The Official City Journal Critics Thread Archive

[KingTitan 6]

Good review to you Blonde.....Love your CJ .

[SpecialEddie 3]

Tierra de la Oscuridad, Pg. 19+

BlondeTwiggy's 29 page giant, Tierra de la Oscuridad is a unique and colorful twist on the CJ genre. Filled with winding roads and stunning rural scenery, Tierra definitely stands out within a board of testosterone-ridden city journals filled with mindless violence and explosions (). Drawing influence from Dutch and other European cities, as well as taking note of American suburbia, BlondeTwiggy's CJ is in a category all by itself. It's quite hard to place Oscuridad in a specific genre when the likes of this journal has never been seen before. And in a board suffering from cliches and cookie cutter city-building, the abundance of attention this CJ is getting is rightfully deserved.

Tierra de la Oscuridad is a CJ that caters to all tastes. Whether it's sprawling farmland or unpopulated scenic areas to crowded skyscraper-filled CBDS and densely populated rowhouse districts, Oscuridad is a journal that will please the masses. Twiggy's Oscuridad also showcases a varying array of wonderful BATs. Styles range from BSC classics to virtually unknown landmarks that shine when put into her cities. Even Venetian/Mediterranean BATs that would otherwise feel out-of-place in other CJs fits in perfectly within BlondeTwiggy's world. 

Another great aspect of BT's journal is the creative use of roads and the lack of grids. The reader's eyes run wild as they attempt to follow Oscuridad's imaginative street-layouts. Diagonal roads intersecting at awkward angles and twisting avenues that hug the sides of steep, retaining walls give a glimpse into the crazy but creative inner workings of BlondeTwiggy's artistic mind.

Tierra de la Oscuridad is a CJ that caters to all tastes and presents a unique view into the unlimited possibilities of city-building. BlondeTwiggy's CJ is a must-visit and a must-follow. Get to know the author, get to know the city, and maybe--just maybe--you might discover something about yourself along the way...

Highly recommended.

---

On hiatus! No more PMs!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

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

haha, "testosterone-ridden journals"

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Constitutional Monarchy of Mackinac - A CJ by sEAhAwk fAn121

sEAhAwk fAn121’s latest City Journal, the Constitutional Monarchy of Mackinac (yes, name change), is the vast accumulation of much hard work.  After the untimely death of Meadowlark Falls, a promising endeavor, Seahawk decided to approach a different style for his Pacific Coast CJ. 

After the former St. Helena (an impressive city), the new and improved Mackinac seems, in my opinion, wishful in its attempts to reminisce scenes of its predecessor.  However, the citybuilding is well-done, and Seahawk’s fascination (…ok, “healthy interest” ) with airports and airlines is prominently displayed throughout the pages.

Seahawk’s spontaneous posts, mammoth airports, and sometimes-experimental photo editing make for exciting updates at times.

Suggestions:  Sometimes photos need “finishing,” or filling in the plain, open green spaces.  Even if it is just temporarily with Maxis trees or something, it's usually a good idea. 

Strong points:   When Seahawk channels his creativity on one project, the results are quite impressive. 

Bottom line:  From dual downtowns to detailed airports, Mackinac is always worth a look. 

[Dsrwhat316 12]

thank you for your fair and honest review, Twiggy! i'll put a link in my sig for the review.

thanks again!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

The Republic of Bevelle – A Blend of New and Old

a CJ by Drswhat316

Dsrwhat316’s relatively new CJ, The Republic of Bevelle, is a perfectly balanced showcase of the “old European feel” with “new, cutting-edge” style.

Clean, sharp lines seem to represent the modern aspects of Bevelle, while older yet still-beautiful buildings add an unexpected flair of traditional architecture. Combine that with ingenious mass transit—think sunken highway, crazy intersections, even a beautiful GRL underpass—and you get a wonderfully well-rounded city.

Interspersed with the mélange of buildings are fine details: park trails, canals, colorful trees.

Many before/after pictures give us a peek into the constantly evolving skyline of Bevelle. 

Suggestions:  Hmmm… Maybe more green, you can never have enough of that, I don’t think. But really, I can’t think of anything.

Strong points:  Drswhat’s downtown, mass transit, and scenic areas are all excellent.

Bottom line:  Classic citybuilding at its best makes this CJ enjoyable.

[patriots_1228 51]

great review twiggs, in a thread full of "testosterone-ridden reviews" yours are always a welcome change

good job special eddie too, good and funny review.

[Shingure 56]

~Im back guys~

[lilmanjs 2]

I love all of the reviews that you guys do. keep up the good work!!!!

[jayo 44]

Nice thread,wonder when my journal is gonna be put on the reviews thread-Yes,i've allready PMed patriots

[patriots_1228 51]

ALL CJ CRITICS, ACTIVE OR UNACTIVE, PLEASE LOOK AT YOUR PRIVATE THREADS ASAP.

anyone who would like a review, pm me, i want to do at least 2 this weekend.

