__________ ____ ____ __ ___ / ____/ __ \ / __ \/ __ \/ |/ / / / / / / /_____/ /_/ / / / / /|_/ / / /___/ /_/ /_____/ _, _/ /_/ / / / / \____/_____/ /_/ |_|\____/_/ /_/__On-line! /Your Multimedia PC Resource!\ * WELCOME TO CD-ROM On-line! * """""""In This Issue:""""""""" * From The Editor ............ We're moving! * CD Discoveries ............ Die Veteranen * Reviews: Entertainment ............ CyberBykes * Reviews: Reference ............ SBP: Real Picture World Atlas SBP: The Cities Below Smithsonian's America * Reviews: Education ............ Material World With Open Eyes * Best Seller List ............ Top Twenty CD-ROM Titles. * Log Off ............ Let us hear from you! .................................................................... CD-ROM Online * A Nexus Multimedia Publication * Vol. 1, Issue 5 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Publisher.............................................Nexus Systems Senior Editor........................................Dennis Kelly Editor........................................Scott R. Garrigus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From The Editor >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> We're moving! Well, actually we've already moved and that's what caused the delay in our last couple issues. We are now happily on a more stable and steady schedule. We have a great issue for you this time ... In Entertainment we have a review of a great new VR game called CyberBykes for which some of the music was composed by yours truly. We have reviews from the Small Blue Planet series, and a couple of great educational CD's too. As ever, we want to hear from you and our e-mail box is always open. So take a peek at our Web page (http://www.li.net/~nsi/cdrom)and then drop us a note and let us know what you think! ___ _ _ ___ / _| __ ___| |_| |_ / __| \__ \/ _/ _ \ _| _| | (_ | |___/\__\___/\__|\__| \___| ___ ___ ___ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ________ / ___/ _ \ / /__/ // / Discoveries: Die Veteranen \___/____/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Whoa! You want to see something strange, or maybe something unique? I suppose whether something is strange or unique is all in your point of view, but Die Veteranen is actually both. This disc is very popular in its homeland of Germany. There are no conventional controls to be found. You start off on the main screen with a picture of its creators sitting at a small table. Click on one of them and off you go to explore the art within. You never know where you'll end up either. The interface construction is just as artsy as the content itself. Explore a virtual cafe where you can experience poetry by T.S. Elliot or interactive interviews done with other artists from around the world. There are also still life pictures that come to life from your interactions and abstract art that changes as you click about the screen. If you have an open mind and enjoy abstract things, then you'll like this disc. Otherwise you'll most likely be left dazed and confused. One other thing going against the grain is its price. At $69.95 plus $5 shipping, this isn't a meager purchase. But who can put a price on art anyway? For more information, contact Sarah Bunting, Scientific American, 415 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10017. Tel: 212-754-1775, E-mail: Vmecum@aol.com. ___ ___ ___ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [||||] [||||] === REVIEWS === [||||] ^^^^^^^ ENTERTAINMENT: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ [CyberBykes: Shadow Racer VR, GameTek] (DOS) -- Street Price: $36 by Scott Garrigus The WTO (World Treaty Organization) has taken over most of the world's major cities. Your government has left behind valuable secrets, nuclear components, as well as chemical and biological weapons. It's up to you to use your Cyberbyke to steal back these secrets before the enemy realizes their potential. The Cyberbyke is an armored Virtual Reality motorcycle you control from a multidimensional command post and it's outfitted with over 15 different weapons including: lasers, missiles, grenades, mortars, chain guns and scatter guns. Sound cool? It is! This disc is filled with a ton of features like most good action games. You can customize your own Cyberbyke and even construct your own levels for the game. The 3D graphics are excellent and they give you a full 360 degree free movement viewing area. Network play with up to 8 players is also supported. It's even VR headset compatible with the Victormaxx Cybermaxx. One problem here though is that you will need a top of the line Pentium with 16 Megs of RAM in order to get the maximum performance available. But don't fret, a 486SX-33 will work. You just won't get the nice smooth graphics as on a higher machine. Not a new concept but still a great game none-the-less ... Cyberbykes is sure to be one of the action titles on many must-play lists. =-=-=-=-=-= REFERENCE: ^^^^^^^^^ [Small Blue Planet: The Real Picture World Atlas, Cambrix Publishing] [Mac, Windows) -- Street Price: $35 by Scott Garrigus Yes, this disc has been on the market for a while now, but it's still going strong. Why? Because there really isn't anything else like it out there and it also happens to be an excellent disc. Small Blue Planet: The Real Picture World Atlas gives you a view of our world from above. Compiled from satellite photos of the world, this disc includes images of just about every point on the globe. You can view everything from up-close pictures of San Francisco and New York City (you can even see the city lights at night) to a photo of an entire continent. Also included are Continental Mosaics with unbelievably crisp and clear AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) photographs. Navigating these maps is very easy with the provided Control Panel. Zoom in and out with the click of a mouse button and use the Looking Glass Tool to 'look through' the satellite images to view calibrated maps that correspond to the image. Two other important parts of the disc are the Chronosphere and the World Political Map. The Chronosphere allows you to view the different times zones for any location in the world and shows your current location in comparison to where you want to go. The World Political Map gives you the latest (as of September 1994) country maps and histories, environmental information, and politics. You can also learn 15 comparative phrases in over 70 languages from native speakers. Undoubtedly one of the best quality discs around, The Real World Picture Atlas is for anyone with an interest in our world and its wondrous sites. ::: Small Blue Planet: The Cities Below -- Street Price: $30 Another disc in the Small Blue Planet series, The