CES 1994

 Here's the skinny: As promised, the Home Entertainment section returns this week with a report on the June 23-25 Consumer Electronics Show. Since you, the consumer, could not attend this year, we decided to take you Inside CES. Some hot products are available now, but some won't be seen till the fall. Continue to turn to Home Entertainment for full-blown reviews as products hit the shelves. Let's go inside, shall we?

The Summer CES made its annual-and perhaps final-appearance in Chicago this week. As usual, the CES gave video game makers the chance to showcase their wares. Conventioneers got to see the good, the bad and the ugly of upcoming releases. Here's one gamer's picks for the Best and Worst of CES.

Be advised that virtually all of the hardware and software reviewed here is not on store shelves yet, but should be appearing over the next few months.

Best of show: Nintendo. From its 70,000 square foot jungle-themed display area, replete with exploding volcano, to its gala party featuring entertainment by singer Michael McDonald, Nintendo showed that this is one company that really has its act together.

Worst of show: Sega, which surrendered the CES field to Nintendo by limiting its presence to two small, private rooms off the show's floor. The show wasn't the same without the Sega-Nintendo rivalry on display.

Best gaming system: The Ultra 64, unveiled by Nintendo in a private demo for journalists. Originally code-named Project Reality, Ultra 64 is Nintendo's entry into the 64-bit market. The system debuts in arcades in fall of this year and in homes in fall of next. It will be worth the wait. Nintendo showcased two Ultra titles, Cruis'n USA (a racing game) and Killer Instinct (a fighting game). Both were simply spectacular. Cruis'n is to Sega's Virtua Racing what the Indy 500 is to the Soap Box Derby.

Moreover, the home versions of all Ultra titles will be exactly the same as the arcade versions, bringing-at long last-true arcade-quality games into the home. If you currently have a 16-bit system and are thinking of upgrading, my advice is simple: Wait a year for Ultra 64.

Best game: Donkey Kong Country for the Super NES. Though the antics of the climbing ape were amusing when the game was first released in arcades in 1981, what appeal would the 16-bit Konger hold on today's more powerful home systems?

Nintendo has totally reworked Donkey Kong, turning it into a fast arcade adventure like Sonic the Hedgehog. But what an adventure! The graphics are simply stunning, the best you'll ever see on a 16-bit game, thanks to something called ACM technology. And for traditionalists, Nintendo offers a Game Boy Donkey Kong title that's just like the arcade hit of a decade ago.

Grossest game: Boogerman (Interplay) is just what you'd be afraid it would be: a "pick and flick adventure" that parents are sure to hate and adolescents are sure to love. But at least it allowed the marketing folks at Interplay to go overboard, coming up with such lines like "It'll blow you away," "Gobs of excitement" and "The pick of the year."

Runner-up grosser: Beavis and Butt-head (Viacom) proudly proclaims that it is violence-free, so when the two title characters need a weapon, they don't resort to karate kicks. Instead, Beavis belches his enemies away and Butt-head bludgeons them with flatulence. Bring back the karate kicks!

Best PC game: Sid Meier's Colonization (Microprose; for IBM and Mac). What Sid Meier's Civilization did for the history of the world, so Sid Meier's Colonization does for the Age of Exploration. It's a rich, high-quality simulation that will provide many hours of challenging fun.

Best 3DO game: Gridders (Tetragon) is a mind-bending series of logic puzzles, with the fine 3-D graphics we've come to expect on the 3DO.

Best peripheral: The Life Fitness Exertainment System is a full-featured exercise bike that hooks up to your Super Nintendo. As you pedal, you compete in a mountain bike race against computer opponents who get tougher as your fitness improves. A nifty feature is a button on the handlebar that lets you easily switch from your game to your TV or VCR.

Oddest peripheral: The Interactor (Aura Systems) is a "virtual reality vest" that you wear while playing video games. It's also the goofiest peripheral I've seen since Nintendo's ill-fated Power Glove. The vest takes sounds from video games or TV and translates them into vibrations that you feel against your body. The concept is that when, say, you get shoved in NBA Jam, you'll feel it. But the Interactor didn't give me a buzz.

Best logic game: Elements (Villa Crespo) is a simple but addictive game that requires careful thought to solve its many levels. It's available now for the IBM PC for just $29.95.

Best kid's program: SimTown (Maxis) is a sequel to SimCity that is geared for children 8-12 and lets them build a town with bike paths, pizza parlors and toy factories. But the program is so much fun, and looks so good in its Macintosh CD-ROM version, that adults might well be begging their kids for a chance to play. It's Sim-sational!

Runnerup for kids: Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing for Kids (Software Toolworks) is a fun way for youngsters 4-8 to learn keyboarding. But don't send Mavis any fan letters; she's as real as Betty Crocker.

Best adult title: Voyeur (Interplay) is a suspense thriller in the tradition of Hitchcock's Rear Window, and it offers a level of eroticism seldom found in computer games. This CD-ROM includes 60 minutes of full-motion video starring two actors from Hollywood's What Ever Happened To . . .? File: Robert Culp and Grace Zabrinskie.

Best card game: Bridge Olympiad (QQP) boasts that its computer opponents are so good that they can hold their own against human grandmasters. The game also offers the largest number of bidding conventions you'll find anywhere.

Best CD-ROM: The 11th Hour (Virgin) is the long-awaited sequel to The 7th Guest. Once more, you're back in a haunted mansion and need to solve some grisly murders. The two CDs included offer more than an hour of full-motion video.

Most unpronouncable and unprintable title: An offbeat CD-ROM title from Compton's NewMedia foc uses on the recording artist who used to go by the name Prince. His Royal Purpleness, though, has changed his name to a bizarre symbol that isn't found in any fonts or dictionaries. It's a marketing person's nightmare.

Best screen saver: Star Wars Screen Entertainment (LucasArts) includes not only a screen saver, but also wallpaper and the complete screenplay of the first movie. There's even a hidden message from George Lucas about the next three episodes of the Star Wars saga.

Best movie tie-in: The Lion King (Disney and Virgin Interactive) cartridge for the Super NES and the Genesis promises to have the look and feel of the blockbuster movie.

Best TV tie-in: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse (Viacom) is a CD-ROM episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, the popular kid's suspense program on Nickelodeon. It has enough thrills to tingle any young spine.

Programs we hope are better than their titles: MTV's Club Dead (Viacom); Blood Bowl (Microleague); Stop That Roach! (Koei); and What is a Bellybutton? (IVI).

Celebrity sightings: Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon and Carol Alt, promoting their movie and video game of the same name, Thunder in Paradise (Software Toolworks); John Paxson for the Life Fitness Exercycle; NFL Rookie of the Year Jerome Bettis for Microprose's Ultimate Football.

Best promotion: To publicize the 1994 Guinness Multimedia Disc of Records, Grolier invited world-record-holder Bruce Crevier to its booth to attempt to break his record for "basketball spinning." Crevier set the new mark by spinning 17 basketballs on his body at once.

Worst move: After a couple of decades in Chicago, CES announced that next year it would rather be in Philadelphia. Next year the show will meet in Pennsylvania in May with a new name: CES Interactive. Many exhibitors told me that they will forgo CES next year and instead attend a new convention in Los Angeles called Electronic Entertainment.

2nd worst move: Following two years of letting the public in, the show closed its doors to consumers. Hey, guys, what does the "C" in CES stand for, anyway?