I haven’t looked at it myself, I’ll give this a d/l recommendation (y)

…which i can’t, because i didn’t rate :[

Very Good Level
Environment is excellent and ammo is well spreaded ammo and pickups.
Background is good too.
I d say theres no problem with the level.Its excellent for CTF and i recomend it for CTF players.

A solid, but generic battle level with a cool background and a decent layout. The placement was generally good, but I felt that the hooks were unnecessary and just got in the way a bit instead of helping out the gameplay. I agree that getting 100 coins just for a 15 second Fire Shield is too much. The eyecandy felt quite basic, but not empty.

Level is well made
Background is pretty good,mountains and layer 8 too is good.
Ammo is well spreaded and battle arena is very creatively made.Music Is pretty good for the style of the level.Environment of the level is good.
But the warp for 100 coins,i think its a little to expensive for just a fire shield.I d reccomend 50 coins,because 100 is too expensive.It Took me minutes to gather that much coins.
On total,its a 9.0 and i d recomend this level for people that like battle levels.

Good Tileset
Pokemon in it are well made and you can make good background with layer 7 and 8,environment too is very good and pokemon jj2 levels can be well made with this tileset.No problem with this tileset,,it is well made.
8.0 from me

I’m finally getting around to reviewing this pack. Yay.

Past of Fortress Renovation
Mm…okay.

This level has some very nice eyecandy, but it’s really awkward to play in. Despite being fairly small, the layout manages to be quite confusing. There are two very, very bad locations. One is the bottom left – the entire level practically acts as a funnel to it, and there’s only one exit from it, which is into a warp with a single target that’s really easy to camp.
The other is the location of the start positions. Or rather, the start position. Yes, this level has ONE start position! (It has two events, but they’re very close to each other.) It’s not actually that big of an issue, but it still hurts the gameplay.

Fortress Renovation
Not at all bad.

Again, this level has great eyecandy. The “paint” doesn’t really look very good though. The layout isn’t difficult to learn, although you’re guaranteed to fall in the pits a couple of times as there are lots of blind jumps. Unfortunately, this is another level with a single start position, and this one is a bigger issue than the last because the level has fewer places to go than Past of Fortress Renovation. Sans badly placed single start position, I liked the dead end at the top left; it makes you think twice about getting the RF powerup.

The top right of the level is…strange. It has almost no ammo, one entrance (okay, there are two, but one is very hard to get to), several exits, one carrot (there’s another one but it doesn’t respawn!), and a toaster powerup. The top right of the area at the top right (if that makes since) is particularily weird. It’s a big, empty space with no events, sans one spring and one ammo box. It’s almost as if Snooze forgot to finish that part of the level.
But if you stop trying to figure out the top right, it’s a solid battle level.

The Shrine
Good but horribly secretly biased.

Again, this level has nice eyecandy and one start position. The start position isn’t really a problem in this one, however, because it’s in a nice, open area that you can quickly get out of.
The layout and flow are both very nice, although the level has almost no ammo at all – the bulk of your weaponry will be made up by the powerups.
I particularily enjoyed the placement of the pits in this level. Unlike those in Fortress Renovation, the pits in this level are obvious and you’re unlikely to walk into them too many times. But they’re well placed. Oh, they’re well placed.
You’re probably wondering what the “horribly secretly biased” part is, so I shall tell you. You’ll notice some one way floors above a small hole with float up events in it. If you’re Spaz, you can just jump right up to those floors and get to the seeker powerup and carrot above them. But if you’re Jazz (or Lori)? Then you have to run up on it just right so you collide with the Freeze Enemies and fall into that little hole. The result is the same, but the method is much harder, AND you’re a sitting duck while you do it. Bad, bad, bad. Bad.

Hall of Legends
Awesome but OLD.

This is a very solid level. It has a good and intuitive layout, good eyecandy, and good event placement. I particularily like the pits. The puddle at the left feels rather gimmicky though.
There’s really not much to be said about it. It’s just a great level, period. What I do know is that it’s OLD! Oh well. That doesn’t change that it’s a good level.

Secret Forest Shrine
Very good, but kind of dull.

This level has some amazing eyecandy, despite the tileset. It’s quite big – not sure why PT32 described it as small. The layout is pretty good, but it suffers from one major problem: the layout is extremely hard to learn and unintuitive. You could be near the top right and think you’re at the bottom left, and you could easily miss 40% of the level because there’s no sense of direction.
And aside from that, the level just isn’t that fun to play in. I’m not sure why this is, and it may only apply to me.

Underground Hunting
Good.

This level is decidedly generic. There’s really nothing at all interesting about it. I didn’t really like the eyecandy that much, but it doesn’t look bad. The layout is solid but uninteresting. It’s hard to say anything about this level because there is nothing to say about it. That’s how ordinary it is.

Headhitting
All right.

