LEAD STORY IS THE LEAD STORY
AT&T has unveiled the first of a series of World Wide Web sites from AT&T
Business Network that is designed to serve the needs of business managers,
professionals and entrepreneurs entitled Lead Story. Lead Story sorts
through all of the major business or general-interest stories per day on the
Web and provides in-depth view of one of these events. Lead Story can be
accessed through the URL http://www.leadstory.com.

Lead Story features links to news from a wide variety of Web sources, plus
analysis, opinion, background materials and other information that helps
give professionals the broadest possible perspective on a major story. This
method of information gathering enables professionals to spend more positive
time either reading or acting on important stories as opposed to ferreting
them out themselves.

Lead Story topics are archived for several days after they appear and are
updated at noon Eastern time Monday through Saturday. Lead Story is a free
site; registration is not required and there are no subscription fees
charged. East Coast companies should contact Leslie Laredo, executive vice
president, at 617-441-5536 or network1ad@aol.com. West Coast and Mid-West
companies should contact either Ted West, president, at 415-435-5638 or
tedwest@linex.com, or Jeff Cohen, senior vice president, at 415- 342-7698 or
jefco@aol.com.

CYBER-SEARCH PROVIDES A BETTER SEARCH
CyberSearch(TM) 2.0, the second generation of CyberSearch CD-ROM is
available from Frontier Technologies. CyberSearch CD-ROM permits Internet
users to search for useful information offline and offers two new important
features;it's optimized for 32-bit operation in the Windows 95 and Windows
NT environment and it's browser-independent, adding value to popular
browsers.

CyberSearch is a database of over a half million Internet locations,
searchable by keyword, that's integrated with an easy-to-use Internet
Organizer, which allows users to save and manage Internet sites. CyberSearch
allows the user to search the Internet off-line from their CD-ROM drive,
saving considerable time and reducing Internet connection charges. Once
on-line, users can download multiple Internet sources at once, thereby
increasing productivity. The database is Lycos(TM), developed by Carnegie
Mellon University, which is widely
accepted as the most extensive catalog of Internet resources available to
the public.

CyberSearch 2.0 is available for $29.95 and subscriptions are available for
$9.95 per month. For more details on how to subscribe to CyberSearch, or to
order a single issue, customers should call 1-800-879-0075. (Outside the
U.S., please call +1-414-241-4555.) Further information is also available on
Frontier Technologies' World Wide Web site, http://www.frontiertech.com., or
by Email at search@frontiertech.com.

FRONTIER'S TURNKEY UNLOCKS CAPABILITIES TO CORPORATIONS
Not all companies have extensive inhouse computing expertise to deal with
the overwhelming amount of information on the Internet and its benefits.
Intranet Genie offers both the client and server software required to
install a secure Intranet. The components include Frontier's Windows
NT-based SuperWeb Server and client software, including an Internet browser,
web administration and authoring tools, and secure email.

Intranet Genie works with the provided browser and web server or with
platforms of the user's choice. SuperWeb Server is optimized for Windows NT,
which is a plus for smaller companies that don't have UNIX experience. The
server supports remote administration and content creation, allowing
multiple people within a company to create and update web pages.

Additionally, CyberSearch is a single interface for finding information that
allows users to search any collection of data that's indexed by the Verity
search engine, internal information stored on Intranet web servers or file
servers, internal discussion groups, or any live data feed. CyberSearch
allows users to locate both internal and external Internet information using
one interface and a single query. All of these tools can be installed in
hours and WebBuilder sets up folders for each department and converts
existing documents as well as offering the user the choice to install or
customize web-based applications that automate internal tasks such as
conference room management or purchase requisitions. Available in Q2 '96 no
SRP available.

