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High Octane: TransWorld's 96/97 Buyers's Guide On CD-ROM |
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Anyone who's seen the magazine version of TransWorld Snowboarding's comprehensive buyer's guide will be hard pressed to find something different on the High Octane CD-ROM currently being sold by TWS. They'll find more, but not much different.
Why would TWS put their Buyer's Guide on CD-Rom when it's already in the magazine? While it could have been to interactively help snowboarders choose the proper board, it ended up being an issue of space. The CD can hold all the stats on all the boards, from all the companies in the world. It is an amazing collection of snowboard information, but does anyone really want all the stats on all the boards from all the companies in the world? Apparently, TransWorld thinks so. The meat of High Octane is made up of Boardfinder, Bootfinder, Bindingfinder sections. Finder, however, is a bit of a misnomer. The word should have been shopper. While the CD contains a dump load of stats and photos of board graphics, it doesn't do much to help a snowboarder arrive at a decision about which board would be right for them. The search function allows comparitive shopping by lining up all the boards of a particular category next to each other, but the stats are strangely spaced and difficult to peruse. Interviews with Matt Goodwill and Victoria Jealouse were advertised on the back of the CD's packaging, but the interviews were simply short clips of both riders talking about which board they ride. Matt says Morrow, but I kept hearing Lamar, and Victoria's hair just wouldn't stop slapping her in the face. The interviews left me wanting a lot more. Comedy sneaks in on High Octane via buttons for the Skifinder and Ski Info buttons. Either button leads to a photo of a junked old car body riddled with with bullet holes. Above the car are the words: "Skis - Need we say more." The audio playing in the background is the show close theme from the Beverly Hillbillies. TransWorld ties with The Skiing Company gets the irony steamroller charging just a little harder than the authors would probably appreciate, but the bit is a pleasant diversion from the board stats. Overall, the CD is well produced. The graphics are solid, especially the hot rod photos and race car sound effects. The navigation is logical and straight forward. The soundtrack, which includes music from the Voodoo Glow Skulls, Millencolin, and Buck O Nine, is kind to the ears. Technophiles will love High Octane. It's an easy reference for solving arguments about which board is the widest, longest, of has the tightest sidecut. After buying a board for the season, however, the only thing it will be good for is keeping a record of what snowboards looked like in 1997. And that a lone may be worth the $9.95 that TransWorld is charging.
Available at Snowboard Shops or by calling (800) 726-7072 ex. 110 |
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