The level’s eyecandy isn’t great, but it looks all right. Again, the layout is very funnely. Some parts are just going to get way more attention than others. This can be good, but in this case it isn’t. Ammo placement is very bad; some parts have quite a bit and others are almost completely barren. And, aside from that, there’s nothing really notable about the level. It manages to be quite playable though.

Epical Elements
Great.

This is a really nice level. It has great eyecandy and a good layout. It’s much more intuitive than most of the other levels as far as getting around, which is nice. I like the placement of the seeker powerup, and the tube-blocking ceiling springs have an interesting (though not particularily dramatic) effect.

Untitled Prupel Level (:P)
Excellent.

The eyecandy in this level is just wonderful, with some inventive tileset usage. The only exception was the top left – it looks rather unnatural. (He also failed to use the layer 3 corner tiles.) The layout is a really strong point. It’s very intuitive and well-balanced. Overall, this is one of the best levels in the pack.

Condemned
Awesome.

This is probably my favorite level in the pack. It’s hard to fault this level in any way. The eyecandy is downright amazing, the layout is intuitive, easily learned, and original, and the level altogether holds up very well. The water is also used very nicely. I must admit, however, that I spent several minutes trying to get at all those ammo barrels. (And when I finally did, I discovered they were actually gem barrels.)

A Time Forest
Bleh.

As the last level in the battle pack, and with the three preceding levels, you would expect something epic and awesome. Instead you get…this. Snooze tried hard to make some original eyecandy, but it just plain looks bad. The layout is okay, but it’s ruined by the event placement. Ammo is very sparse, and, again, there’s one start position – and in a very bad place. It’s like there was no real thought put into this level. Snooze just slapped stuff down.

City of the SnOOzE
Wonderful.

This is just a great CTF level. It has a great, balanced layout, with some great ideas. And it looks fabulous. Seriously. I suppose I can’t say a whole lot about it, because there’s nothing to fault. It just holds together so well. Great job, PJ.

Restplace F0R SN00ZE
Good.

Again, the layout is nice and balanced with some original ideas. I mistook this level for a battle level at first, which might be a good thing or a bad thing.
My main problem with this level is its eyecandy. Not only does it not look very good, the level is absolutely RIDDLED with tilebugs. They’re everywhere! DS even forgot to use the layer 3 stair tiles. Ugh. And the music? Blechhhh.

Forest Green
Good.

Again, the level has a good layout, though, again, it’s rather battle-ish. And while it’s obvious that DS put a lot of effort into the eyecandy, it really doesn’t look all that good. The gameplay makes up for it though. And again, the music is awful.

Ancient Abyss
Good.

This level has some very original ideas. You have to love those huge falls. The eyecandy looks all right, though it doesn’t excel by any means. The stalactites/stalagmites are rather confusing at times. I don’t think I’d play any truly serious games in this level, but it’s fun.

Systematic Crash
Very nice.

A great Domination level. Eyecandy isn’t too original, but it certainly looks nice. The level plays really smoothly. It’s intuitive and balanced.

Hoven
Okay.

Eh. This level’s layout feels a bit too restrictive for Domination. It almost feels like Battle 1. Playing in it isn’t that enjoyable because of that. The eyecandy is nice, but rather weird. One of the weaker levels in the pack, IMO.

Overall I think an 8 is a fair rating for this pack. Considering its vauntedness and its reception by others, I was very disappointed by most of the levels, but a few of them were really great, and I definitely recommend downloading it.

Looks interesting, but after all, I don’t play the guitar. I may show these to someone I know who’s playing guitar for a living, I just got to hear how these sound.

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Thank you plunk, I’ll look into that when I get around to volume 2… And yeah, that’s why I didn’t tab out the intro to Damned. =P Plus, I think only synth lead plays that intro, not lead guitar, but I’m not positive. In any case I’ll look at it.

Very good work. I was thinking of doing these up myself soon so its great that they are done. I’ve played through them and they seem well done, and they are indeed completely playable and are great to use for learning guitar.

My only comment is on “infero(Dark Groove)”. In the Bridge, there are the 4 mini arpeggio’s. The 4th one goes is shown as 5-7-5-4, but when i play it, it does not sound right. I believe it should be 7-9-7-6.

Besides that it is a great download very much worth getting if your into guitar. i can’t wait for volume 2!

and for Crimiclown: i used the MOD sourse files to try to tab out the intro to Jazz be damned. It turns out its actually 34 notes in under 2 seconds, and the notes go about 10 half steps above the average guitars range.

edit: Yeah the intro to that is a synth lead.

This is an edit of the last version [I don’t know if it is still up], so I will address the revisions:

Masking bugs: most of these have been fixed. There’s one tiny spot in Castle Escape, but it’s not very big and can slide.
Crate puzzles: These have [for the most part] been made a lot easier. The Carrotus Gate one is still tricky, but no longer hopelessly so. The Castle Escape one is equally tricky, but now at least you can SEE the crate…
GJ, Dl rec, and an improved rating of 7.2!

