Labyrinth: Hell on Earth [8.9/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/lab/

All you peeps out there that didn't bother to watch me on Ustream will get to read this wondrous review of Labyrinth: Hell on Earth here on the web! This little wonder is a Dark, Futuristic, Religon... and some other good stuffs... RP all rolled up into one. Like a Wonder Ball! What's inside it? Who knows, lets eat the chocolate together!

So the AD for the site, I would have liked to see their name in the title.. so I could find it, but otherwise I love the little cartoon to make it look like ye olde cartoon times. Anyway the AD is good overall and there is a trailer for it but I really am not a big fan of trailers unless they're made by the owner with original content and not just a bunch of clips mashed together.

So.. it's time to go onward to the review! ... What, you want a semi-funny joke to segway in? Fine... What's blue and smells like red paint? BLUE PAINT! NOW ONWARDS TO THE REVIEW!

First Impression:
The secret is in the frosting, but I'll never tell! Anyway the layout is nice and compact, things appear and disappear... and then appear again.

The Public Area:
The first thing that comes to my mind as I read these pages is that the text should probably be justified, and the paragraphs I would maybe like them spaced out. Other than that it looks like it's overall fine. Truthfully though as I've read through all the pages at this point there isn't much for me to say except for I would suggest to justify the text. So lets move onwards to the next portion of the review maybe I'll have something to bash on in there! Oh wait, there is one small thing... the guest link doesn't work for me! I have to manually type in the guest/guest combination.

The Application:
The application is easy and simple, most of the profile work is done in the site.



The Private Area:
Layout Change Tiiime! Now there's another lady, but looks like she'll do more than just tell you that secret... she'll get you all cool with that fan! Anyway it looks fine, you can still see the news header in initial screen load so I don't really have a problem with all the things being so large. I don't see any private pages to look at but I would like to point out that the butterfly is a link back to the home page!

Forums:
Good amount of forums here, as well as the descriptions they have the hotlinks going down but none going back up so I'd maybe like to see that. Also I see there are special marking for who can go in where and whatnot, so if there's a way to make that more prominent I think that will help in the long run.

Other:
For the member list you get a list of pictures for each person on the site! This actually is something on what I consider to be ideal, you don't REALLY need to know post count and the last time they logged in. (Well the admins might but they have their own function in the admin section) All you School RPs out there take notice: Make your memberlist like a yearbook! Looks fancy and I think it's something rather new.

The member profiles are fancy with the whole javascript of things collapsing and such, maybe the basic portion could be automatically expanded since it is just the basic stuff. Oh and the member image changing thing is nice as well, just click the arrow and another picture! Lots of fun Javascript on the site... man if the code messes up I bet somebody dies in the mess of code.

Roleplaying:
From what I read on the site I categorize the roleplaying on the site to be Intermediate to Advanced.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10 Points.

Overall the site is great, little things here and there and lots of flashy Javascript. If you haven't noticed lately, the trend is if I have less to say and I'm more "filler writing" then you're getting a better score. It's just how it works, but anyway... just a few things here and there that I had problems with and some of them apparently are unable to be worked around so you'll just have to deal with it.

As I've decided to not have any duplicate scores once I hit 9.0, this is where Labyrinth shall stand. So Naveluce continues to be the 9.0 to beat, but this was VERY close. Get on that bilge Naveluce or else your 9.0 ship will be sunk soon...

This Site has the Jello Seal of Approval!

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

Glenbard [6.3/10]

http://glenbard.acornrack.com/

Alright my subjects, it's Thursday + a few days so you know what that means... Time for another review! Despite computer problems I'm still cranking these out but it figures that when I was basically on vacation for a week computer is perfectly fine and now BOOM! Problems. But I digress, this time we're reviewing a site called Glenbard!

Glenbard is an RP influenced by a few books and that make the concept of the site original in terms of that I've never seen one like it before. Maybe I'll have to coin a new term for this type of RP... Human Condition RP perhaps?

Anyway, the AD for the site is very nicely written and the plot idea is as I said original and quite intriguing. It's like Lord of the Flies but in a pre-civilized island. But anyway, grab your pitchforks and join forces with your local orphanage! The teenagers are coming! The teenagers are coming! (BOOM! I went colonial on your ass! ... and an orphan joke?)

