Here’s a look at some hardware and software that’s available:
Ghosts of the Abyss, by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, for DVD-enabled computers and home entertainment centers, $29.99. Director James Cameron’s love affair with the Titanic continued with last year’s release of a 60-minute three-dimensional movie to Imax theaters in which a real scientific expedition explores the remnants of the sunken vessel.
Underwater voyages led by Mr. Cameron with help from a team of history, science and marine experts, his pal actor Bill Paxton , two undersea rovers and a couple of advanced bots (Jake and Elwood) took the team 2 miles down into the ocean to check out the Titanic’s remaining innards.
The expeditions gave researchers a new perspective on what was considered in 1912 to be the world’s most luxurious passenger ship.
An attempt to mimic the grand-scale viewing of the production, which arrives in a two-disc digital video format, could not be successful because most consumers don’t own an eight-story-tall screen, and 3-D technology still does not look very good in a confined format. (Just take a peek at the “Spy Kids” 3-D DVD with those goofy glasses on a 32-inch television for a reference point.)
Instead, Buena Vista gives viewers both the hourlong film and an extended 90-minute version on disc one and a surprisingly paltry selection of extra features on the other disc.
Alas, disc two begins with some customary featurettes covering behind-the-scenes activity and extending key moments of the dives. Only the extra titled “The Mir Experience” caught my attention, as it offers a multiangle presentation of a critical moment when one of the roving robots, Elwood, shuts down and gets caught in the overhang of the Titanic’s B-deck.
Viewers feel part of the drama as they stare at a command center monitor with a scrolling blueprint of the ship in the left-hand corner and six miniscreens above it. They can choose quickly among camera shots of either robot, the outside of the underwater vessels or the inside of the vessels as Mr. Cameron (who controls Elwood) begins to panic.
Unfortunately, the DVD set misses a great opportunity to further enlighten and educate by offering nothing in the way of detailed explanations to help the student or science junkie immerse himself or herself in the technology-heavy adventure.
If Buena Vista had included content from the official Ghosts of the Abyss Web site (www.ghostsoftheabyss.com) or at least a very direct link for those online, I would have been happy.
The site boasts a breakdown of the people and engineering advances involved in the voyages, a downloadable teaching guide, an interactive Titanic timeline and games in which a player controls three types of robots to discover artifacts.
I cannot quite understand why Mr. Cameron (a known technophile) did not take more time to create cutting-edge content for this release. Maybe he’s waiting for viewers to own those 50-foot-wide screens before he releases a more robust, multidisc set to really give DVD audiences a thrill.
Firefighter F.D. 18, by Konami, for PlayStation 2, rated T: Content suitable for ages 13 and older, $39.99. Real heroes shine in a third-person adventure that mixes a dramatic story with battling a red-hot villain that, in the real world, takes the lives of more than 2,000 people every year (2,670 in 2002, according to National Fire Protection Association).
Players take control of the obsessed Dean McGregor, a member of Port Serena’s fire department, and his amazing fire hose, which can travel almost anywhere to take on some destructive foes.
A subplot of romance and a serial arsonist give the game a “Backdraft” cinematic feel, but most players will just enjoy combing through three enormous environments, rescuing people and attacking some monstrous infernos that hint at what it must be like for a real firefighter.
Despite some finger-knotting control schemes to extinguish blazes, the average gamer will appreciate the frenetic style and scary, heated action.
Write to Joseph Szadkowski, The Washington Times, 3600 New York Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002; or send e-mail (jszadkowski@washington times.com).
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