Quad-City Times from Davenport, Iowa • 38

4E Sunday, Marc 10, 1996 MULTIMEDIA QUAD-CITY TMES Step into the museum of natural hysteria toast!" $48 (Windows 3.1, Macintosh, Windows 3.1 CD-ROM, Macintosh CD-ROM) from MECC, (800) Thexder i' Put Thexder, the robot star of Nintendo games from the 1980s, in a DOS-based game and you'd never give him a second thought So developers summoned him for a Windows 95 PC debut, which means several open game windows at once, better joystick response and remarkable sound. It's just a shame that even the whiz-bang technology can't make the gameplay interesting. The plot revolves around Thexder, who can transform into a rocket or a tank, and is being chased around several scrolling mazes in each of 10 worlds by various enemies. Each world has five levels; at the top level, Thexder must defeat the world's kingpin. Even with better effects than those in many other two-dimensional, side-scrolling maze games, the overall concept presents few challenges that gamers haven't seen before.

Thexder shows it's the action, not the operating system, that makes an arcade game click. $49.95 (Windows 95) from Sierra On-Line, (800) 757-7707 (206)649-9800. Each product Is rated on a scale of zero to four stars. Shivers "Bugged out!" yelled James as the dim but outline of an ancient Ijnuseum appeared on his screen. -Spectacular graphics and sound effects that wouldn't seem out of Tplace at a Yanni concert let you right away that Shivers -isn't a typical teen adventure.

Mischievous spirits have es-Lcaped from jars and amulets in the museum's exhibits and are terrorizing their new haunt; it's Tup to players to put them back in place so the museum can open. The images are designed to fill -kids with dread, but the game lhas little violence and no gore. Ancient Egyptian and Mayan -exhibits use culturally authentic coded messages to help players restore order. But despite a few dollops of fact, the game is I played strictly for fun. Still, mysteries, frights and complex puzzles abound, and like games for adults, the program requires recommitment and time.

into their game, "Tonya and Eric, both 16, found rthe; locked entrance to the mu-iseum and tackled the puzzle re- quired to open it. "Give it up," Eric finally de-Iclared. "We've been here for an hour and a half. We've tried ev- erything!" But good things come to those who don't give up the ghost. "This is just like Myst," said Lisa, 15.

"There's a gazillion I possibilities." there are; just don't let ROM, Macintosh CD-ROM) from Diamar Interactive, (800) 234-2627, (206) 340-5975. MayaQuest Vfe The latest in the venerable series of on-the-road adventures that began with The Oregon Trail takes players across Central America in search of Mayan ruins. Like The Africa Trail, the game is based on the real-life expedition of cyclist Dan Buettner. But also as in The Africa Trail, our young explorers didn't find modern adventure as engaging as the older programs in the series. MayaQuest features rich animation and multimedia effects, but our experts found the program's clues impossible to decipher, and soon tired of turning to the game's on-line journals and database before every move.

James and Clinton, both 15, went sightseeing instead, and imagined that their vehicle was somewhat more luxurious than a bicycle. Renaming their two-wheeler "our Lexus," they pedaled down the road to look for ruins. But they quickly learned the name change didn't give them the luxury of power steering. "Look out! You're going to get us killed!" yelled Clinton as James pedaled through the wilderness, nearly wrecking the vehicle. By that point, it seemed the bicycle was all the game gave them to care about.

"Without our Lexus," Clinton declared, "we're oping a pre-swing routine and judging distances to escaping sand traps and perfecting putts. You can study the lessons in sequence (complete The 5-Day Golf Lesson from start to finish), in random order, or in groups organized to work on specific weaknesses in your game. Bookmarks let you pick up where you left off at the end of your last session. Navigating the program is as simple as driving a golf cart; a streamlined, easy-to-use interface lets you concentrate on learning the swings, not the software. Lesson screens hold a little text, lots of high-quality photos and some step-by-step video sequences, which make the information easy to absorb.

But there's one lesson the disk doesn't mention that you should file under "chip If your computer is slow, moving through those lessons might be more frustrating than a persistent slice. The program also includes a section called Play the Hole, a 360-degree game-like simulation of a par-5 that lets you putter around with strategy and club selection. Unfortunately, the simulation's, real-life effectiveness is as hard to read as a snow-covered green it's less interactive than a good video game, and it's not nearly as much fun. But if your game is in the rough, Golf Tips: Breaking 100 may be just the thing to perk up your drive. $59.95 (Windows 3.1 CD- animated demonstrations.

Context-sensitive help is available. Real-Line takes a couple of spills, however. Erratic video quality plagues the program, and some areas are a bit sketchy, particularly the section on choosing the right gear. But the disk does stress that you must pick up a helmet and pads before hitting the road. And it doesn't hurt that you can watch the video on the best way to fall as many times as you want.

$34.95 (Windows 3.1 CD-ROM; Macintosh CD-ROM scheduled for February) from L3 Interactive, (800) 644-2823, (310) 264-4188. Golf Tips: Breaking 100 Golf, it's been said, is a good walk spoiled. And it just might be unless you take steps to improve your game. Golf Tips: Breaking 100, the first CD-ROM in a two-disk series, is a fine course for the beginning or intermediate player who wants low scores, not subpar technique. The disk, compiled by Golf Tips magazine and the David Leadbetter Golf Academy, assumes you bring some knowledge of the game to the tee.

Newcomers will find no explanation of the rules, scoring or complex handicap system, nor is there a glossary of terms. What the program does offer is instruction hours of it, covering 75 topics in all, from devel your kids start a new game right before bedtime, or Shivers may indeed keep them up nights haunted by its spirited puzzles, if not its spirits. $39.95 (Windows 3.1 CD-ROM; Macintosh CD-ROM available soon) from Sierra On-Line, (800) 757-7707, (206) 649-9800. Real-Line If you're one of the many intrepid newcomers to in-line skating (said to be the fastest-growing sport in the country), Real-Line will be just the thing to help you get rolling. It also packs a trick or two for intermediate and advanced skaters and enough wild video footage to thrill the hearts of those who prefer just to stand by the side of the road and gawk.

Real-Line's 27 lessons use video and text. Each clip starts with some don't-try-this-at-home razzle-dazzle on wheels, but the videos segue into easy-to-follow how-to instructions. Beginners will learn balance, basic turns, stopping and how to fall safely. More advanced students get tips on developing a smoother stride, skating backward and even rolling down stairs. The "interactive learning cube," which you use to navigate the program, resembles Rubik's Cube, but it's much easier to figure out thanks to its narrated, If TrOTTTHTTHJ' TIHT If 13' H323ft A mm.

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