First Impression:
Staring Contest, GO! Anyway, I have no major problems with the layout but seeing that the screen is mostly the image and not information is a little off for me. I generally like most of the page to be information maybe like 40:60, image to text ratio.

The Public Area:
The index page is the story from the AD and again I have no problem with this so lets move on to the next section.

The Plot page gives a little more in depth of the setting a bit but what I personally got most out of it is that the main antagonists in this RP are the Deuces Wilde gang.

The Setting page gives us the setting, not much else to say here.

Rule Page, no problems with any of the rules here. I have a minor "thing" with one of the rules but as I'm trying to be impartial I'll just keep you guessing!
The Application:
The application is rather simple, for some sites it works and some it doesn't. And I'm on the fence about this one. Putting everything about your character in a single box seems way too simple for me.



The Private Area:
Layout Change! In fact it's SO different it's actually kind of disorienting, I see two new pages... I think. The site function links and the site info links should probably be separated, even though there are only two new info links it should be clear that it's info.

The two other pages in the private area are self explanatory so no need to comment on them here!

Forums:
Good amount of forums and descriptions here, but there are no hot links and as always I advocate them especially for lots of forums like they have here. The hover color link is the same as the background of the forum (The brownish...color) so that threw me off a bit.

Other:
Member list page is nice avatar and basic info.

Member profiles are organized nicely and generally well filled out.

Roleplaying:
I am unable to give an opinion on this, the individual topics were blocked from guest access.

Rating: 6.3 out of 10 Points.

The idea for the site was good... and then it sorta went downhill from there, it's hard to expand on something like this I suppose since it's a good plot + city RP + battery currency? . I can probably count on one hand how many city RPs I consider "successful" so this is difficult genre to make your mark in.

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

Greystone [5.7/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/greystone/

I have to say that Thursday keeps creeping on me fast! But anyway it's that time again so today I'm looking at a City RP called Greystone!

So the AD, personally I don't really care much for the first half no amount of description is really going to sway anyone from not joining. So what really matters in my opinion is the second part, being a relatively simple RP. Overall though it's fine City RP's are generally harder to make ADs for anyway though the text is a bit small. But lets move on towards the review!

First Impression:
Reminds me of like a postcard of some sort. Anyway the first thing I noticed was the mass area of negative space. I'd like to see like the first part of the AD maybe posted here on the main page to get rid of aforementioned negative space.

The Public Area:
The Rules page is fine, but maybe space out the rules a bit more to get rid of negative space.

The History page is fine, the story is overall decent and gives a little bit of character to the RP. Perhaps this might be something to built upon in the AD as well.

The Application:
The application so far is the most complicated part of the site, and it's your normal application. ROLEPLAY SAMPLE REQUIRED.



The Private Area:
Layout Chaaange! This private layout gets rid of all the negative space issues and is overall nice. The rest of the pages are unviewable by the guest account so I'll have to move on to the next section.

Forums:
Good amount of forums and descriptions, however the size of the forums is a bit small so maybe extend the table to maybe 70%. Also the use of hotlinks to the separate sections would be nice to curb navigation time. The text in the topic listing is a bit small though.

Other:
Member list gives you an avatar, rank, and a sentence of info. The Member profiles though are much more complex, various pictures and organized well and are generally filled out nicely.

Roleplaying:
From what I read on the forums I categorize the roleplaying on this site to be Intermediate to Advanced.

Rating: 5.7/10

Generally when I review simple oriented sites like this I tend to try to expand my thought processes a bit more and maybe explain reasons why I want a certain word here for like a paragraph to extend the length of the review a bit. (Sort of like how I'm just rambling on right here!)

With this site however I couldn't really do that just because of the type of RP and what I was able to access. So my apologies for the short review but I can't review what I can't see. With that said, it overall looked fine and I didn't really have any problems with the site in general.

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

New York: Hell's Kitchen [7.0/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/NewYorkHK/

This week we take a look on the darker side of things... No I'm not talking about Star Wars and The Force! This RP is a city RP with gangs, the mafia and other things that go bump in the night. The site I shall be reviewing is called New York: Hell's Kitchen , obviously set in New York!

The AD for the site is short and sweet and for some reason I think about Yu-Gi-OH! I'll play my cards right though and just stick to the AD for now, as I said though the AD covers the basics of the site and I have no real problems with it.