FIRST WWW CONFERENCE
You've probably heard about InterAct '96(TM), the world's first conference
that will take place on the World Wide Web April 23-25. White Pine Software
has just signed on as a conference partner and will offer their Enhanced
CU-SeeMe client/server technology for group conferencing and collaboration
over the net. This technology offers real-time, person-to-person group
conferencing with audio, chat window, full-color video and whiteboard
communications. Other companies involved with InterAct '96 include Black Sun
Interactive, Cascade Communications, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC),
Isis Distributed Systems, VDOnet, and Yankee Group. This conference is a
joint project of InfoWorld, Stratus Computers and Time magazine. Anyone with
Internet access can attend. There are a number of activities scheduled:
personal contact with leaders in the industry, on-line presentations,
meetings with vendor organizations, virtual demos and virtual press
conferences. Plus, these presentations will be available, at any time, in
video, audio and text formats. More info may be obtained at
http://www.interact96.com.

NEW PUBLISHER AT INTERNET WORLD
One of the latest magazines to enter the world of Internet information
publishing is Internet World from Mecklermedia Corporation. Rated as the
number one magazine within the Internet category, the new publisher will be
Corey Friedman. Paul Bonington, who started the magazine, is moving over to
handle Web Week and Web Developer publications, also from Mecklermedia. We
wish both well in their new assignments.

A BETTER BETA
Add-on features are the key to Netscape Communication's new beta browser
release of Atlas. Release 1 reveals some of the technologies that'll be
present in the next iteration of Navigator and includes such goodies as
viewing WWW sites using VRML through a browser called Live3D from Paper
Software that supports Moving Worlds vRML 2.0. Plus, audio and data
conferencing over the Internet is built-in via InSoft's CoolTalk software.
This latter truly enables phone calls via the net without the normally
attendant phone company charges! Awesome!

NETWORK WORLD RESULTS
Each year, the top trends for the Internet/intranet are released by Network
World. The survey is conducted jointly by International Data Group and
Network World and surveys the top 500 leading U.S. networking users whose
companies have internetworked LANs and WANs, annual network expenditures of
over $5 million, and more than 1,000 employees. Called the Network World
500, the trends received via the phone interviews for this year include that
fact that over 50 percent continue to worry about Internet security issues.
Is what is passed along the net free from interception? Of interest to game
developers should have been that 70 percent of the those surveyed believe
employees access the Internet on company time for entertainment-related
activities. Anywhere from five to 30 minutes is spent on-line for each
session, with 55 percent accessing the Internet several times each day. You
can receive more information on this highly interesting study by sending
email to hcreight@nww.com.

PENZOIL SLIPS ONTO THE WEB
Penzoil slides into action on the Internet as it sponsors The Auto
Channel(TM), an Internet supersite that offers all manner of content on
motorsports and other automotive topics. The Auto Channel has 17 sections
that cover in-depth global news and information on the events and
larger-than-life personalities involved in all facets of motorsports,
automotive product
introductions, technology and consumer issues and can be reached at
WWW.PENZOIL.COM.

PC'S LAB GOES LIVE
Ziff-Davis' PC Magazine is renowned for its ambitious presentations that
offer the latest test results, solutions and tips, in-depth lab reports and
benchmarks of hardware products. Now this potent information is available
on-line at the PC Magazine home page at http://www.pcmag.com. This service
puts the various products through their paces in order to provide the
information needed for buyers to make educated purchasing decisions.

What's neat about this site is that it offers quick and easy downloads of
the results for the users, enabling them to sort and manipulate the data in
any way they choose -- even to the point of placing it in their own
spreadsheets. Users
will also be alerted to upcoming products scheduled for testing as well as
having access to some test results before they appear in the print edition
of PC Magazine.

Other new features at the web site is Hot 25, a collaboration between PC
Magazine and Web 21. Web 21 lists the Web sites most frequently visited
within the last week. The listing excludes visits to search engines and PC
Magazine also filters out visits to "adult" sites to come up with the top 25
site listing each week. Hot 25 describes each site and why the site is so
popular.