[Sim_Air 2]

i thought i should drop bye and say a small hi before logging off again so here I am...

anyway, i still haven't got time but i will try to find it.

great reviews, i read some and i have to say that ginger is simply awesome, keep it up!

cya soon, hopefully...

[patriots_1228 51]

Watch this thread today. big things coming.

[KingTitan 6]

Great review Drswhat316

[patriots_1228 51]

The Table of Contents

1. Introduction from mwah, patriots_1228

2. A Trip down Memory Lane

3. What the team has to say

4. Awards

5. Reviews

6. Features



Wow. It has already been one year. The City Journal Critics has grown from a little expirement to what it is to day, the most successful city journaling review team ever. This superpost, containing tons of reviews and features, is my way of saying thanks to everyone who supported us, wether it was through the support in your post or the awesome banners you made for us. I'd like to thank all the awesome critics, for picking up the slack around here and reviewing your asses off while i fool around in 3ds all day. Today we got a ton of stuff, from long jhrnemo quotes to the review of one of the most famous journals of all. So enjoy, and lets make year 2 even better! Happy Birthday to the Official City Journal Critics Team!

-patriots_1228



Best CJ Critics moment-When patriots tried to review that yugoslavian city journal, only to find out it wasnt real

Lets go back to a time long long ago.....before the iphone, city journal critics, or scs even existed. Before youtube was a household name, and before boston college was good at football. yes, that long ago. 2006.

On october 21st, 2006, at 7:19 pm, the CJ critics were born. At that time it was just another crazy idea from patriots_1228, who was still a $%&^!. everything was posted in XL font, at least until special eddie went blind and stumbled into a lamp. The team has come so far since then, as you can tell from the current state of the first post. We started off with only a handful of critics, those who are still here today deserve a round-of-applause, so good work special eddie, rushhourfreak, -m-,and patriots_1228 (). Our first review was one of our best, written by special eddie on "Gold Depra". My first review came a few posts later, on "elytheria". Soon the reviews were pouring in, a table of contents was put up, and we received some fantastic banners from sanantonio (thanks x1 million). So from the 21st to thanksgiving we reviewed like crazy, pimped out the first post, got pinned, and alot of other things happened to us. Thanksgiving i wrote one of those feeling type things...you know, whatchacallems.....o Thank you letters . I really see that as a big point in the OCJC life, it kinda marked how much we accomplished in that first month. 

Over the next 10 months, critics came and left, but the team continued to review journal after journal. New features, like Trixie Watch, and New Journals, were introduced. We added pictures to the reviews. we built a second page of the TOC. New rules we're added. Some veiwers left the site, but were quickly replaced with newer viewers. We've got incredible reviews from all critics, including remarkable review hot streaks from special eddie and blonde twiggy. 24 pages later and still goin strong....



CJ critics give me your thoughts/comments!

For those of you who are oldies here, you may remember waaaay back The Critic? That was the first thread to ever review CJs, and it was on fire! I can't

[dedgren 830]

Heh, Pats...  I heard you folks might be throwing some kind of party over here...

...looks around for cake...

The critics have done a great job keeping tabs on the CJ world- the thread's a must read for those who want to know what's going on.

Great job!

David

[MrCinatit 30]

Congratulations on the first year of the Official CJ Critic Thread, Patriots and staff - you guys have done a spectacular job.

[frogface 354]

Happy birthday!

I always enjoy reading some reviews and hope to see many more coming

[SpecialEddie 3]

We made it!

[Godzillaman 21]

Long live the CJ Critiques!

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

thanks for the awesome review, so funny great job on it!!! thanks a lot for the trixie watch nominations aswell, but i doubt i'll get any trixies for adding some color in my pictures btw, eyecandy might start production again, very soon...and better than ever

happy 1st birthday critics!!!

[tomdapom 79]

Congratulations guys! Some great reviews there, and thanks a lot SpecialEddie for the review! It was great .

[Teeparex 6]

There are some fantastic CJs and reviews to accompany them. Happy birthday CJ critics! "Long Live The Thread!"

[penguin007 27]

Well done on 1 year of reviews keep up the great work

Will

[Mike the Mayor 51]

Happy Birthday to this!

[GreekMan 246]

Congrads! I hope to see this thread to pg 50 of 100!

I have to say you forgot the city planning trixe watch which my CJ is apart of!

[Dsrwhat316 12]

happy b-day!!!

this is always a great thread to check out, giving CJers a little more mainstream attention. and great new reviews, too!

~ Dan

[jacqulina 162]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

[Zelgadis 638]

Happy birthday. And here I thought this wasn't going to work, and here it is a year later. Many congrats at succeeding where others have failed.

ISF

[dadyrghluv 8]

Happy B-DAY to this topic. very useful and friendly place to see wonderful cj's. 

Let the party begin