The Official City Journal Critics Thread Archive

[ky72x 13]

Another really nice review Twiggy, I think you got everything down pretty well here. Keep up the good reviews!

- Kyle

[topcliff 1]

I am honored. Yes, well, my laptop is soooo freakin' slow that I don't have the time to completely fill downtown like you guys. Probably a minute or two to load a menu, right? For me: almost 45 minutes. Thanks for the review, and yes, T-Met is on hold until weekends and stuff when I can play. Anyways, thanks a lot!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

The Republic of Kreveshka - griffen_star

Griffen star’s Republic of Kreveshka is a fully developed CJ with history, beautiful pictures, and an informative newspaper.

Included with his great citybuilding are added photo effects, such as highlighting one building by making it color and the rest black and white, and realistic-looking additions to the pictures such as labels, commentary, or smaller photos.

I couldn’t resist adding this: a fashion school! I want to go there! 

Suggestions:  It can't get much better. 

Strong points:  Kreveshka is full of beautiful photos, interesting news, and expanding development.

Bottom line:  Nice in-game pictures, background, and editing make this well-rounded journal simply inspirational!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Ehmmm, well, guess no one cared about that review^^

Its such a great CJ though!!

Ok anyway, here we go, double posting. 

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National City - a CJ by GreekMan

GreekMan’s National City shows us his sprawling cities possessing their strange, quiet ambiance.

Although he frequently employs the grid, the overall affect is an organized, structured city with a strong downtown block and outlaying suburbs. For this reason, zoomed-out shots of the city can be quite impressive.

Often accompanying the pictures are amusing yet trivial facts about everyday life in the city.

Suggestions:  Break away from the grid every once in a while just to mix things up. More custom content is needed to make cities beautiful, especially in the residential areas.

Strong points:  I enjoyed the random comments on the pictures, the use of water (canals, ponds, etc.), and the planning for mass transit systems. The planning and incorporation of an election were nice additives as well, with Ron Burgundy reporting the results. (I had a special request to add this! )

Bottom line: While GreekMan has room for improvement, he shows signs of a great city builder!

[patriots_1228 51]

2 great reviews twiggs! keep up the nice work.

[GreekMan 246]

Ahhh thank you! A very good review!

For the bottom line I also show a sign of a great city planner,I think!

As for the grid I will have to change that, and the pics are very well chosen!

[Sim_Air 2]

excellent review there; anyway, i just popped to see things for a while

[panthersimcity4 162]

Yay, thanks

SpecialEddie!

[MayorTim 16]

Indeed, very nice reviews Blonde Twiggy!

(And nice cj's too!)

[SpecialEddie 3]

Republic of Shagrin

Moshi's city, the Republic of Shagrin, is quite unimpressive at first but improves vastly over the next couple of pages (overall, 5). The CJ starts with your cliche disaster headline then right away shows pictures of the city's first development. Though the terrain is quite gorgeous, the city-building is not. The first city overview is riddled with dozens of repeating Maxis buildings. Not a good first impression so far.

But Moshi does promise "it'll get better" so let's stick around.

Despite the mediocre attempts at making a downtown, Moshi does specialize in making interesting transportation systems. His use of high-speed rail adds character to the city and his freeway interchanges make for some nice visuals. However, the transportation systems still don't make up for the surrounding city, which has an abundance of repeating buildings (the Maxis dinner theater appears 6 times in one block).

However, the CJ improves very quickly and the next few updates have more effort and thought put into them. Massive government centers are well-planned and the choice of BATs is quite impressive. Moshi's selection of BAT hints at frequent visits to the Massively Gigantic Japanese BAT thread. The government update is the highlight of the CJ. Well laid-out canals and organized political structures show that Moshi is improving quickly.

The Republic of Shagrin shows high signs of promise and at its current rate of improvement, it looks to have a bright future.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

What, you got something against dinner theatres? Hehehe nice, well-written review SpecialEddie, I'll have to check it out now!

[crazyarchitect 7]

nice reviews

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Auckland & Greater Region – New Zealand – a CJ by abcvs

A challenging, hand-terraformed region map sets the stage for abcvs’s Auckland & Greater Region – New Zealand.  While his efforts to conquer the hilly terrain are admirable, the first page’s farms and Maxis housing are somewhat unimpressive at first glance—and yet on second reflection appear quite good, considering he had only been playing then for six weeks.  (When I had six weeks’ worth of playing under my belt, I was still trying to figure out what this mysterious thing called “demand” was. Then again, I am a blonde.. )

Craig has gone from completely ignorant of SC4, uploading, and Simtropolis to creating well-built cities loosely resembling their real-life counterparts, as shown in Google photos in one update.  In his own words… “So partly what this journal is about is what a new person can achieve and accomplish, in a relatively short space of time.”

Suggestions:  Sometimes the resizing seems a little pixely (er, I think that’s from resizing anyway). And obviously, a STEX spree never hurt anybody.  (Except your computer, which, if it is anything like mine, will now demand on taking five extra minutes to load a city tile.)

Strong points:  I like the use of green, especially with the trees and rock/terrain mods (they were a noticeable improvement!)  The waterfalls are especially beautiful: Craig seems to have a knack for creating nature scenes.

Bottom line:  Want to see great terraforming, learn more about New Zealand, and get a good laugh from Craig’s comical commentary all at the same time? This CJ is for you!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Jargeah - a CJ by suplado!