MORE FUN STUFF

BABE IS DUMPED
Despite the fact that the Australian film, Babe, is one of the hottest and
most delightful films of this or any other year, the Chinese censors want
nothing to do with the sheepdog-intent pig. Apparently the Chinese feel this
movie will be so strong a hit in their country that their own, local movies
might not do too well. Therefore, you do away with the competition! Also
negated from Chinese movie theaters was Goldeneye and Apollo 13.

MEDIATOR MENTIONED PLUS AWARD
Although talks between the Writers Guild of America and CBS were suspended
late last week, the negotiators for both sides in the current contract
discussions agreed to mediation as a means of resolving differences over
benefits and wages. The contract covered news writers for CBS radio and TV,
and some of the producers, artists and desk assistants in four major
metropolitan markets.

CBS was also the recipient of the 1996 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award
Grand Prize for a three-hour documentary on American violence. The reporters
recognized in the award were Ed Bradley, Dan Rather and Mike Wallace, as
well as producers Holly and Paul Fine. The documentary was entitled In The
Killing Fields and it aired in January of 1995.

MICKEY MOUSE AND BARBIE
No these two are not the subject of the tabloids, however, Disney Consumer
Products and Mattel, Inc. have signed a letter of intent for a new expanded
strategic alliance that guarantees Mattel worldwide toy rights for all
upcoming Disney television and film properties, they include the productions
of Walt Disney Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. It's
mind-boggling to even imagine the dollars involved here. This agreement
covers three years with Mattel having the option for two additional years to
manage merchandise from film properties produced during the third year and
it covers everything from dolls, plush toys, male action figures, vehicles
and battery-powered ride-on toys worldwide and games and puzzles within the
U.S. Mattel will release products based upon Disney's, The Hunchback of
Notre Dame; the new live action adaptation of 101 Dalmatians to be released
at the Thanksgiving holiday; and the new animated TV series based on
Disney's hockey team, The Mighty Ducks.

KATZENBERG FILES SUIT AGAINST DISNEY
The former Walt Disney Co., studio chief, Jeffery Katzenberg is filing a
lawsuit against Disney that lists breach of contract as the issue.
Katzenberg is asking for more that $100 million to soothe his ruffled
feathers. He left Disney after Michael Eisner, the chairman, failed to
promote him to president. No matter what comes of this matter, it will not
be good for either party. This started as a private matter, and has now
become a public issue. The history here is in 1994, following the death of
Disney President Frank Well, Katzenberg was passed-over for Wells' job.
Katzenberg exercised an early-out clause in his contract and passed up some
$100 million in stock options.

ESTEFAN TAKES THE GOLD
Gloria Estefan has released a new single. From Epic records comes Reach, the
official theme song of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Reach is a single from
the album Destiny to be released on June 4. Reach is also part of the
Olympic soundtrack album, The Rhythm of the Games, to be released in mid May
on LaFace Records.

HENSON IS PIGGING-OUT WITH NEW TITLES
A deal has been finalized in which Jim Henson Pictures and Jim Henson
Productions have jointly optioned five books for film and television by Dick
King-Smith, author of the book The Sheep Pig, that was brought to life in
the motion picture Babe. Babe was nominated for seven Academy Awards,
including Best Picture of the Year, and Jim Henson's Creature Shop(TM)
received the award for Best Visual Effects.

These new books will be developed in association with Ecosse films who
produce high quality documentaries, dramas and features. The titles optioned
are George Speaks, The Waterhorse, Martin's Mice, The Cuckoo Child and
Daggie Dogfoot. These new titles, like Babe, appeal to all ages and
cultures.

Believe it or not, Jim Henson Productions, known for their family
entertainment, has been around for more than 40 years. Jim Henson
Productions is an independent multimedia production company; one of the top
character licensors in the industry; a leading publisher of children's
books; and home to Jim Henson's Creature Shop(TM). The company is
headquartered in Los Angeles with offices and production facilities in New
York and London. Ecosse Films produces high quality documentaries, dramas
and features and is headquartered in London.