Anyway, grab your frying pan and cooking utensils and LEARN TO MAKE SPAGHETTI TO ORDER AND SOME -bleep-ING RISOTTO! ...Ahh wait, wrong Hell's Kitchen... but feel free learn how to make risotto and send it to me anyway.

(40 Minutes Later with a Hell's Kitchen Episode watched...)

First Impression:
Where the heck is Gordon Ramsay!?! *cough* I mean, Yay for Statue of Liberty! I have no major problems with the layout, the monochrome is a bit dull, but I understand the reasons for it with the site setting being a dark city RP. So again, no major problems.

The Content:
The main page has a small blurb about the site, this is different than the AD but has the same feel. No problems.

The Rules page, everything is explained nicely enough. I have no problems with this page... though I did have to google what a "scene kid" was...

The Gangs page, will have all the information for the different gangs on the site. I say "will" because at this time there either are no gangs or it hasn't been updated into that page yet.

The Adoptables page is self-explanitory, however I'm not a fan of the smaller text overlapping the large ones. And, I want Frodo as my accountant. >_>

FAQ page is also self-explanitory. No fun comments from me though. Post-scripts ARE ALLOWED.


The Application:
The application is standard fare, ROLEPLAY SAMPLE REQUIRED. Took me a second to figure out that NYFD was the Fire Department in the affiliations portion.

Forums:
Good amount of forums and descriptions here, and they use hotlinks for easier navigation. I have no major problems about the forums. (I think that may be the first time I've said that...)

Other:
The memberlist has little target cursors over the avatars of the individuals of the site which I thought was neat.

The profiles pop out into a separate page which is nice since it doesn't give the restrictions of the site layout. The profiles themselves are generally filled out nicely, and I also like that most of the member that I saw used "heterosexual" instead of "straight". One of my weird quirks I guess at work here...

Roleplaying:
From what I read on the forums I categorize the roleplaying on this site to be Intermediate. Some of the posts are formatted oddly in my opinion, so sometimes the reading was difficult.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10 Points.

Overall the site was okay, nothing as a whole struck to me as original or anything so that's the reason for the rating. The site is executed fine and I have no real problems.


Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

Hollywood [8.0/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/hollywood/

On this Tuesday I bring you this site under the spotlight and under the eyes of many people, Hollywood! We've all had our fun I suppose making fun of these celebrities and wishing we would have the life and glamor and beauty of certain celebs. Well you still can't do that, BUT, you can continue to dream the dream in this RP site.

The AD for this site is rather... well I'll just say it plainly, I'm not a fan. It's all centered so it makes it difficult to read and it's double spaced so it just takes up way too much room in my opinion. But otherwise it fine, it's written so people will be interested to join and gives a good description of how the idea of the site is. But anyway, call your private jet and tell your publicist to meet us at the start of this review!

First Impression:
I want it all! I want it, want it, want it, my name in lights in Carnegie Hall, I want it all! (Finally worked a High School Musical reference into one of these!) Overall the layout looks nice and clean, perhaps I'd like it centered on the screen and a slightly wider text area, but that isn't a big thing.

The Public Area:
The front page has the AD blurb reposted and again, I have no problems with this sort of thing.

The About page has a further longer explanation of what was already said, I don't really think this sort of thing needs to be said twice. This page also contains the ranks for the site, no big problems here though.

In the Rules page the rules are separated into categories and this is why I would have liked a larger text area, the rules look all squished together and it's a little hard to read but overall no major problems.

The Application:
The site has a quite small application (probably to accommodate the small text box!) Just name, rank, RP sample and the "Word." I would have maybe have liked to see a drop down menu for the ranks just for aesthetic purposes, but not a big deal.



The Private Area:
Time for a Layout Extension! Basically it just extends downward and gets rid of the text area problem of the public area. I was unable to read the private pages, so I cannot comment on anything else at this point. I was sad I was unable to learn about more of the admins, I'm always on the lookout for potential internet girlfriends. (Am I kidding? You decide! AcornRack Votes 2009!)

Slight note: Maybe it's me but I get annoyed when the links aren't capitalized, so I'm just going to throw that out there also.

Forums:
Good amount of forums and good descriptions and I like how the forums are styled to match with the rest of the site, so aesthetically it looks very nice. But again, with all these forums it almost begs to have hot links to each individual section, scrolling all the way down is a pain at times so invest in those or a script that breaks up the forum into parts.

