See the World by Train: UK Edition
Reviewed by Ty Brewer
Published by Fujitsu Interactive

Age Group: Age 4 to 8 Type: More Fun Price: $30

PC version requires:
P75 8 MB RAM, 1 M 2x CD-ROM, Windows 95, 640x480x256

Mac version requires:
Version not available.

Description:

See the World by Train: UK Edition is based on the award winning television show. The CD takes you on a train trip through Great Britain. The game is built with Macromedia Director and includes several Apple QuickTime movies as well as several still photos. The game comes with two disks - the first being an exploration of Great Britain, the second a history of the British Railway system.

Less Fun than TV

I have a theory on interactive media. If people want to sit back and relax they choose television. TV has been around long enough that television producers largely know what they're doing. If people want to interact or search for information they choose computers. One is passive, the other active. Do you see where I'm going? See the World By Train: UK Edition is a passive experience using an active media. There is no more interactivity using this program than you get using a remote control with your TV during commercials. Here is this program in a nutshell: click on a train. Watch the video (taken from the TV show). View a map of the city. Click on an item. Watch a video. Ad nauseum.

Why the CD?

From what I've seen the television show must have been very good. The problem is not the content but the delivery. Sitting back and watching an hour of video is just not entertainment (as we have come to expect on a computer). If you want hard facts, look in an encyclopedia. If you want data or information, look elsewhere. You can find interesting tidbits of information in this title but you must sit in the stream of data and grab what you can. Without a search function it is useless as a research tool. If you are looking for entertainment, go watch The Discovery Channel or the Travel Channel - at least the quality of the video is superior. Why did they even bother to make this? It doesn't work very well as a companion to the show - it just regurgitates the same video in a semi-non-linear manner. No thanks, pass on this one.

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