NICKELODEON SAYS "CHEESE"
Nickelodeon, TV's cable program that is geared to the kids market (even
though many adults that we know are avid fans) is going to get some hefty
financial backing courtesy of Kraft Foods. Kraft, the largest packaged-goods
company in
North America, has formed a two-year promotional alliance that involves all
25 of Kraft's children's brands, including Jell-O, Post cereals and Kraft
macaroni and cheese dinners.

A marketing blitz will promote Nick's new programming block, Nick in the
Afternoon, scheduled to air from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in
July. To further promote this new program block, Kraft will incorporate
Nickelodean properties that are to be featured on the show into its brands
and spend an additional $10-million in advertising efforts. In addition to
this Nick guesstimates that it'll gain an additional $10 million worth of
exposure from Kraft's in-store merchandising and promotional efforts.

Nick, no stranger to this sort of endorsement, has worked with other biggies
in the industry such as General Mills, Nabisco and Kellogg. However, the
promotions anticipated with the uniting of Kraft and Nick is unprecedented
in terms of the breadth and volume and sheer number of products. Just think
of it, as many as 300 million boxes of Kraft products could be emblazoned
with Nick characters, such as Rugrats or Stick Stickley, the ice cream stick
puppet who hosts Nick in the Afternoon. Kinda makes you want to say "Kraft,
and Nick, macaroni and cheese, please."

NOW ON NEW YEAR'S NIGHT
The FedEx Orange Bowl is moving--but not far! The game will now be played at
Joe Robbie Stadium on New Year's Eve, not New Year's night as in the past.
The game will start at 7:00 pm, which is an hour earlier than previous game
start times. One reason for the game day change was that no other bowl game
will compete with its performance, a fact that CBS enjoys. The Orange Bowl
brings the Number 4 and 6 teams in the bowl alliance together for the
competition.

PC WORLD READ BY MILLIONS
According to The Simmons Study of Media and Markets, PC World magazine is
read by some 6.3 million folk in the U.S.A. The magazine's average issue
audience rose 4.4 percent over the same study that was released in 1995. The
survey info is as of March 27th and was conducted with some 19,318
respondents through personal and in-home interviews. Following PC World, the
numbers are PC Magazine at 5,971,000, PC Computing at 5,200,000 and Byte at
1,585,000 readers. The other three magazines lost readership, while PC World
gained.

UNABOMBER BOOK IN A RUSH
The arrest of the alleged unabomber by the FBI is prompting Pocket Books to
rush UNABOMER: On the Trail of America's Most-Wanted Serial Killer into
publication. Authored by former FBI Unit Chief John Douglas and Mark
Olshaker, you should be able to find the book on sale in about three weeks.
The book offers a view of the FBI's 18-year search for the terrorist and
traces the history of the case from its start through the Montana capture.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE'S CAREER MOVES ONWARD
I am pleased to share with you the news that actor Christopher Reeve will be
moving forward with his career. This comes after his amazing speech at the
Academy Awards in which he encouraged Hollywood to take the risk of choosing
subject matter that makes a statement about social issues. Paralyzed after a
fall while horseback riding, Reeve continues to reach and attain new
goals--this latest step involves Reeve as the voice of King Arthur, the
legendary head of the knights of the Round Table, in the forthcoming feature
The Quest for Camelot.

FAREWELL QUITE SECRET
With 12 top-ten hits, seven of which reached number one, and with three
albums, Take That is "retiring." There are no special farewells planned for
the group, other than a secretive video recording of their final performance
that will be recorded in the Netherlands next week. There will be about 200
in the audience during their farewell performance which will feature two of
their top hits: Back for Good and How Deep is Your Love.

