Right now, GOG is offering fans the 90s PC gameJazz Jackrabbit 2for free. The side-scrolling adventure was the follow-up to the originalJazz Jackrabbit, and though it may not have made the list ofthe greatest platform games of all time, it became a cult favorite among early PC gamers.
Originally released in 1998,Jazz Jackrabbit 2was developed by Epic MegaGames, later to be known simply as Epic Games. These days,Epic is a hugely successful developer and publisher, but its beginnings were humble, creating side-scrolling adventures like this. The first game in the series,Jazz Jackrabbit, came out in 1994 and a reboot was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. At the time, many fans compared it to theSonicgames, as much of the gameplay was similar. Yet they garnered favor of their own and met moderate financial success.
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Epic Games re-released both the first and second games, now calledJazz Jackrabbit CollectionandJazz Jackrabbit 2 Collection, on GOG back in 2017, and they’re now making the sequel free for a limited time.The Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Collectionincludes the base game plus two expansions:The Secret FilesandThe Christmas Chronicles. It also includes an editor mode allowing players to flex their creative muscles and invent their own levels.
The originalJazz Jackrabbit 2featured fairly robust online multiplayer options, a novelty for a side-scrolling platform game of its era, allowing it to stand out among even themost classic PC games. With both co-op and competitive modes, the game could host up to 32 players. These features made it into the re-release, so players can still enjoy them now.
Interestingly, despite the fact that they’re owned by Epic and would be a great addition to the extensive list offree games previously offered on the Epic store, none of theJackrabbitgames are available there. Instead, they were released on GOG which is owned by Polish developer CD Projekt. However, at the time of their re-release in 2017, the Epic Games store didn’t exist. It’s unknown exactly what the circumstances of the games' re-release on GOG were, but it’s possible the deal precluded Epic from selling the game on their own store.
Revivals like this can only be a good thing for the gaming industry and fans. Not only dore-releases of classic gameslike this scratch players' nostalgic itch, it acts like the opening of a time capsule, and it helps to preserve gaming history.