Other:
The Member list is fine, showing an avatar of the celeb and a little bit of info on there as well, no problems here.

The profiles themselves are nicely organized into sections and are generally filled out, the extra pictures open in a separate window which is fine. So no major problems here either.

Roleplaying:
From what I read on the forums I categorize the RP level of this site to be Intermediate to Advanced.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10 Points.

This site has a good concept and is looks very nice however I think that the gimmick of being a celebrity/journalist needs to ends at some point and the RP itself needs to take over as the driving point and I myself didn't really see that happening. It's still a good site, however I believe it can improve much more and be one of the bigger RPs out there.

This Site has the Jello Seal of Approval!

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

Sunset Beach [7.0/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/sunsetbeach/

The next site on my list is Sunset Beach, a city rp based in the lovely state of Hawaii. I've never been there though so I guess I'll have to graciously accept a complimentary trip to Hawaii from the owners to fully see the parallels between the actual experience and the site.
(Obviously I'm joking... but wouldn't that be GREAT?!)

The AD is nicely written out, telling you that again it's located in Hawaii and throwing in the "AD" portion trying to draw you in to the site. Now that we've gotten that established, drop it like it's hott (with two "t's"!), show me your bikini, and lets head onwards to the review of Sunset Beach!

First Impression:
I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts! (That's what she said!) The layout is very nice and simple, a nice image on the top with links under it. And the colors look like it's emulating a sunrise or sunset. So overall very nice.

The Public Area:
The Front Page is a rehashing of what was posted on the AD and that's fine, so no problems here.

(Spelling/Grammar: "concerthall" is two words, "dont" needs an apostrophe)

The Rules Page is split into 3 sections for easier separation of rules. Overall it's your standard gambit, so no problems here.

(Spelling/Grammar: "instant massagers" should be "instant messengers", and OCC should be OOC in Rule 2. [Both Errors] )

Face Claim Page, Adopt and Affilates page are self explanitory, moving on.

The Application:
The Application is the standard that generally everyone has, however NO RP SAMPLE REQUIRED. (Jello Points for you! ... it's like Brownie points.. but I'm Jello.)



The Private Area:
Layout Extension! Woo! Basically there is a navigation bar on the side now so everything still stays nice and simple. Everything for the private area is on the intial screen load so that's also nice. As with most City RP's they generally do not have private pages so that means less work for me and onwards to the next section!

Forums:
Good amount of forums and each forum has a nice description however this is where I have my first little nitpick for the site. The forums for me seems like a giant text block, aside from the large text separating each section the actual forum names, and descriptions seem to mash together and there's no clear definition of their space. I see the little ">>'s" before each name but it still feels like it's hard to navigate. This brings up my next point, with great forums comes great unnavigability (Booyah! Spiderman reference!). The scrolling is somewhat of a pain since the descriptions are in fact good, so the good turns into the bad in this case. I've always been a fan of hot links to each individual section and subsequent hotlink to top, or the script to separate forums entirely.

Other:
Member list is organized fine, showing the avatar and a short bit of information on each. The names themselves aren't links so for me that was 10 seconds of staring at the screen but I quickly noticed the outline of the pictures as the links.

Member profiles are nicely organized and are generally filled out well, though there are some who have been on a month and their information is still "coming soon."

Roleplaying:
From what I read on the forums I categorize the RP level of this site to be High Intermediate to Advanced.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10 Points.

Overall Sunset Beach is a good site with a nice layout and where I think the simplicity makes it all the more better. The Gossip accounts are also nice and adds a bit of uniqueness to the site, however after that point in the end it is a city RP. The location obviously gives the opportunity for nice events along the way to encounter celebs or international stars (hint hint?). Don't worry, the first one's free, tell your friends. (No really, I could use some publicity...)

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

Caligation Territories [8.5/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/ct/

Today I'll be reviewing a site called, Caligation Territories. This is a Dark, City RP with a dash of fantasy and gangs for the additional fun. I suppose it would be foolish of me not to include a warning at this point that this site contains MATURE THEMES and is rated for M for MATURE!! (That's Mah-toore! Fancy, eh?)

The AD is a quite an in depth look at the overall plot, but it's very well written and should draw any passersby to at least look at the site and check it out. So overall it accomplishes its goal, so lets go onwards to the review hopefully it will give you a bit more information about joining "The Calt."