BOX OFFICE RESULTS
From Reuters comes the latest box office rating list based on gross
receipts.
#1 - Primal Fear, Richard Gere star, with $12.4 million
#2 - The Birdcage, Robin Williams star, $10.1 million
#3 - A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Martin Lawrence star, $9.1 million
#4 - Sgt. Bilko, Steve Martin star, $6.4 million
#5 - Executive Decision, Kurt Russell star, $5.0 million
#6 - Oliver & Co., from Walt Disney, $3.7 million (re-issue)
#7 - Fargo, from Gramercy Pictures, $2.6 million
#8 - Tied were Up Close & Personal from Walt Disney and A Family Thing from
MGM
#10 - Flirting With Disaster, Miramax, $1.8 million

TV POLL RELEASED
The U.S. News & World Reports has released a new television poll that
reveals more than two-thirds of the American viewing public feel this medium
erodes family values and fosters government distrust. One thousand adults
and 570 of the 6,500 Hollywood executives who received mail ballots
comprised the survey. Graphic portrayals of sex, during prime time, also
troubled the survey's respondents. The executives, 53 percent of them,
agreed that TV did contribute to government distrust, while 46 percent also
agreed that the decline of family values was contributed to by television.
Some 34 percent feel TV plays a role in America's high divorce rate. The
poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

USA TODAY'S TOP TEN LIST
Here's the listing of the top selling books from USA Today. Stephen King's,
The Green Mile, Part 1: The Two Dead Girls, is numero uno. And, Mind Prey by
John Sandford jumps from the No. 40 spot to the No. 10 position.

1. The Green Mile, Part 1: The Two Dead Girls by Stephen King; Signet
2. In Contempt by Christopher Darden; ReganBooks
3. Egg Monsters From Mars by R.L. Stine; Scholastic
4. Blood Sport by James B. Stewart; Simon & Schuster
5. Primary Colors by Anonymous; Random House
6. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson; Vintage
7. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus by John Gray; HarperCollins
8. There's Treasure Everywhere by Bill Watterson; Andrews & McMeel
9. Night in Werewolf Woods by R.L. Stine; Scholastic
10. Mind Prey by John Sandford; Berkley


PERSPECTIVES: Rational Investigations of New Products

Conqueror A.D. 1086 from Sierra On-line for PC-compatibles
reviewed by Senior Editor Gary Le

In an attempt to relive the medieval days of yore, Sierra offers Conqueror
A.D. 1086, a delightful title based on William the Conqueror and the
Doomsday census. Taking on the role of a young ambitious 18-year old and
newly-dubbed knight, the player gets the opportunity to test his skills of
tactical ingenuity, fief management, and social and political influences.
As a young knight in the King's court you have the option of pursuing one of
two courses: build your fiefdom, amass wealth, and engineer a powerful
enough army to rout the King's forces and take over the lands; or embark on
a quest to garner valuable information and weapons that will help to defeat
the dreaded dragon that is plaguing England and acquire the title of King's
Champion. Either way, the player is bound for a rich and thoroughly
enjoyable gaming adventure. Conqueror is an extremely diverse title that
offers the player many hours of gameplay. Players can play the role of any
of the pregenerated characters, or create an entirely new persona. Every new
campaign starts the player off with the bare necessities: a small fief, some
armor, shield, Knight's Sword, and 240-1240 shillings with which to build a
formidable presence in the lands. Starting from the player's home town,
crops must be planted, castle defenses must be built, housing must be
established, and armies must be raised. How the player manages his resources
could mean the difference between victory and a swift demise.
One exciting aspect of Conqueror is the ability to attend tournaments every
month that are held in various towns. By attending these tournaments, the
player is able to attain additional wealth by way of entering jousting
matches and melee bouts. At such occasions, players have the opportunity to
dazzle and impress the beautiful damsels in the stands, all in hopes of
winning their favor and, possibly, hand in marriage later on. Such
courtships can yield the player knight valuable information and items from a
lady who is won over by exceptional displays of prowess in tournament
matches, or chilling stares from all of them with the player's ineptitude.
If tournaments don't result in success, perhaps an occasional castle
skirmish might be the answer to a dangerously low shillings count. In castle
skirmishes, castles of opposing lords are stormed as the player leads his
troops in a frenzied round of looting and pillaging. Bags of gold and
valuable weapons can be found in such encounters, and, should the battle be
won, all the fiefs that once belonged to the enemy lord now become welcome
additions to the player's empire.
Conqueror has much to offer and presents it all with elegant graphics. From
the spiffy introduction sequence to actual battles with your forces of
swordsmen, halberdiers, and knights, Conqueror's graphics are tasteful to
the eye and enhances the gaming experience. One prime example of the graphic
capabilities of the game involves examining a weapon before purchasing it
from the town's local blacksmith. With a simple click of the mouse, a
replica of the weapon is sent twirling around its axis, showing the weapon
in all its splendor to the player. Such attention to detail must be noted.
Music in Conqueror is truly brilliant, as are the wonderful sound effects.
Tinged with elements of the medieval period, the background score sets the
perfect mood for adventuring and traveling the countryside. And when battle
occurs, the music switches to a foreboding yet exhilarating score as you
command your units. All this, coupled with some excellently produced
voice-overs adds further enjoyment and rounds out Conqueror as a fantastic
title overall.
Designed and developed by Software Sorcery and published by Sierra,
Conqueror is good clean fun. The title's gorgeous graphics, sound gameplay,
variety, outstanding musical score, brilliant sound effects and voice-overs
will make it a prized possession in any role-playing fanatic's computer
gaming library. ---Gary Le

