Reviews / previews
Three
years
after
the
Jazz
Jackrabbit
shareware stormed the
PC action scene, g.o.d.
has spoken-and for
classic 2D sidescroller
fans, the words are
gospel.
g.o.d.'s first release,
Jazz 2, is a
more-than-worthy
successor to the
original, a platformer
praised for its fast
action and numerous
item-packed levels.
Once again, the
story-Jazz and his
psycho bro Spaz (you
can play either) hunting
the villainous Devan
Shell-is irrelevant. It's all
about hyperspastic,
escape-velocity action,
and plenty of it.
In single-play you race,
blast, and leap your way
through over 30
differently themed
levels: the old-fashioned
Colonial Chaos, the
trippy Purple Haze, the mechanical Loose Screws, and so on. In 640-by-480,
it looks great, with colorful backgrounds and nifty character animations.
The gameplay-running around, grabbing power-ups, fighting not-so-tough
bosses-does get repetitive. Thankfully, you can switch among 12 weapons
(including an ice blaster, rocket launcher, and pellet gun), and Jazz and Spaz
have unique special moves (Jazz's Rayman-ish hover-flight, Spaz's karate
kick). Clever level-design helps, too, offering plenty of secret areas. And a
built-in level designer lets you make your own scenarios.
To top it off, there are excellent multiplayer options, allowing up to four players
on one PC, eight players on two via modem, or 32 players on eight via LAN or
Internet. Finding and connecting to online games is easy-it's on WON.net,
and there's an automatic server-lookup feature within the game. I logged onto
a four-person battle-mode game and was blasting away in no time. There are
also CTF, treasure hunt, and race modes.
It all makes for solid old-school
sidescrolling with modern graphics and
multiplay. For platform-game fans, Jazz is
the man.-- Corey Cohen / GamePro
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