P.S. - I'm going to watch the AD like a hawk so I can name the next page, A HAWK! I'll name the page... "Pudding! (An annexed territory of the Kingdom of Jello!)"

First Impression:
GREEN LIKE MON-EH! I have no problems with the layout but there is something that I want to nitpick at, there is no link back to the index page.

The Public Area:
The Front page is essentially the AD, but like I said it's written well so no problems with that.

The Rules page is overall fine and well written, minor nitpick though, I'm not sure how many people know that 2IC means 2nd in Command (at this point) and may just confuse them a bit.

Ranks page is also overall fine, a few things though. In the Head of Department under Police ranks 10/4 positions filled.

(Spelling Error: In the doctors area, "practise" is supposed to be "practice" , "practice" is the noun spelling while the "practise" spelling is used for verbs. I know my UK English...sorta!)

Creatures (Races) page, overall very nicely written but perhaps write a small note under vampires that "blooding" will be explained further down the page.

(Spelling/Grammar Errors: "...they have often lost their skills enough so that they are hunted down." I understand what is being said but is odd sounding to me. Perhaps something like "...their skills have dulled considerably and are hunted down easily.", Lycan in the Creatures - 2nd to last sentence "...request via the admni.", Lycan in the Changing section - "simples" should be "simplest".)

Effigia page, written fine but I would have liked a little more space between each individual point for them.

The City page I also have no problem with each section of the city has its own personality and is generally the case with any rp like it.

(Possible Error: in the North section "northside" might need to be spaced... )

The Gangs page, I like how the gangs have their own font. I'm personally not a fan of bold text and then following is the explanation (Something like this) like in the inductions. I like dashes or colons or something to separate them.

(Spelling/Grammar Errors: Killing Spree "4 or members and 1 or 2 hierarchy keep an eye on the pup as he/she is placed...")

Site History, this page said I didn't have to read it so I didn't... kidding! It's the history of how things happened on the site.

The Application:
You get a nice little pre-application page explaining some of the finer details and then it's on to the generally normal application.



The Private Area:
Layout Change! And of course this site also does it well, pictures at the top and everything you need within initital screen view. Also the drop down menus are NOT activated by hovering but rather CLICKING! Thumbs up from me.

There are more or less 3 private pages in the private area, the Census, the Important People and Gang Relations. These pages are more or less overall fine since they are mainly lists but what I would specifically want to point out is that this is what I believe the private pages should be, aside from the admin listing (On the Important People page), all of these pages really only are worth anything to those who are members.

Forums:
Good amount of forums with nice descriptions. Also they have hotlinks to each individual section and the return to top hotlinks. Generally all my major normal concerns with forums are dealt with nicely here.

Other:
The Member list that Caligation Territories uses is actually quite effective in terms of displaying information for multiple characters. It's organized by gangs however it would have liked better separation or I guess something more aesthetically pleasing than large text.

Member profiles are generally filled out well and are split into 3 parts (not physically though), the OOC section, the Short IC and the Long IC. While the memberlist does a good job of showing the multiple characters the profiles themselves need a bit of work. All the text and information is all together so it's hard to read (Maybe take something out of Andraste's member profile splitting system). Also those who have 3rd characters, the hotlink doesn't work so that's something you might want to look into.

(Side Note: I wasn't aware us Michi-ganders had a specific accent, Shippou/Rachel)

Roleplaying:
From the posts I read I categorize the roleplaying to be Intermediate to Advanced.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Points.

Overall very nice, while "The Calt" isn't exactly my cup of tea, those that like this sort of RP will definetly like the atmosphere and the site in general. The only problem I had was the flooding of information on the user profiles but again overall nice.

This Site has the Jello Seal of Approval!

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

Welcome to Santa Monica [7.9/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/santamonica/

On this Super Bowl Sunday, I bring you now this review on Welcome to Santa Monica! This RP is a city RP, based in... Santa Monica, California!

The AD itself is nicely written out, giving the who, what and why's of what you need to know. Being a city RP it's difficult to write an AD that would draw in members who would otherwise not join a city RP. Now, onwards Steelers and Cardinals! Time for the review!

First Impression:
I need to visit a carnival. Now where I said just a few lines above that writing an AD to draw in people is difficult. This is where I feel most successful City RP's draw in there members, in the layout. The layout is nice it looks professional and it looks simplistic in nature.