Requirements: 486DX33 or better, 8MB RAM, 2x CD-ROM drive, and SVGA video.
Runs on DOS and Windows 95.


MUDGEON's CyberChat

Sid Meier's Civilization II from MicroProse for PC/Windows 95 CD-ROM

Thoroughly discombobulated for the past five nights, Sid Meier's
Civilization II (SMCII) from Spectrum HoloByte's MicroProse studio has
ensnared my very fibre. Even sleep is disturbed by thoughts of technologies
missed and defenses not employed, leaving my empire awash in a sea of bitter
defeat and merciless opponents. How thoroughly enjoyable!

Unless you have been involved in subterranean mushroom farming for a couple
of years or so, you have certainly heard about this title's predecessor, the
highly successful Civilization. Basically, the game's goal is to cause your
empire to become the most powerful, most technologically advanced
civilization on the face of the planet, even to success in space. No, you
are not a god. There is no magic, no special power to enable you to slay
other adversaries at will. The only route to success is to prove yourself
able in a number of environments.

You must be adept at researching appropriate technologies that should, at a
minimum, keep you on an even keel with those that would have your empire.
You must be cognizant of what happiness means to your citizens and how to
weigh their joy at your rule with your knowledge of other situations that
entreat upon your financial base. You must know how best to defend your
shores while, simultaneously, setting out upon your own conquest and trading
paths. You must bear in mind a strict jugglement of income generation, from
swapping tax bases to employing entertainers to ensuring growth of your
cities.

This certainly seems like a great deal of brain work. I would be dishonest
to say that such is not the case, but there is a great deal of pleasure to
be enjoyed from brain stretching. SMCII is not a program that you shall
completely master in so few a number of evenings. This is a title that will
reside upon your hard drive for months, for every small maneuver you make
impacts mightily upon your overall strategies. You shall find, as did I,
that the number of save games impacts more of your hard drive space than you
might originally have thought possible. I believe I currently possess in
excess of 30 different saved games, all at different stages of empire
building, as I test various methodologies to ascertain the correct path to
space faring.

There are a number of enhancements from the original game to SMCII. One of
the most important is the fact that the combat algorithms now more cleanly
reflect different civilization stages. When you have an ironclad attacking a
caravelle, even if the former is somewhat damaged and the latter in full
fighting condition, the outcome for this one-on-one confrontation should
find the caravelle sucking water. This is due to the firepower algorithm
which indicates the number of points of damage caused when a successful
strike has been employed against another unit. These are then taken into
consideration with the recipient's hit points for a cumulative effect. Oh,
you can now also restore a damaged unit's hit points!

