The Official City Journal Critics Thread Archive

[sanantonio 0]

Hi all,

I haven't been around for 6 months or so; many don't know me, the rest won't remember me, but it's nice to see this is still going strong. Makes catching up that much faster. I've been playing with the idea of reviving my CJ hopefully to the point of being able to submit it for review.

[Sim_Air 2]

City Journal Review

Region of Baker by bakercity

This is a wonderful rural Cj, quite enjoyable but actually, really hard to follow. Along the 10 pages, you will see a fascinating display of graphical small towns and realistic farmlands spreading across the pictures.

The theme is always sweet towns surrounded by breathtaking farmlands. The use of trees and custom content is almost excellent, adding a great sense of detail and realism. Bakercity puts a lot of effort to his region, although the drawbacks seem to seriously affect Region of Baker.

First of all, in the first pages, the viewer can see the phenomenon of badly posted updates(mixed explanations and pictures/wide posts), which apparently, do not appeal to the eye, giving the CJ a first bad impression. Furthermore, bakercity's pictures, although great in quality, seem to lose the ture content of a city picture most of the times. Therefore, the viewer cannot enjoy the true work of the author. Plus, sometimes, pictures in the closest zoom appear, giving the feeling of deep dissapointment. Finally, according from his pictures, his towns and the whole landscape seem extremely ackward, although his work in total is truly amazing.

Honestly? Negatives and positives seem to balance along the way, making the CJ worth visiting; plus, leaving a sweet comment with true words. Bakercity just needs to improve on a few negatives although, no one is perfect.

Signed, Sim_Air

[Sim_Air 2]

wonderful work; great review!

[Sim_Air 2]

80-90! Ohh my....we really need to update the table of contents, don't you think?

[bakercity 270]

Sim-Air, You were real honest and I must agree that I do need to work on some if not all of the negatives. Thank you for doing business with you. JKB

[patriots_1228 51]

um...what?

it looked really good, good work showing both negatives and positives.

[Sim_Air 2]

LOL, that made me laugh! Thank you giorgos69.

bakercity, anytime, good luck with your CJ!

[Sim_Air 2]

ohh well; nevermind. Thanks; i am glad you like my review

[Sim_Air 2]

Sorry for the douple post but it seems really weird...do you notice anything...bending in my review?

[giorgos69 52]

No one is perfect?

I disagree! I am perfection in its purest form!

[/end self admiration]....back to real world. *ugh, back to gross Georgiapolis*.

Nice review.

[Shingure 56]

Selkirk is one of the best suburban cjs Ive visited thus far. And Twiggs you did a good job.

Shinji E. Gureji

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Selkirk, Saskatchewan, Canada - A CJ by asturianu

Asturianu’s Selkirk, Saskatchewan, Canada, is a tribute to his excellent citybuilding skills. From its humble beginnings as a tiny nineteenth-century town to the present-day metropolis, Selkirk showcases an uncanny likeness particular to that region of Canada—considering its Mayor has never visited his beloved country.

Cristian’s abundance of mind-blowingly realistic region maps and diverse close-ups never cease to amaze us. Gritty farm life is interspersed by calm groves of trees, the broad river, and ingeniously lotted suburbs: garages facing a shared alley indicate a fine eye for detail.

Downtown Selkirk is characteristically asturianu-style: carefully planned, griddish roads and generous concrete amidst boxy, mid-rise buildings.

Suggestions?  Heh. 

Strong points?  Asturianu’s steady building is realistic, detailed, and enjoyable to look at.

Bottom line:  Although this seven-page CJ is still rather small, it shows outstanding work and potential for success. ¡Viva Canadá!

[asturianu 4]

Oh, Thank you, Twigs! I was sure you would do a great review, and here it is, a great review! Thanks so much!!! My Cj actually isn't as good as you say lol Thanks, I like how you planned the review and the pics Great job!! Viva Canad

[Sim_Air 2]

Excellent work Twiggy, keep it up

[Abc987 3]

Great job Twiggy!! Selkirk really is beautiful, never posted in it but have gone through it, its incredibly realistic.

[bakercity 270]

Blonde Twiggy, that is a nice review of Selkirk, Sask. Canada. Austrianu does a real great job and that is nicely done for a review. JKB

[patriots_1228 51]

selkirk is amazing austrianu, my second favorite journal after lloyd. congrats on a nice review.

twiggs-good review, keep it up.

[SpecialEddie 3]

Mesias-Latin American CJ

Mesias by panthersimcity4 was one of the earlier South American inspired CJs (dating back a year). It perfectly captures the feel of a South American city--complete with sunny picture effects and well chosen showcase of BATs. The city-building, despite some minor flaws, is well-executed, and custom lot-editing as well as a sense of originality is what sets this CJ apart from the cookie cutter approach of other journals.

