November 2, 2005

Know Your Body

The Human Body (**** out of four) is a set of five programs offering a wealth of information about the human body:

The Human 3D contains highly descriptive and detailed illustrations and animations of every major system of the body, and each area contains one or more subsections with additional explanations. Some of the accompanying text includes narration explaining the illustrations and animations. You can choose to view large format videos, illustrations only or animations only, and there’s a dictionary to help find exactly what you want. Other options let you save and print information, zoom in or out for a closer look and display legends – or not.

Interactive Human Body also uses illustrations, animations and text to explain the major systems of the body, but many of the illustrations contain cutaway views to "see" inside blood vessels, bones, cartilage, organs and the like. Detailed descriptions often include information such as the size of the organ or bone. Did you know the average kidney is only 3½ to 4½ inches long? You can save, print and search for information or find more on the Internet.

Physiology of the Eye contains an enormous amount of information, including a multimedia tour of the eye’s development from embryo through adulthood, explanations of eye diseases and conditions, illustrations, videos and more. Also included are explanations of how perspective, color, contrast and geometric shapes are perceived by the eyes. There are explanations of the various types of vision correction (including surgical options), and even a video of an actual L.A.S.I.K. surgical procedure (definitely not for the squeamish). Included are vision tests to do at home to help evaluate your eyesight, 3D images of the eye and much more in this comprehensive program.

Encyclopaedia Britannica My Body, Myself draws on the resources of the well-known encyclopaedia to present background and information, including histories of the discoveries of Louis Pasteur, Edward Jenner and others. The program includes instructions for carrying out several types of research projects and organizing the information. Quizzes help you understand how your body works, assess your physical fitness and more. A log that includes explanations of the development of the body from puberty to adulthood adds even more personal information. Text that accompanies illustrations often contains words with links to additional information. Use the on-screen sidebar to highlight, save or copy text or go to available Web sites.

Journey into the Brain, designed mostly for children, uses illustrations, photos (framed like paintings), animations and narrations to show complex subjects such as the parts of the brain and how they work. The information is extensive and even includes sections on CT scans, MRI (complete with actual MRI images) and more. A fun games lets you enhance any image with a wide selection of drawing tools (spray paint, dots, paint brush, crayon, pictures of animals, people, shapes). Learning about the brain has never been so much fun.

The Human Body is an extensive set of reference materials and can be a valuable resource for students and adults alike.

NiBiRu: Age of Secrets (***) is a mystery/adventure game that takes place in Bohemia, where a mysterious World War II tunnel has been discovered. The tunnel is rumored to contain secrets about the planet NiBiRu and an ancient Mayan civilization that used advanced technology to gain power. These secrets were gathered by the Nazis at the end of the war but were buried, unused, as the regime made a hasty retreat.

You assume the role of Martin Holan, an Eastern European archivist student sent by his elderly uncle to uncover the secrets before they fall into evil hands. You must go to Prague, meet a woman for help finding the secrets and discover their hiding place. But, the woman has been murdered, so you are on your own to find help in uncovering the secrets. Pursuing this task is a challenge that can take some time, since you now must find and question other people to help in your quest and search for documents to provide information and more. To do all this, you locate clues, gather objects, complete tasks and solve many puzzles along the way.

The game is exquisitely drawn, and the 80 illustrated locations make it visually stunning. Sound effects add to the setting and give a realistic and often mysterious feeling to each scene. The more than 35 characters in the story all tend to sound pretty similar, but they somehow manage to add to the appeal. Finding clues and gathering the objects, completing the sometimes outlandish tasks and locating the precise article needed can be very time consuming and frustrating, but game aficionados will probably enjoy this part, and it will surely keep anyone from racing through the game in a short amount of time. You just can’t rush through talking to an elderly man, after you finally figure out how to get his attention, and then going to the store to buy him a bottle of wine he asks you to buy for him before he’ll tell you any of the information you want . . . you get the picture.

NiBiRu is filled with puzzles to solve, mysterious and beautiful surroundings and challenging tasks, so anyone who wants to take time to enjoy a journey and become immersed in a story will find pleasure from the challenge of solving this mystery.

Return to Main CD-ROM Archives Page