Combat is merely one part of an overall game strategy. Corruption in your
cities plays its role, as do penalties when you alter your production from
one type of unit to a totally dissimilar unit. Should such a change be
absolutely necessary, a 50 percent penalty is applied to your shield
production. I say, without hesitation, never undertake such a change. Go
with the flow, so to speak, even though you may have some doubt about your
initial build requirement. When the initial unit or structure has been
built, then change to the other type of unit to prevent such a waste of your
precious resources.

Terrain now have special features (such as jungles producing spice) which
enable your Caravans and your trade endeavors far more flexibility. You can
upgrade your city squares with the likes of railroads and, by combining
units, you can accomplish twice as much work in half the time. For example,
should you place two Settler units on grassland near a water source, their
composite time to irrigate that land will be twice as fast as a single unit
could accomplish.

Your political expediencies must make sense. Believe me, you cannot avoid
the diplomatic community, especially externally, as they will continue to
"knock upon your door" with this request and that demand. You must make
decisions constantly that affect your dealings with your opponents. After
all, your reputation is, quite literally, at stake in such meetings. Counter
espionage is certainly an area you will want to take into account, for such
is definitely applied against you. When you suddenly find INVENTION stolen
from you, you shall understand the importance of such work and try to apply
the same against your enemies.

There are new and improved Wonders that you can build, all of which add some
measure of benefit to your civilization. Naturally, you are in a race
against the other would-be emperors to first-build the Wonder of your
choice. Having suffered ignominy and defeat at the hands of numerous
computer-controlled opponents, I can honestly state that the one Wonder I
would initially aim to possess is Leonardo's Workshop. Units will be
automatically upgraded and, should you discover the wonder of explosives,
all of your Settlers become Engineers. And that, my friends, brings you
terrain transformation twice as fast and railroad construction. However, in
order to obtain Leonard's Workshop, you must earn Invention. In order to
earn Invention, you must earn Engineering and Literacy. And in order to earn
those technologies, you must have Construction, The Wheel, Writing, and Code
of Laws. And so it goes . . .on and on . . .back in time.

The number of research paths you can take are mind-numbing. Toss in
different civilizations as opponents, various difficulty levels,
custom-worlds, and you have a title that will keep you entertained, I am
certain, for months. The only disappointing area I noted with SMCII was the
music. The soundtrack stuttered more often than not, and become dirge-like
and not an attractive element with which to play the game. Cleaning the
CD-ROM disc helped not a whit. Also, due to some of the intense computing
required to manage the inordinate number of tasks occurring simultaneously,
there would occasionally be extended pauses between on-screen game turns. I
believed, at those times, that perhaps the program had crashed. A nice
addition would have been a message that the program was working on solving a
complex transaction of bytes.

As an aside, and having been in the business of writing software manuals and
strategy guides myself, I have to heap killions and killions of kudos upon
MicroProse' Jonatha Caspian-Kaufman. She has completed an absolutely
marvelous instruction manual for the game. In fact, I doubt whether there's
a strategy guide out there that can best this tome! Much of the material you
absolutely need to know, and tons of material that will make your gameplay
so much more enjoyable, are all resident in this fine publication that
arrives with your game. M. Christine Manley and John Possidente also require
a nod of my head as they managed an able assist to Jonatha in completing
this manual.

You, simply put, cannot make a bad decision should you purchase SMCII. The
game is exciting, thoroughly engrossing, with enough variables to maintain
interest of a wide variety of gamers of different ages. There is little more
thrilling than beating your competition to a specifically desired technology
and to then watch your units counter their efforts to destroy you. Through
such an acquisition, what before had been a dismal performance on your part
can suddenly make you the most magnificent civilization in the world. And that, my friends, is the key to your ultimate enjoyment! -- Mudgeon