The Public Area:
The Front page is basically an extension from the little blurb in the beginning of the AD, it's always nice to see admins expand on the initial writings instead of just copying and pasting. Nice opening kick-off though.

Rules page, the numbers are written out! Fancy. Just wanted to note that in rule Three, the last sentence, there is no space after the period before this sentence starts. (Yes, I generally read that much in detail.)

The Application:
I like the neatness of the process, there are a few guidelines for the application and then you choose which application type. Otherwise it's your normal application.

The Private Area:
Layout change! But still looks very neat and actually a rather seamless transition. Everything you need to see is on the screen when you enter so it is rather efficient also.

All the pages are written out and organized nicely, so there's not much to comment on them except that it's good.

Believe it or not, there are "technically" NO private PAGES! All the links that would seem to normally be pages are actually posts in the forum. I'll comment more on this in just a few lines down so hold the line and get ready for the snap! (Are you getting tired of these sports transitions?)

Forums:
Good amount of forums, and nice descriptions for each area. There are also hotlinks to each section and is overall very neat and clean. Now, remember when I said before that the "private pages" are actually forum posts? Well I really, really, REALLY like how the admin did the forums like that, it is something you don't see too often. Most sites have lines and borders and define things while this is rather open styled.

Other:
Member list is nicely organized, each member looks like they have a little card which contains their avatar with other pertinent information. Also there is a link to their "contact" information (if filled in) which is both in character and out of character.

Roleplaying:
From what I read on the site I categorize the RP level of this community to be Intermediate.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10 Points.

Overall I really liked this site, and this particular rating was the most difficult so far. This city RP is probably one of the best out there that can stand proudly next to Soulmate as a decent contender. However even with all the things I liked, the one thing that makes an RP tick I couldn't really find. And that little thing is the idea that makes the RP stand out as opposed to other ones. The layout makes the SITE stand out, innovations in the forums make the ADMIN stand out on creativity, but there wasn't anything that I could solely atrribute to this RP. So with that reasoning, the site misses the final Point Conversion to turn the tide. (Had to sneak in a final one!)

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

Laurel Hills [2.6/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/laurelhills/

The next site on the list here is called Laurel Hills, a Fantasy/City RP. From what I've read on the AD it's a city RP (there's a nice picture for it also) but of course it's inhabited by Angels and Demons and other creatures and things. This is what looks to be a fairly new site but just as always I'll be nitpicking as much as I see fit.

First Impression:
There's white... ALOT of it... and the eyes, they hurt. The layout would be fine if the colors didn't clash so much, as I said before there's alot of white! The background behind the links at the bottom of the picture is black and the link are purple (after visiting them). Overall this leads to a not pleasant experience mostly because it feels like you're trying to squeeze everything in the middle. Actually the white background is okay, but the link color isn't. Also I'd like to point out that there is no way to get back to the index page other than the back button on the browser.

The Public Area:
Laws are generally okay, I'd like to see them individually spaced and also elaborate on the whole vampire with the singing blood... thing.

Species page, I'd like to see a link back to the species page on the individual race pages. In the Dragon page you list a "Worm" rank... do you mean "Wyrm" ? Overall I'd just like to see more information for each race, you talk about that singing blood thing for the vampires but don't expound on it any in it's page.

At this point I'm a bit confused, so explaining everything in more detail about the races and what each can do and such might be something to look into.

The Application:
There is a little bit before the actual application helping you along with the process and I have some nitpicks here. In the "Other", section of the text you say something about a special abilities page. I saw no page named Special Abilities unless I completely missed it.

The application is the norm, but I'd like to see a little more effort on the application. Drop-down selections instead of typing what you want, and things like that.

The Private Area:
Layout change! Better on the space side, but still not good with the colors, also the left column seems a bit cramped. The default avatar is not working, or isn't coded in which should be added in if you plan on having something like the avatar show up on login.

Aside from that there are no new pages or information.

Forums:
Giant Text Wall, more so than most because it's black on white and the headers from each section are hard to distinguish. The descriptions of the forums are at least fine... but that's about it. Suggesting to add hotlinks to each of the sections, separating the sections a bit bold the headers, and maybe add a bit of color (grey even is fine) to offset the large amount of white just in the forum table.

