CD-ROM good for coffee table

BEYOND the Nine Dragons is a multi-platform CD-ROM that calls itself a Documentary on Disc. Indeed, it has the look and feel of a certain kind of American documentary but because it is a CD-ROM, the user is able to direct the navigation to places that are of interest to him or her.

As a documentary, this CD-ROM takes you on a journey of over 4,000 kilometres along the Mekong through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is certainly a beautiful journey and the photography is stunning. There is a mix of old prints and drawings with photographs by Allen Hopkins. It is a lovely combination and makes you want to go there rather than just sit clicking the mouse. And therein lies the problem with such CD-ROMs.

How can one make a CD-ROM different from a coffee table book? That is a question the makers of all such CD-ROM titles as this must ask themselves. One can, of course, add voice, video and navigation to take advantage of the multimedia but does one not end up with what can only be called a coffee table CD-ROM (if such a creature could exist)? The design and the visuals of the Nine Dragons are excellent. The text and voice over are another thing entirely. One must realise, of course, that the intended market for this product is America and therefore the speaking voice is American which, in itself, does not necessarily make it bad. The voice chosen for this CD-ROM, however, does have a tendency to drone on a bit and - as with so many American narrations - tends to the condescending. This is perhaps due to the fact that the makers are aiming the product at a high school market.

Some of the points made in the text are very odd as well. There is a long-winded ramble about the American soldiers supposedly missing in action during the Vietnam War.

For those who remember the historical background to this subject, this makes the CD-ROM look a lot more political than its creators may have wanted. On the other hand, that may be exactly what they did want.

Despite this curious lapse, the CD-ROM is certainly quite beautiful, and would do well as a coffee-table 'ROM (there's an image for you: leave your computer on the coffee table with the CD-ROM running so people can 'click' through it).