A stiff, dry wind, towering dunes, sand-pelted skyscrapers—these are the forces at work in suplado!’s Middle Eastern-style Jargeah.

You can almost feel the hot sun beating down on your back as you explore suplado’s fantastic citybuilding by the sea. Photo effects enhance the pictures’ realistic, sleek beauty, making each superb update better than the last.

Suplado incorporates his “coastal hotel”-making tutorial from the first page: stately skyscrapers bask in the sunlight, surrounded by their uncannily luxuriant gardens.

Suggestions:  Hmm…in my opinion, there is nothing blatantly wrong with Jargeah, so I’ll get back to you on that.

Strong points:  Suplado makes great use of terrain mods, photo editing, and BATs.

Bottom line:  Realistic deserty citybuilding make Jargeah a worthwhile visit!

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Hello is the confessional open...?

This is my first visit to the Critic Thread even though it is prominently pinned to the top of the CJ section...  I finally plucked up enough courage to take a peek in here...  

I have only checked out this page so far but I promise I will make a better effort in future to visit more often...

Anyway good work to BT and SE for their reviews...  

*starts to wonder what they would make of Auckland... it was pretty Maxis too at the beginning...*

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Thanks for the review BT... you really do seem to have captured what my CJ is all about ... give it a go... learn some new stuff and most importantly of all .... yank some chains and have some fun along the way...

[suplado! 23]

thanks for the review BlondeTwiggy...im really happy to read it...

[patriots_1228 51]

two excellent reviews twiggs!

"then again, i am a blonde" LOL. I was blonde when i started playing, but now my hairs turned brownish.

[GreekMan 246]

haha

Nice reviews!!!!!

[Insane Child of Bodom 1]

Great reviews....

I really do like Jargeah!

Good job BT!

[KingTitan 6]

What an awesome review for belfastuniguy CJ....I love the pics and the photoshopping of the lights off that skyscraper. sweet stuff.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

The Imperial Kingdom of Atlantis – a CJ by belfastuniguy

The Imperial Kingdom of Atlantis, a highly detailed, thoroughly chronicled city journal, showcases belfastuniguy’s unique and magnificent approach to citybuilding.

The futuristic, streamlined capital of Atlantis is full of geometric parks, vividly colored flora, and impeccable citybuilding: belfastuniguy’s signature style.  An excellent selection of BATs, ranging from extraordinary skyscrapers to fountain-filled plazas, enhance the inspirational quality of his work.

While belfastuniguy warns us his cities are not realistic, they certainly possess a grandoise splendor unlike that of any other: a clean supersleek look pervades each update, completing his image of an ideal society. 

Suggestions:  Umm…right.

Strong points:  Meticulously planned cities and jaw-dropping beauty are Atlantis’s main strengths.

Bottom line:  Belfastuniguy’s stunning, structured, and seamless photos are amazingly breath-taking. 

[belfastuniguy 18]

What a fabulous review, thank you so very much.

I started this CJ back in February and this is my first and my only CJ. I had it reviewed back in March and I had it reviewed again to see how people viewed the progression of Atlantis.

I really enjoy making these cities, yes they may not be real but I don't think that matters, it about what you enjoy creating and taking pleasure in it. Atlantis still has many wonders and delights to showcase and I would like to thank everyone that has supported, viewed and commented thus far, it's also such a good feeling to see that others enjoy it so much.

Many thanks Twiggy, that review was wonderful and pretty much summed up what Atlantis is, so thank you.

[Insane Child of Bodom 1]

Originally posted by: lilmanjs are you guys ever going to review the blue hope city journal?quote>

 

hey I thought asking to get ur CJ reviewed was against the rules....

[crazyyaya 4]

Thanks alot for the review, clean and simple. Sadly, the region was lost when my computer crashed, but I will reconstructing the cj in the future. Back from strach I guess. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. 

Add; I've started the building on the same cj here.

[lilmanjs 2]

its not my cj and I thought that since its getting popular that they might review it.

[lilmanjs 2]

are you guys ever going to review the blue hope city journal?

[patriots_1228 51]

Twiggs is carrying this team right now lol...good work. i will start reveiwing once football is over and i have more free time.....

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

^^ if the author wants a review, he can PM a critic

belfastuniguy:  No problem, Im glad you liked it

Everyone:  Thanks, Im trying to improve my writing style, (ah English class lol)

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The Making of Brookeshire – a CJ by crazyyaya

Somewhat of a tutorial-type journal, The Making of Brookeshire is based on crazyyaya’s structured citybuilding and organizational skills.

Literally taken from the ground up, Brookeshire begins with an awe-inspiring transportation system consisting of road networks and a cleverly sunken railroad.  He gradually works his way into a downtown, adding details and showcasing interesting buildings. 

Actions are shown step-by-step as crazyyaya slowly builds his metropolis.

Suggestions:  Turn off the grid when taking pictures, and be wary of repeat Maxis (or even custom content) buildings.

Strong points:  I rather liked the detailed sunken mall—a very unique idea in my opinion—and the step-by-step approach to building the city.

Bottom line: The well-planned Making of Brookeshire is an innovative outlook on CJing.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Oh, thank you, Eddie!!  I adore the review  

haha, "testosterone-ridden journals"