ADAM The Inside Story review

From the outset it's obvious that this reference CD is aiming to provide both a comprehensive and entertaining exploration of the human body.

It attempts the latter by serving up two cheesy American hosts called Adam and Eve, who carry on the sort of innuendo-laden banter you only expect to see on the Richard and Judy show. For instance, Eve teases Adam about his teenage 'pimples', and Adam pretends to get all embarrassed, while you're left wondering if the box contains a sick bag.

At least if you object to Adam's Caucasian, Ken doll looks, you can change the colour and race of both hosts. Another intriguing option is the 'with or without fig leaf' dilemma.

On the main menu, there's a range of medical information destined to terrify even the lesser hypochondriacs among us. The Cybervizz 3D feature allows you to access fully rotatable - and often downright scary - 3D graphics. You can explore the human heart, the skull and respiratory system in more detail than you'd ever care to.

Meanwhile, Adam and Eve coo their way through the Family Scrapbook, which is nauseatingly personalised - 'What happened to Eve's body when she had a baby' and so on - but the range of topics is detailed and impressive. Each scrapbook section offers diagrams and video advice from one Dr Valerie Harper. At the end of each topic you can tackle the Quizmeister who sets some taxing biological teasers.

You can spend time in the Anatomy section dissecting the layers of Adam's and Eve's bodies or choose to watch short animations. There's a handy glossary as well as a guide to the pronunciation of anatomical names, more than 100 printable full-colour medical illustrations and a useful Internet access feature, which lets you hook up to top medical sites.

All in all this is a polished product. It would do better without the corny couple, but it's still a valuable learning source for students of medicine and all things morbid.

Author: - Amaya Lopez