Review by David Odell Overview Backstory Jazz Jackrabbit 2 features the adventures of Jazz Jackrabbit and his brother Spaz in their attempt to prevent a time machine from being used Both Jazz and Spaz are playable characters Returning from the original is archnemesis Devan Shell None of this actually matters Overview Game Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is a sidescroller One of the few produced since the rise of 3D gaming Game relies on fast action and attractive graphics Original Jazz Jackrabbit was a Sonic clone with projectile weapons Second installment follows same formula taking advantage of improved technology Depending on personal taste The game is tiny An installation of Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is only about 50 MB Game running time is about eight hours From the ending animation there are two of these in the game The other runs during game startup Gameplay Gameplay in Jazz Jackrabbit 2 focuses almost exclusively on running jumping and shooting No explicit goals aside from finishing levels No NPCs No specialized tools other than munitions Gameplay Jazz or Spaz are both a particularly speedy breed of rabbit Gameplay is fast It can be very fast if the player doesn t take the time to find powerups and engage enemies Fast reflexes and a good frame rate are a must Level Design Levels are typical for a platform game Ammunition is strewn throughout each level Spring platforms let Jazz or Spaz fly to great heights Of course many areas are only accessible via one of these springs Coins provide access to bonus areas Carrots provide health Enemies AI is unsophisticated in all but a few cases Many enemies will simply walk back and forth Only a few will actively seek out to harm the player Following the general aesthetic of the game enemies are more whimsical than menacing This isn t Doom you know Aesthetics The game has a very carefree and whimsical style Art is bright colorful cartoon y Sound is playful Not a whole lot of bass here Music is upbeat This is in contrast with Jazz Jackrabbit 1 which had a more technothemed soundtrack Spaz is disabled by some toxic gas in a 60 s themed level No seriously Aesthetics Of note are the parallaxing backdrops the game supports two layers of foreground and four layers of background Occasionally however graphics can be sparse or repetitive System Requirements Processor Intel s Pentium R processor Pentium R processor with MMX TM technology Pentium R II processor or compatibles OS Microsoft s Windows R 95 RAM 16 MB Hard Drive 45 MB CD ROM 2X speed or better Controller Keyboard or Joystick optional Users with early Pentiums may benefit from having 2D hardware acceleration On the other hand using the ambient light feature may cause the game to run at suboptimal speeds on machines as fast as 1 GHz Additionally no CD is required to actually play the game Summary The game is short Only about eight hours The game is cheap Final score 4 592 out of 5 000 points Etc Produced by Epic MegaGames Published by Gathering of Developers Project 2 Interactive Europe Australia only Price 29 94 at Amazon com 9 99 at eBay
View Full Document
Unlocking...