Ocean Voyager
UNDERWAY, THE ONLY WAY !!
A Review of Ocean Voyager
by Richard Cunningham
The oceans of our planet have, since the beginning of time, been a source of food, a means of transportation (kinda hard to sail a boat without it), and a mysterious place from which myths and legends are born. Who isn’t familiar with the tales of Davy Jones’ locker, and the strange happenings in the Bermuda Triangle? So you can see the ocean has always had some impact on mankind.
What has the ocean got to do with a computer program review, you ask? Well, since you did ask, it has everything to do with it. The program under discussion is called Ocean Voyager, and is a multimedia extravaganza. It is part game, part learning experience, part puzzle, and all fun. There is so much in it, I hope I can explain it all, not leave anything out and still do it justice.
The premise of Ocean Voyager is simply exploration of the oceans. You are selected to command the SS Sea Scout, a small submarine with a crew of four, including yourself. The main mission for this trip is to return Arpo the seal pup back to her family. Along the way, you will have to develop the skills of navigation, repair, laboratory work, all the tasks that are performed on a scientific submarine. It is the developing of these skills that help you find the clues to find Arpo’s home. At your disposal is your crew, each with unique skills. There is also a wealth of reference material in each of the locations that aid in the tasks at hand. For example, when sounds are heard outside the submarine, you can go to the crew’s cabin, plug in a CD with ocean sounds on it, and use it to identify the sound. The crew will give you hints along the way, ranging from subtle in nature, to explicit and detailed (“Take the joystick, hold down the right mouse button, and drag the joystick in the direction you want to move it”). There are other CDs available, along with books, videos, flashcards and some mighty sophisticated electronics.
The mechanics of the game are fairly simple. All movements and commands are issued by the mouse, and clicking the buttons on it. To open a book, you simply click on it, and it opens. Then clicking on the contents take you to the appropriate section. The graphics in the game are tremendous. They are highly accurate artwork, with human faces inserted at the correct places. The simulations that are included for the user to work through are storms, scientific experiments, navigation through uncharted waters, the recovery of sunken toxins, among others. These are all easily accomplished using the mouse.
This program is massive in the amount of detailed information it contains. There are over 200 illustrations, 100 photos, and 50 video clips. The books that are in the game are fun to read and explore independent of the game. I spent one half hour on the reference book of submarines, and it had nothing to do with the game (at least at that point). There is an onboard databank with charting symbols, running lights, weather charts, buoys and channel markers – in other words, anything and everything relating to basic seamanship. So in addition to exploring the ocean, just getting there can be half the fun and challenge of this game.
The program ran fine, once I got it installed. I followed the instructions provided, and it would not run. I kept getting an error message stating that I needed to insert the CD ROM into the drive, and it was already there. It also kept accessing my floppy disk drive at the same time. I was able to get the program running by clicking on the proper icon on the CD ROM, and it ran fine after that. It ran smoothly, with no long delays in switching between scenes, or in loading the data for the books or videos or audio. The multimedia aspects of the program are very sound.
The only other negative comment I have (and it is rather a small one) would be for the inclusion of a hard cover manual. Given the amount of information in the game, it would be impossible to include everything in book form. But a small manual with installation instructions, and some background on the game, the locations of the various rooms, equipment and resources available would have been helpful.
This program is tied into the Smithsonian Institute’s traveling Ocean Planet exhibit, which is touring the United States between the years 1996 and 2002. It is currently at the Presidio of San Francisco’s Herbst International Exhibition Hall, and will be there until November 10, 1996. To find out more about this exhibit, try their website at http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ocean_planet.html . It will be time well spent, as will acquiring and using this program. Even though it is designed for ages 8 and up, I spent several hours enjoying it and I am in the 40-something category. So enjoy this program, and all the lessons you learn from it.
Multimedia Cafe Scorecard
| Product: | Ocean Voyager |
| Company: | Graphix Zone |
| Cost: | $39.95 |
System Requirements:
IBM: 486SX-25 or faster; 8mb ram (Windows 95 requires 4mb of free ram);
640×480x256 display; 8mb hard drive space; 2X CD ROM; mouse;
Windows-compatible sound card
Macintosh/Power Macintosh: 68030 or higher; 640×480x256 display; 8mb ram
required (PowerMac needs 4mb free ram); System 7.1 or higher; 5mb hard disk
space; CD ROM
Breakdown:
Entertainment Value 4
Educational Value 5
Concept 4
Depth 4
Interface 5
Overall Score:
(* 0 rating, 0 votes)
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