Other:
Member list is... Odd to say the least, I'm not sure what else to put in there. It's just the avatar and the name in the center.

Profiles aren't filled out fully and the other person on the site hasn't even touched the actual profile page it looks like. At least the main admin put in a nice picture I can look at... *cough*

Roleplaying:
No posts at this time to base my opinion off of.

Rating: 2.6 out of 10 Points.

Why 2.6 you ask, well bascially because the plot is interesting enough to me to pass for some sort of decent roleplay. Otherwise the site as a whole looks unfinished and unpolished. Basically this site needs a good amount of work done. Also the layout is to squeezed in the middle for my tastes and should try expanding it a bit.

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor

Soulmate [8.3/10]

http://www.acornrack.com/cupid/

This next site here is called Soulmate, a City RP but with a twist of course... Soulmates. That's right, on the site there is our loveable friend Cupid, upon joining you gain a soulmate which of course you have to figure out yourself! You can't pay off Cupid... (Well, maybe candy would work?)

Anyway, the AD for the site is short and sweet. I read it over a few times and that's all it really needs, City RP with soulmate twist... no need for fancy plot stories or anything. It works well for this particular kind of site. But I digress, onto the actual review...

First Impression:
The layout is as sweet as candy... and I HATE CANDY!! Seriously though I quite like the layout, it portrays the overall image of the site quite nicely. Nowhere am I bogged down with details like where it's at or other random information aside from being welcomed with a synopsis of the site (which is again on the AD).

The Public Area:
The rules are divided into two sections, general rules and application rules. The general rules are commonplace on all sites but I specifically like the application rules. It defines what is acceptable in your application and what you shouldn't do.

Only one small minor nitpick for me: The use of curse words in the rules page, even if the site were to be rated mature, in the public area of the site things should be parentally friendly in my opinion.

Since this site is not an original idea of the current site owner it is also nice to see that they have given credit to the original author on the Credits page.

The Application:
There is a nice table at the top indicating what kind of characters are being accepted and this is where I have my first nipick. The sexual orientations listed are: Straight, Gay/Lesbian, and Bisexual. Though I understand the use of both terms, "gay" can be used to describe same sex relationships on both genders. Or simply just use Heterosexual and Homosexual in lieu of Straight and Gay/Lesbian.

The Private Area:
Layout change! It's subtle though so it's the same effect if having the same layouts, overall the look is nice.

There is a map of the city that they are currently in, and here is where I have my next nitpick. There are names of roads and certain notable locations, however not all of the streets are named. This would be initially fine except those same streets have named locations (Swifty's, Baxter Cinema, etc.) .

Site Awards, I like this idea. While initially I thought this was where they put all those lovely awards they get (from such esteemed people like myself.... *cough* ), but in actuality these are awards they give to the members of their site. Like how in your high school year book everyone voted for best dressed and such. This is basically the same thing as that, with those who've earned those awards getting customized pictures for them.

Forums:
A good bit of forums on the site, all with detailed descriptions. And again it's time to put on the broken record... With all the forums the scroll bar suffers, while this is mitigated somewhat with the hotlinks to the sections (and subsequent 'Back to Top' links) since the forums are divided into sections the forums can be divided like such as well.

Again a small nitpick here, when you go into the forums to the individual topics. All the topics are in a red background which spans across the remainder of the page with the text in white. All that red hurts my eyes. Perhaps changing the red from spanning across the page to maybe 75 to 80 percent would offset this.

(Note: If you are looking at the site forums hover over the forum section title you are on, and then click! It changes!)

Other:
The member profiles are generally all filled out very nicely some with pictures some without but overall very nice. Here is where I'd like to point out the message alert, it's very nice. You'll always know when it's "Mail Time!" and won't be leaving message laying in your inbox for too long.

Roleplaying:
The roleplaying on this site I catagorize as Intermediate to Advanced from what I read. As the rules state, it is done in the 3rd person.

Rating: 8.3 out of 10 Points.

This City RP is definetly one of the better ones I've seen out there, with the soulmate twist it makes for a much more viable and long-lasting RP than those who simply go about daily life. The small little details for the site, such at the PM notification, and the forum headers changing fonts when clicked are nice bonuses. The site community also seems very nice when I was lurking about their Cbox, again overall very nice.

This Site has the Jello Seal of Approval!

Reviewed by: The Jello Emperor