Cities Below, is the same type of title as its sibling, The Real Picture World Atlas; but with a different focus. This time we are treated with a view of the United States of America along with detailed photos of most of its major cities. Though The Cities Below does have most of the features of The Real Picture Atlas, things like the Political Map and the comparative language phrases are missing (it would be neat to hear the different accents available in our multi-cultural society). There is still plenty of information provided about each of the photos and maps presented. Of course the pictures are as stunning as ever (you can see the boats moving along the Boston Harbor), which is really what both discs in the series are all about. If you're going to purchase The Real Picture World Atlas then you'll definitely be interested in The Cities Below as well. +++++++++++ [Smithsonian's America, Creative Multimedia] (Windows) -- Street Price: $30 by Scott Garrigus Based on an exhibition mounted at the "American Festival," Japan, 1994, Smithsonian's America uses the Smithsonian collections to capture the essence of America. Over 200 years of American History is represented here. From objects of daily life to prized items like George Washington's sword and Sitting Bull's carbine; this disc highlights our ethnic heritage; the conflict and consensus in American life; and how America has tried to live up to its ideals of diversity, freedom, and equality. The program is basically a presentation of the exhibit. It's divided into a number of different categories including American Ideals and Images, The Peopling of America, Entertaining Americans, Politics and Protest, etc. Each of these categories is then divided into a number of related topics. Click on a topic and you are a given a narrated slide-show describing that period in history. Also available are an artifact gallery and time line that you can use to peruse the over 700 historical artifacts included here. The photographs are stunning though the descriptions are a little sparse. It would have been nice to have some more information about each of the artifacts. Still, this disc is a great way to learn about our nation's history and get an almost first-hand look at some of the things that made this country what it is today. =-=-=-=-=-= EDUCATION: ^^^^^^^^^ [Material World: A Global Family Portrait, StarPress] (Mac, Windows) -- Street Price: $30 by Scott Garrigus If you've ever wanted to be awakened to the reality of everyday life, then this disc is something you should look into. Created by author and photographer, Peter Menzel and narrated by Charles Kuralt; Material World takes you on a journey around the world and into the lives of thirty typical families. Sponsored in part by the United Nations Population Fund, sixteen of the world's foremost photojournalists traveled to thirty nations to live for a week with these families. Through striking photographs, provocative interviews and intimate video, you can meet the families of Material World and learn about their homes, communities and countries. See how they live their everyday lives. For example, imagine being held hostage in your apartment by snipers. To the family in Sarajevo, this is reality. What do you think it would be like having two wives and eight children in Mali or owning 4 cars and a 45 foot sofa in Kuwait? These are some of the extreme differences you will learn about as you explore the many families and parts of the world presented here. Also included is a database to compare vital statistics, charts and pictures from each of the thirty countries. View narrated multimedia presentations, maps and profiles, and hear their national anthems. You can also view personal notes written by the photojournalists who photographed the families, as well as the questionnaires that the families were asked to complete. This disc will give you a clear look at the state of the world today ... A mind-opening experience. +++++++++++ [With Open Eyes, Voyager] (Mac, Windows) -- Street Price: $39 by Scott Garrigus Art on CD-ROM has become a favorite with publishers of the medium. There are many discs available now on the market with this premise in mind. None of them have dealt with exposing young people to this field though... until now. Open Eyes brings the world of art to the minds of children. (It is fun for adults too.) It contains amazing full-screen graphics of over 200 works of art from the world-class collection of Chicago's Art Institute. Also included are audio clips of descriptions and captions of each art masterpiece. The collection is searchable by geography or time period. There is also an automated slide show option. For a closer look, viewers can zoom in on the pictures to see small details from Seurat's brushwork to the tiny bugs hidden in a Dutch still life picture. In addition, there are some wonderful games and puzzles to spark the imagination of young minds. Whether it's a Japanese kimono, an Impressionist landscape, an Egyptian mummy case, or a Picasso portrait ... With Open Eyes has something of interest for everyone. ___ ___ ___ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >Best Seller List: Top Twenty CD-ROM Titles/September 1995< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< < 1> Windows '95 on CD-ROM < 2> MechWarrior 2 (DOS) < 3> MYST (Windows, Mac) < 4> Astronomica (Windows, Mac) < 5> Witchaven (DOS) < 6> San Diego Zoo: The Animals (Windows, Mac) < 7> Doom Mania (DOS) < 8> Full Throttle (DOS, Mac) < 9> Bookshelf '95 (Windows, Mac) <10> New Grolier's Encyclopedia (Windows, Mac) <11> Information Underground (Windows) <12> Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (Windows, Mac) <13> Jewels of the Oracle (Windows. Mac) <14> Planet Shareware (Windows) <15> Gus Goes to Cybertown (Windows) <16> Dark Forces (DOS) <17> Arthur's Teacher Trouble (Windows, Mac) <18> Mortal Kombat II (DOS) <19> 5-Ft. 10-Pak Special Edition (DOS, Windows) <20> Just Grandma & Me (Mac, Windows) ___ ___ ___ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ----- /Esc\ Log Off: Let Us Hear From You! ----- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CD-ROM On-line invites you to write in and let us know what's on your mind. We welcome reviews, news, suggestions, and comments of all kinds. This is your magazine, so let us know what you like and don't like and what you would like to see in future issues. Drop us a note at Editor@nsimedia.com +++++++++++ CD-ROM On-line brings you the latest information from the CD-ROM cyberfront for FREE! You might ask "Why do we do it?" Well, to be perfectly honest, we want your business. All we ask is that when you purchase CD-ROMs, give us a call. 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