JAZZ JACKRABBIT by Epic Megagames
Reviewed by Dean O'Donnell
Also Reviewed by Nathan Cochrane
Computer Graphics Memory Disk Space
Minimum 386SX VGA 4M 5M shareware
25M registered
Max/Rec. 486 VGA 4M
Control: Keyboard, Joystick, Gamepad (recommended)
Sound: SB, SB Pro, SB-16, PAS-16, and Gravis Ultrasound
Notes: Runs best without memory managers, TSR's and other gunk. I
played it on a 386SX-16 and it's still quite playable, but you
don't get the sense of speed.
Reviewed version 1.0 on: 486DX2/66 with 4M RAM, Gamepad, GUS
Reviewer recommends: 486 with 4M RAM, Gamepad
It's an old story, the tortoise and the hare have a race and the tortoise
wins, right? In Jazz Jackrabbit you're the hare, the tortoise leader,
Devan Shell has stolen the princess Eva Earlong, and you've got to get her
back. Don't be fooled, this game isn't just for kids; Devan controls an
array of planets with massive firepower, and Jazz packs a punch with his
nasty gun, the LFG2000.
This game is basically a side scroller. You guide the little green
(green?!-- he's from the planet Carrotus) rabbit past nasty monsters,
collect various objects, and get to the end of the level. Jazz has a
number of things going for it, including fabulous VGA graphics, tons of
secret nooks and crannies to explore, great cartoon-style animated cut
scenes, bonus levels with 3D-first rabbit perspective, and, most of all,
SPEED.
THE FASTEST RABBIT IN THE WEST
This is the fastest PC-based side scroller I've ever seen. While Jazz has
been compared to a certain hedgehog because of this speed, all comparisons
end there. When you have your rabbit speeding across the screen you still
have to shoot at the bad guys, and the major hurdle becomes keeping enough
shots in front of you to run interference and get those monsters out of the
way. When you find the Fast Feet powerup, Jazz becomes a blur on the
screen. Luckily the designers usually place these Fast Feet just before
areas that are pretty clear of monsters, allowing you to enjoy speeding
along for awhile.
You can save anywhere, but wherever you save you'll start at the beginning
of the level with only a Blaster to your name. The designers say this is a
compromise to save space (not saving midway through a level and recording
what you've taken, what you've shot, and where you've been) and to avoid
someone getting infinite ammo by saving their character with their current
ammo then going through the same level and getting more over and over
again. This doesn't really annoy me because the levels are easy enough
that you aren't constantly dying, and there's a spot midway through each
level that once you've been there, if you die you will start there instead
of having to replay the whole level.
A timer runs for each level, and on the harder difficulty settings when the
time is up, Jazz crumbles to dust. The pressure can get to you, and it's
not always welcome. I found myself playing first for speed, going back on
an easier setting to search for all the secret areas, then playing the
level AGAIN to try to hit all the secret areas at high speed. Needless to
say, replay value is high.
JUMP HIGH AND CARRY A BIG GUN
Actually there are five different weapons to choose from. You start with
the basic Blaster with unlimited ammo. The small bullets sometimes pass
over or under various monsters, making other weapons necessary. The
Toaster fires fat balls of flame, and the RF missile gun fires two missiles
that angle slightly up and down. The Launcher puts out bouncing bombs,
allowing you to eliminate enemies below you and open secret passageways in
the floor. Finally, the all-powerful TNT bomb quickly eliminates
everything on the screen.
While the various weapons are fun to use, they're somewhat interchangeable.
Many levels have monsters that are just as vulnerable to the Blaster as to
the RF Missiles. The best way to cover ground fast is to lay down a
suppressing fire in front of you, and since ammo is limited, sometimes the
best way to get the most shots on the screen is to use the Blaster (the
bullets also make a very satisfying "thud" when they hit a wall). There's
not really a major tactical advantage to using one weapon over another, and
I usually avoid using the Launcher altogether, preferring to jump into pits
and kill all the bad guys.
TURTLE SOUP (THE VILLAINS)
The monsters all look beautiful (kudos to Nick Stadler for the art), and
vary greatly in size and shape. I've heard criticism that they're all
pretty much the same-- they come at you, you shoot them, they die-- but I
found different monsters with different properties on every level. The
giant slugs with multiple parts are particularly hard to dispatch because
each shot just takes off one section of slug. Add to that the fact that
they move quickly and fly, and you've got a heck of a monster. On the
Nippius level you've got to watch yourself on the ice because you'll slide
right into a pack of bloodthirsty penguins if you're not careful.
I admit that the bosses aren't all that hard to kill. The boss levels
usually consist of a hiding place and a flat plain for the boss to move on.
By hiding while the boss is coming at you, then running after him and
shooting him in the butt, you can generally kill him without taking much
damage at all.
TWO GAMES IN ONE
The best thing about Jazz is the Bonus Levels. If you find a large gem on
one of the planets, when you finish the level you go to a whole 'nother
game. You see Jazz on a road and by running, rolling (to go faster) and
jumping, you run through a maze to collect gems. Avoid the sides of the
road or you'll rebound and land on you tail, costing you precious seconds.
Scattered over the road are obstacles that make you spin around, jump over
gems, and shoot you right back to the regular game. Get all the gems
before your time runs out and you get another life. My one complaint about
the bonus levels is the darn time limit can't be turned off. I'd like to
stay there awhile and play that game, exploring the roads and running
around, but you've only got about a minute there before they kick you out.
LOOKING AND SOUNDING GOOD
Recently I bought a Gravis Gamepad, and the utility disk that came with it
included the shareware version of Commander Keen 4. I smiled, remembering
hours and hours of fun with that game, and installed it to take a trip down
memory lane. When I fired it up, I was shocked. I remember Keen as one of
the best looking games of its time, but after playing Jazz for the past
couple of weeks everything looked so... well, washed out. VGA graphics are
truly a quantum leap over EGA. Jazz just plain looks great, with detailed
backgrounds and monsters that don't slow down gameplay one bit. The
animated cuts scenes initially drew me in (Jazz runs across your screen at
start up), and they really make me feel I'm getting my money's and my
time's worth when I finish an episode.
Jazz's music and sound effects are truly infectious. I never turned the
music off (and that's a BIG complement from me), and found myself going
back to certain levels just to hear the music. Native GUS support is still
the best sound out there for the price, and on behalf of all GUSsers I'd
like to thank Epic for supporting my favorite card.
THE FINAL WORD
The shareware version of Jazz comes with the first episode, consisting of
six main levels, three bonus levels and one secret level. You can speed
through the six levels pretty quickly, but don't be fooled when you get to
the end, there are a ton of secrets, and those other levels left to
explore. The registered version has five more episodes and over 10 Meg of
cut scenes. I don't usually play this type of game, preferring RPG's and
Flight-sims, but Jazz took over my life for about a month. This is the
current king of the scrollers, so don't miss out. A CD-ROM version is
currently in the works that will include more episodes and more animation,
but it will be offered to registered users at a discount, so why wait?
This review is Copyright (C) 1994 by Dean O'Donnell for Game Bytes
Magazine. All rights reserved.