Mesias's strength is in capturing the look and atmosphere of a Latin American city. The choice of BATs is excellent--from European colonial-styled buildings to modern contemporary architecture. Mesias has a little bit of everything. It would be impossible to name all the influences, though Guayaquil, Ecuador/Santiago, Chile/Buenos Aires/and Mexico City seem to be the most obvious.

Custom lot-editing is a nice touch as well. Parked cars along cobbled streets add a unique touch to Mesias's Latin world though the repeating line of cars take away from the effect. Nevertheless, personal touches such as these serve to personalize the city. 

Mesias, just like South America, is a place of contrast. Towering skyscrapers give way to small rural villages, while wealthy colonial mansions overshadow corrugated slums. It's these extremes that make Mesias so realistic. panther's CJ perfectly captures the feel of Latin America--it's the closest thing to South America without leaving your chair. Reccommended.

Similar CJs

Casaneras

San Sanderiz

[Sim_Air 2]

patriots_1228, could you please note after my name that i am NOT ACTIVE? I can't make CJ reviews for this time, i am busy with other matters. I warned you about this in my PM, although it's your choice to take me off that list or not. Anyhow, i would like to remain a CJ critic because i will return someday and dedicate sometime to ST. Cya around all(i am still here for a couple of days)

[screamingman12 30]

Thanks for the reveiw! Now that I think about it, I was a little excessive on the cars, I'm writing the next update now and I'll lessen the focus on the cars.

[GingerBlokey 30]

Hi there, I would love to review for the critics. I got A* (A+) in both English Language and Literature at GCSE and I love reviewing stuff.

[patriots_1228 51]

ginger-sure! welcome to the team.

special eddie-good review. add san sederiz to similar CJs though ever thought of reviewing smallvile? (hehe)

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

Wow, Excellent review Gingerblokey! I really like the small graphics you added in the review aswell, Excellent job!

[SpecialEddie 3]

Whoah. Well done, Gingerblokey.

Nice use of graphics and the writing is top-notch, too.

[GingerBlokey 30]

Fairbanks by MayorTim is a fairly conventional CJ based on a well-constructed Canadian city with a large port and airport area. MT manages to combine his brilliant city-building skills with subtle photoshopping and a good CJ manner to create a journal which should be used as an example to others.

Although some of the shots of the main city can look quite ‘generic’ and similar to many other CJs at the moment the attention to detail and coherent images help make Fairbanks stand out. Tim has to be applauded for the rate of his updates, the journal may be less than a month old but it is on 6 pages and still growing. Tim takes the time to actually reply to everyone’s comments which encourage people to continue to comment.

The use of custom content and very successful terraforming mean that the port and airport areas stand out in the region view and are one of the highlight’s of the CJ. One of the minor points may be that they do appear to be a bit out of context within the region. The massive airport seems to dwarf the surrounding suburbs and one would imagine it might have a hard time getting flights. The port seems much more believable with a large oil refinery often found in that area of Canada.

A well thought out and constructed city, coherent commentary and a high-rate of updates means that MayorTim’s CJ will remain at the top of the forum page for a while yet

Maybe a tad too generic and could do with some outstanding features, airport seems to defy realism but the city may yet expand to justify such a large area of infrastructure.

[MayorTim 16]

Thanks for the review! Sorry I wasn't able to write sooner, but you really did an excellent job.

And I really love the custom graphics. Thanks GB!

[patriots_1228 51]

Ginger-love the graphics. good review also!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Wow, great review GB! Welcome to the team

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

I should have posted this about a week ago, but at last, here it is!

---

Around the Globe & Chase City by topcliff

Topcliff’s Chase City (now continued in Around the Globe/T-Met) shows much promise for a good city journal.

While his citybuilding techniques could be more honed, he is constantly improving and adapting to better his cities.

Around the Globe (now T-Met), his latest endeavor, seems to be a mock tribute to cities of the world (Leonapolis?).

Suggestions: Pictures can be unrealistic at times: large, open spaces between sky-piercing towers need mid-rise and suburbs to fill them in. And details always make a city more interesting! 

Strong points: Topcliff’s cities are colorful (mostly thanks to a beautifully green terrain) and showcase his well-planned layouts. In the last pages of Chase City, he experiments with Photoshop and a great-looking airport.

Bottom line: While Around the Globe seems to be on hold for now, his next work will no doubt be worth taking a look at!

[patriots_1228 51]

nice review of a great skyline. topcliff sure knows how to make a downtown.