Introduction

This level, City of the Sn00zE, has already been uploaded but that was in Codename: Alliance, a pack of 17 levels. Due to popular request Purplejazz uploaded it as a separate level, so the level could possibly get more attention. This level deserves a good review, as I’ve played it several times now and now that it’s uploaded as a separate level I finally get the chance to do it. So beware.

Layout

The level is semi-symmetrical, and has a few big platforms and lots of small platforms (roofs) and one ways. It also has several warps and secret passages. I think that the layout is pretty easy to learn, even when it’s not entirely symmetrical. The underground (aka the |U|||||||n|||||||D|||||||e|||||||R|||||||g|||||||R|||||||o|||||||U|||||||n|||||||D) is a bit darker than the upper area of the level. One of the bases is placed at the l33test position ever (13,37) I feel special because I was the first one who found out that it was placed at that position (except PJ himself who placed it there intentionally)

Gameplay

Like I said, there are lots of one ways and warps and there are also some vines. The flow is alright. You have to jump a lot but that’s probably the tileset’s fault (because it’s a pain to use) The balance seems okay. No red or blue bias like in some popular levels. And yay for all those textstrings that are hard to find (one is in the wall so if you find that without looking in JCS you’re cheating. Yes, I looked in JCS because I couldn’t find all of them.)

Eye candy and theme

For the given tileset, the eye candy is really good (GUD AND STRONG) Really, if anyone uses this set without making lots of tilebugs or boring eye candy that person is a winner (Snooze already did it with Persona Lity) Almost all eye candy is in layer 4, except some tiles that were needed to make things tile (now that was a weird sentence.) There’s enough eye candy in the walls too. The background is pretty (and I <3 the fade colour) The theme seems to be some sort of city where the Sn00zE lives (so BEEHAIV OR U GETT VOTB) and the music fits, as it sounds pretty happy.

Placement of stuff

This is a level with 3 Power-Ups (actually 4, but 3 different ones) and 3 carrots. The 2 Bouncy Power-Ups are at the top left and top right. The Toaster Power-Up is in the middle (sort of at the top, but under the platform between the two Bouncy Power-Ups) The Seek Power-Up is in the UnDeRgRoUnD (it looks like it’s closer to the red base though) There are 2 +1 carrots. One near each base. The Full NRG is in the middle, although it seems a bit closer to the blue base. I guess that still makes it balanced.. however, the only Gun9 ammo seems closer to the red base too. Not that it matters much though. The other ammo placement seems alright. There are no fast fires in this level, which seems good.

Further comments

This level, called City of the Sn00zE, has potential to become popular. And I think it already is, because people often suggest to play it. If you didn’t get Alliance yet (although I doubt it with more than 20000 downloads) then download this. Even when you already downloaded it I recommend to download this as it will make ur head asploed. I also recommend to host this. It’s good for team games, but even duels work well although it might take long. I give this a 9.7! No, just kidding. I give this an 8.4 and like I said, I also give this a download recommendation.

well, it seems Sfaizst came up with an pretty program. for the use off clients so they lose hearts when joining a server. the buttons and stuff makes it really easy to use, and the detects aren’t really a problem i guess since they’re not many jazz.exe’s that are different then the names stated their.

their is one thing i noticed tough, the utility works from the client. not as a setting from the admin on the server. in that case.. to let real concepts work with Coop, then all clients need to run this utility. which is quite a hard job and irritating.

also, it is a windowed program beside JJ2.. which is actually bad. We don’t really appriociate to run more programs at once just for jj2.. you should have made a patch for it instead. so it patches jj2 to it’s new upgrades.

however.. good job. to come up with this. i don’t say this is bad. unfortunately, it’s awesome. but you should try to make those points i stated here. ( for instance ask blur to put it in jj2+ as an option) if you manage these fix these annoying things. then it will also upgrade your rating.

Clever, original and helpful for those learning how to play guitar. I am note sure whether or not to rate this and how to, so I’ll leave it a blank. nice job, though. I didn’t play them from tabs yet (mostly since I always have trouble keeping up with them), but by the looks of it, they’re pretty accurate as well. I can’t give a full check, though, since I can’t read a single note and play everything by ear.

Anyways, props to you, Lark.

Edit to add: I’d like to see the intro riff for Jazz Be Damned added. It’s hard to get it on paper, but it’d be quite helpful.

This episode is brilliant, definitely an example of thinking out of the box if compared to other levels from the same time. What’s kinda creepy is that these were made at the same time I’d made my very first levels. Cool huh? Download now.

Yeah! Thank you very much Sfaizst!
You fixed this Bug in a few hours, nice =)