Wild West
$18.95		(Win) (Retail) (WILDWESTPR)

Jasmine Multimedia

Reference / American History

Ratings:

3 stars (out of 4) from HomePC

Interactive CD-ROM

Based on the famous television documentary mini-series "The Wild West." This two-disk set presents edited versions of all ten episodes that you can watch in any order that you choose. Video, sound, digital photos and more are presented in an interactive setting that makes learning about America's last frontier easy and enjoyable.

A number of features expand your experience using The Wild West. Each episode is accompanied by five sub-sections that enhance the video portion of the program. The first of these sub-sections provides the written transcript of the episodes. You can read each transcript from your computer's screen or copy it to a text file that you can open, edit and print from any word processing program.

The second sub-section displays a chronological timeline for the selected episode with picture highlights and pop-up text summaries. The third sub-section displays a Maps Screen which will help you visualize railroads, stagecoach routes, cattle drives and points of interest. The fourth sub-section presents a music screen where you can listen to the songs of the episode, complete with lyrics printed on your screen. And to test your knowledge, the fifth sub-section is a trivia section derived from the old familiar "hangman" game.

Requirements: An IBM or compatible, DOS or MS-DOS version 6.2 or later and Windows version 3.1 or later, 486SX 25 mhz processor, 4 megabytes of RAM, a mouse, a hard drive with at least 1.5 megabytes of free space, a sound card, a double speed CD-ROM drive and a VGA or SVGA monitor capable of displaying 256 colors with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels.

Reviews:

HomePC, November 1995

"...The two-disc CD-ROM - built around 10 episodes of a recent documentary series about American frontier life from 1866 to 1896 - packs some 2,000 photos and videos, narrations by Jack Lemmon, and voiceovers from some 30 other famous folk, including actors Lloyd Bridges, James Coburn and Laurence Fishburne.

"Each disc opens with a list of segments: Settlers, Soldiers, Indians, Townspeople, Cowboys, Mythmakers, Searchers, Dreamers & Wayfarers, Chroniclers and Gunfighters. As the show begins, you'll see an index of topics covered in the hour-long presentations. If you've selected Gunfighters to find out about Billy the Kid, click on his name in the index to jump directly to a related segment. A Script option reveals the written text.

"The program also incorporates some 30 songs from the period, as well as text from relevant books, timelines to help illustrate events, and maps of the states and territories.

"The Wild West's main weakness is its lack of an overall search facility, an unfortunate omission for such a potentially powerful reference work. Nevertheless, the program offers an entertaining and enlightening look at one of the liveliest chapters in the American story - a treat for history buffs and frontier fans alike."

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