European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 29, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes computers tuesday november 29,1994 plenty software packages provide something for whole family by Michael j. Ii Imowitz the Baltimore Sun if you have a computer user or two in your House you won t have to worry about finding Christmas presents this year. A. A 7 there a a software package out there for everyone. In fact one company executive i chatted with last week told me that educational titles atone Are appearing at the rate of 250 a month. A v parents naturally want to buy their kids educational programs to justify spending a couple of grand on that fancy hardware while kids would rather use that fancy hardware to play games. Fortunately its possible to entertain yourself and learn something at the same time no matter what your age. Here Are some examples to consider As stocking staffers. For originality entertainment and hours of delightful i did no to know that discovery look at the cd rom cartoon history of the universe from Putnam new  available in windows and macintosh formats the two disk program is based on Larry Gonick a irreverent entertaining and informative comic Book history spiced with animations games and puzzles. Labelled As volumes 1 through 7, it covers everything from the big bang to. The Golden age of Athens. This Isnit watered Down kids stuff. The program is recommended for Ages 10 and up and a lot of the material is definitely on the High school to adult level. That does no to mean younger children wont enjoy it because your Host a ditzy Little professor who rides around in a helicopter reads every panel aloud and there Are 2,000 animations 7,000 sound effects and 350 pieces of music to keep youngsters interested. You can travel through history using the professors time machine by looking up topics in an Index and through Advent Tares based on artefacts in the professors study. For example you can wander through the Tomb of Cheops solving puzzles along the Way reconstruct buildings on the acropolis and Battle the minotaur in a mystifying Maze. The Only Down Side is that you la need some horsepower to run the history of the universe at acceptable Speed a a 486sx or better with eight megabytes of memory is recommended. The program will also claim about 12 megabytes of hard disk space. But its Worth the invest ment. 1 thoroughly enjoyed this one. Its animations graphics sound and wealth of accessible information Are prime exam pies of what multimedia is All about. For information Contact Putnam new Christmas Carmen Sandiego is a perennial hot seller in the computer world. Media 11490 Commerce Park drive Reston a. 22091. Tie ins Between computer software movies and to shows Are really hot this year. One of the most Complex examples is Broder bund a Carmen Sandiego series. These perennial Best Selling educational games offer painless lessons in geography culture and history As they pit your youngster and the Acme detective Agency against the evil Carmen and her gang of International thieves and vile henchmen. White to shows and movies have spun off computer games for years Carmen was the first computer program to spin off its own to cartoon series for kids. Now Broder bund has borrowed new characters from the show to create where in the world is Carmen Sandiego Junior detective edition on cd rom. Designed for younger children 5 through 8 than the original series Carmenjr. Does no to require that youngsters look up clues in an Atlas dictionary or encyclopedia. Instead it teaches its own lessons in geography and culture As youngsters put together a picture Puzzle of the thief they re pursuing around the world. A there a a whole new set of humorous villains including Anita payoff Jim shorts hardly wort hit and Hugh stink the heroes of the to show Zack and Ivy and a Crew of delightfully inept photographers. The graphics animation and sound Are excellent better yet this version runs under Microsoft windows which Means there Are virtually no installation hassles. And unlike Many other cd rom games this one does no to make great demands on hard disk space a a Mere 500k. Younger game players will undoubtedly enjoy this one particularly if they be seen the to show. In a few years  be ready to move up to Carmen or. For information Contact Broder bund software 500 Redwood blvd., Novato Calif. 94948. If you have a history or civil War Buff in the House Syf Tel a Gettysburg cd rom will provide hours of pleasurable what offing. With a narration by historian Shelby Foote Gettysburg is a twofer of sorts that runs under Microsoft windows. There a a simulator that lets you re create the famous civil War Battle As it was fought a or As you a like to fight it. There arc also dozens of integrated clips from the Ted Turner production of Gettysburg a movie that stunned audiences last year with its four hour length epic Battle scenes phony facial hair and its ability to get terrible performances from Fine actors. A a a. A a. A a a luckily the video clips draw More on action and mood scenes than drama. And once you get past the Novelty of peering through on screen Field glasses at movie scenes that illustrate what a happening on the Battle map in front of you you can get Down to some serious armchair generalship. A a. The Battlefield is displayed As a map of Gettysburg you can switch from a historical physical map to a Topographic vie with Small animated infantry artillery and cavalry icons appearing attacking retreating and disappearing As the Battle progresses. You can be either of the generals Robert e. Lee or George g. Meade and of can take control of one army or both join gig units into Battle moving them around and aiming artillery and infantry fire with a variety of ammunition. You can also pause the game and control the Speed of the action slowing things Down when you need to make a decision and speeding things up when you re ready. There Are up to Date status and casualty reports along with historic notes photos and information about the soldiers who fought in the horrendously costly Battle that turned the tide of the civil War. _ although in be read various historical accounts of the Battle Over the years it Wasny to until i watched it unfold on the screen that i really understood the strategy and tactics that won the Battle for the North and lost it for the South. For information Contact Safte International ltd., Box 219, Rockland Del. 19732-9904. I adventure games take you to the big easy by Jack Warner Cox news service i spent the 21st and 22nd years of my life in new Orleans and one of my most memorable diversions there was Hunting for the works of . Lovecraft and his colleagues in a soldering old French Quarter Bookstore. It was operated by a Pale balding Man of curiously Bati Achian Mien who claimed to have met Lovecraft during the latiere a visit to new Orleans. The store was overrun with cats one of whom used up my 23rd year by leaping unannounced onto my shoulder from the top of a dark stack of books. In Short it was the Best imaginable place to Hunt for the works of americans second master of the horror genre Alt of which were out of print Back then. It also i think gives me added qualifications to Dis cuss two new computer adventures sierras Gabriel Knight sins of the father and i motions Shadow of the Comet both about $45gabriel Knight is set it Modem new Orleans and concerns the efforts of Knight an obtuse and rather offensive hero to solve a series of voodoo connected murders. The game As a whole provides a very accurate atmosphere of this most intriguing of Southern cities. Sound effects graphics and animation Are very Fine but the most striking thing about the game is the use of excellent actors to speak the dialogue including Michael Dorn Worf on the recently cancelled Star trek the next generation and Mark Hamill Luke sky Walker of the Star wars movie trilogy. 4 most memorable of All is Virginia Capers whose thick Low new Orleans dialect so Well suits the narration that i can Overlook the tendency of some of the others to Call the City a new or Leens a the problem for me lies in the mechanics of this kind or game you walk your character around and must try to pick up everything you see in every screen and ask every available question of everyone you meet. I have never seen a better example of the genre but i find it still becomes tedious very quickly. Shadow of the Comet which is set in Lovecraft a Cthulhu mythos is a disaster a a a Good idea that cannot even begin to overcome wretched execution. It takes place in a decaying new England port town called us Mouth a Why the avoidance of  a inns Mouth is unclear a and the town indeed has a few people with a strangely Froggy look. However the movement system is incredibly Clumsy the people speaking the dialogue Are for the most part inept and the artwork and animation Are both weak. In fact the player seems to have Little Choice in what he has his character do or say