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DVD-ROM: A New Beginning? by Peter M. Bracke
Let's face it...in my opinion, the studios have been pretty lackadaisical
when it comes to producing ROM content on discs, and the technology
has been full of untapped potential the last few years. But -
finally - that all started to change this year, with a renewed
push to start adding ROM content we consumers will actually want
to play with for once, and not looking at the feature solely as
an afterthought. A number of high-profile titles were released
this year that pushed the ROM envelope, and if it there remains
way more the studios can do with it, at least we're seeing some
momentum. Since DVD-Video has a finite amount of storage space,
it seems someone finally realized that, hey, the web (or at least
a really powerful bank of servers) is near-limitless, so let's
start seeing some goodies!
So, in the spirit of giving thanks and looking ahead to 2002,
here's our top five ROM picks for the year. If you're not yet
ROM-enabled, you should try giving it a spin, as there is starting
to be some pretty cool stuff coming down the ROM pike these days,
and it should only start to get better next year...
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1. Tomb Raider - Alright, I'm sure some of you may
be aghast we didn't pick Shrek or Star Wars as our top ROM
title, but to our eyes Paramount's Tomb Raider had a bit
of everything, and presented better than all the rest. Not
only did we get the usual - neat-o interface, downloads
such as screensavers, and the usual weblinks. But we also
got the current "must-have" ROM feature, an exclusive
website only accessible if you have the disc in the drive.
This site also boasted the most extensive ROM game I've
yet seen (and I still haven't finished) and we also got
more exclusive content such as plenty of interviews and
making-of bits with production notes and text, a still gallery,
and more for an all-together topnotch online archive on
the movie. This is what ROM should be. (Buy
It / Review)
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2. Shrek - A close second to Tomb raider, the "ReVoice
Studio" alone was worth the price of admission alone.
But Shrek also boasts the most extensive (and actually fun)
batch of interactive games yet created, and the kids sure
ate it up. If we had one caveat, it is that there was little
else aside from the game on the ROM side, but this is Shrek
after all, so who's complaining? (Buy
It / Review)
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3. Star Wars Episode I - Beating Tomb Raider to
the punch with its own exclusive DVD web portal, you can't
say those Lucasfilm folks aren't brilliant marketers. While
the Episode I content was a bit bare (where's all those
hours of documentary footage that couldn't be included on
the DVD proper?) if you want some exclusive scoops on Episode
II and beyond, you just gotta buy the DVD. The website itself
was also very well designed and included some nice interviews
and stills, but we're still waiting for a bit more meat...
(Buy
It / Review)
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4. Snow White - Given all the progressive content
on Tomb Raider, Shrek and Episode I, Snow White's own exclusive
website and minor interactive games seemed a bit weak in
comparison. But compared the absolute absence of any ROM
material on most DVDs, this is still a nice and kid-friendly
portal with a few enjoyable goodies. Not bad, but hopefully
future Disney titles will be even more robust. (Buy
It / Review)
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5. Mummy Returns - Here's
the odd man out. The DVD-Video-based supplements were anemic
at best, or worse, shameless marketing for The Scorpion King
spinoff. But the ROM content was actually much better, complete
with a game-like interface revealing all sorts of neat behind-the-scenes
footage and other exclusive material, and some nice downloads
and other desktop goodies. For once, the ROM content outshone
the DVD-Video stuff. (Buy
It / Review)
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and the Bump On the Head Award goes to...
The Godfather Collection, Final Fantasy: The Spirits
Within, and Moulin Rouge. Hey, c'mon guys, these titles
would be perfect ROM candidates, and got absolutely nuthin', or
lame proprietary interfaces that didn't work or were full of glitches.
Get with the program, otay?
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