SILVER SURFER: INTERACTIVE CD-ROM

Now on CD-ROM for the first time ever, the greatest collection of cosmic-powered stories soar your way, starring the sentinel of the spaceways... the Silver Surfer!

Recounting the origin of the spanner of galaxies, this stellar CD-ROM also contains the Surfer's first encounter with the formidable Fantastic Four, his epic clash with the planet devouring Galactus, and the ultimate fate of the hero's one true love, the beautiful Shall Bal. All of these classic tales feature awesome animation, dramatic narration, and mind-numbing sound effects. Journey into cosmic adventure with Marvel's first and foremost space-traveling hero, the Silver Surfer.

• Let Silver Surfer guide you through the controls and introduce you to the world of Marvel CD-ROM Comics.
• A real live video introduction by Marvel Creator and living legend Stan "The Man" Lee.
• Special "Zoom-in Zoom-out" feature allows you to read the book at your own pace and also makes a great introduction to the younger reader.
• Biography pages give you fun-filled facts about your favorite Marvel Heroes and Villains.
• A Mighty Marvel Trivia game that tests your knowledge of the ever-expanding Marvel universe.
• Answer all of the Marvel Trivia questions correctly and see clips of animation directly from the incredible animated television show themselves.

~ from the back of the box

Pixel Technologies are back with another digital graphic novel. Following on from last month's review of their Fantastic Four disc, we have Silver Surfer: Interactive CD-ROM Comic Book! that was released in 1996. Unlike the Fantastic Four, who by this time had mainstream recognition and a Saturday morning cartoon to their name, the Silver Surfer has always been something of a cult favorite. First introduced in Fantastic Four #48 back in 1966, the character embodies cosmic side of the Marvel universe with a radical tinge of existentialism. He's a buff alien cursed with godlike power, endlessly drifting through the universe with nowt but his skivvies and a cosmic surfboard. And yet, despite being conceived as an afterthought because Jack Kirby grew "tired of drawing spaceships", the character has earned a cult fanbase that has only ever increased over time. By the end of the 60s, he was given his own comic book run with a rebooted story arc in the 80s. By the 90s, he was celebrated with this shiny disk which now came bundled with his very own action figure.

Booting up the disc, the déjà vu is immediate. Once again, Stan Lee makes an appearance with his trademark enthusiasm but Spider-Man's tutorial is replaced by a short narrated text. The interface is nearly identical to the previous outing, with the main comic view dominating the center and a chunky menu bar lodged to the left. Clicking through, you can zoom in and out, flip between panels, and access character bios without much fuss. The menus are functional, if not particularly inspired, though at least they're responsive enough to keep the pacing smooth. Navigation is still pure point-and-click, and while the Spider-Man tutorial isn’t present this time, the designers clearly assumed anyone buying a second CD-ROM comic already knew how to wield a mouse.

Character bios are relegated to a single page (left).

Silver Surfer himself pops up to help you navigate the obvious interface (right).

The story selection draws heavily from Silver Surfer #1 (1968) alongside later arcs featuring Mephisto and Galactus. As before, the content has been spliced and padded, stretching the story into a sprawling 128-page epic. It’s not quite as jarring as the Fantastic Four disc - interactive panels don't link to a side story - but the end result still feels fragmented. The Surfer's introspective narration is delivered in the same flat audio style as before - a generic male voice summarizing the events instead of reading the dialogue word-for-word. This choice undermines much of the cosmic grandeur that defines the character.

Hotspots make their return as well, albeit with slight variation. Ear icons trigger brief bursts of sound effects - whooshes of flight, shimmering cosmic blasts - but they're sparse compared to the earlier disc. The TV icon once again cues clips from Marvel's 90s animated efforts. 

The trivia game returns and other than the questions, is completely unchanged (left).

You even get mocked with a short animation when you do badly (right).

Beyond the comic itself, the supplemental features are thin. The trivia game returns in near-identical form, this time focusing on the Surfer's storyline. The encyclopedia biographies are also a little capped, reducing the fairly detailed entries from the Fantastic Four to a single paragraph on a single page. The makes the lack of multimedia flourish even more noticeable. 

Ultimately, Silver Surfer: Interactive CD-ROM Comic Book! is more curiosity than triumph. Pixel Technologies recycled their format wholesale but applied it to a character whose stories thrive on atmosphere and scale, not gimmicky sound effects or spliced TV clips. The result is a strangely hollow experience, one that captures neither the grandeur of Jack Kirby's art nor the philosophical undertones of Stan Lee's writing. Much like its predecessor, it functions best as a dusty time capsule from the multimedia boom of the 90s - a relic that may amuse Marvel completists, but offers little for anyone seeking a truly immersive way to experience the Sentinel of the Spaceways.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox-X build of DOSBox running Microsoft Windows 3.1 to get the game working on modern systems. Manual included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 279 Mb.  Install Size: 474 Mb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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Silver Surfer: Interactive CD-ROM Comic Book! is © Pixel Technologies & Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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