While multimedia retailers and software developers recover from the highly competitive Christmas season, the next wave of hot multimedia titles is already heading to shelves for early 1995.

Expect several high-profile, big-budget game titles to grab attention at CES, including the long-awaited sequel to the best-selling "The 7th Guest," titled "The 11th Hour" (Virgin Interactive, PC/Mac CD-ROM, 3DO); the interactive version of the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation--A Final Unity" (Spectrum Holobyte, PC CD-ROM and 3DO); the five-disc horror epic "Phantasmagoria" (Sierra, PC CD-ROM); the bone-chilling mystery adventure "Ecstatica" (Psygnosis, PC CD-ROM); and a star-studded, modern version of the decade-old classic computer text adventure "Planetfall" (Activision, PC CD-ROM).

Adventure seekers have plenty of clues to unravel in 1995, as a new crop of mystery games is on the way, including the time-travel saga "Buried In Time" (Sanctuary Woods, PC/Mac-CD); the dinosaur epic "Lost Eden" (Virgin Interactive, PC CD-ROM); the Pigface-scored "MTV's Club Dead" (Viacom New Media, PC CD-ROM); the outdoor adventure game "Legacy," co-produced by Robert Redford (Illumina Productions, LaserActive); the eccentric "The Riddle Of Master Lu" (Sanctuary Woods, PC/Mac CD-ROM); and the multi-disc animated "King's Quest VII" (Sierra, PC CD-ROM).

Arcade action-game fans can look forward to the humor-filled "Gex" (Crystal Dynamics, 3DO); "Dr. Mario And Tetris" (Nintendo, Super NES); "Star Blade" (Panasonic, 3DO); "Loadstar" (Rocket Science, PC CD-ROM and Sega CD); the Don Bluth-animated coin-op classic "Space Ace" (Readysoft, Sega CD, 3DO, PC/Mac CD-ROM); and the space adventure "Creature Shock" (Virgin Interactive, PC CD-ROM, 3DO and CD-I), as well as the network-compatible "Magic Carpet" (Bullfrog/Electronic Arts, PC CD-ROM).

Activision plans to reissue several classic Atari 2600 cartridge games on a series of PC CD-ROMs, titled "Atari Action Packs." Fifteen 2600 games will appear on each disc. In addition, Activision has updated the classic "Pitfall" Atari 2600 game with the sequel "Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure" (PC/Mac CD-ROM, Sega CD and Sony PSX).

In the tradition of last year's mega-violent "Doom," Id Software unveils its latest shareware shoot-'em-up, titled "Heretic," on the Internet for PC. Chapters two and three are available only by direct-mail from Id. In addition, the original Id game "Doom" hits Jaguar and Sega 32X platforms.

Hand-to-hand combat games looking for knock-out sales include "Supreme Warrior (Ying Heung)" (Digital Pictures, 3DO, Sega CD, Sega 32X and PC/Mac CD-ROM) and the robot battle games "Iron Assault" (Virgin Interactive, PC CD-ROM) and "Rise Of The Robots" (Mirage/Time Warner Interactive, PC CD-ROM and 3DO).

Strategy-game brainiacs will want to ponder the possibilities of "Conquerer" (Software Sorcery, PC CD-ROM); the mystery political simulation "Reelect JFK" (Quadra/Compton's, PC/Mac CD-ROM); a revised version of the classic "Lemmings" (Philips, CD-I); the war game "Panzer General" (SSI, PC CD-ROM); and interactive versions of the board games "Clue" and "Trivial Pursuit" (Virgin Interactive, PC/Mac CD-ROM and Sega CD).

For simulation stimulation, hop aboard "H.A.W.C." (Virgin Interactive, PC CD-ROM) and the flight-battle game "Flying Aces" (Rocket Science, Sega CD and PC CD-ROM).

Science fiction-themed games include "CyberClash" (Crystal Dynamics, 3DO); the campy "Space Pirates" (American Laser Games, PC CD-ROM, Sega CD and 3DO); "Star Fox II" (Nintendo, Super NES); the Japanimation sequel "Return To Cyber City" (Philips, CD-I); the multi-vehicle action shooter "Saturncide" (Morpheus Interactive, 3DO); and the triple-disc sequel to the best-selling disc "The Lawnmower Man," titled "Cyberwar" (SCI, PC/Mac CD-ROM and Sega CD).

Between zapping aliens and shooting tanks, those who seek a bit of educational enlightenment can investigate the docu-disc "Vietnam" (Medio, PC CD-ROM); the astronomy reference game "Astronomica" (Hyper-Quest, PC/Mac CD-ROM); the historical "American Journey: 1896-1945" (Ibis/Compton's, PC CD-ROM); and the interactive version of the PBS television mini-series "Wild West" (Jasmine, PC CD-ROM).

For kids, there is the animated "Once Upon A Forest" (Sanctuary Woods, PC/Mac-CD); "The Crayon Factory" (Philips, CD-I); "What's My Story?" (Digital Pictures, PC/Mac CD-ROM); and the Hanna Barbera cartoon-themed "Kid Vid Grid" (Jasmine, PC CD-ROM).

Sports games to catch in 1995 include "75 Seasons: The History Of The NFL" (Turner, PC CD-ROM); "World Cup Golf Hyatt Dorado Beach" (U.S. Gold, PC CD-ROM, Sega CD and 3DO); "Virtual Racing Deluxe" (Sega, Sega 32X); "NFL Instant Replay" (Philips, PC CD-ROM); "Mountain Biking" (Media Mosaic, PC CD-ROM); "Front Page Sports: Baseball '95" (Sierra, PC CD-ROM); and an updated version of the top-selling golf program "Links 386-CD" (Access, PC CD-ROM).

Music-themed multimedia includes "On The Charts: IRS Records 1979-1994" (Troon, PC CD-ROM); "Rock 'N Roll Your Own" (Medior/Compton's, PCAMac CD-ROM); "Haight Ashbury In The Sixties" (Rockument/Compton's, PC/Mac CD-ROM); "William Orbit's Strange Cargo III" (Troon, PC CD-ROM); and the jazz and reggae editions of the audio-enhanced "MusicROM" series (SelectWare, PC CD-ROM).

Interactive movies coming soon to a retailer near you include the zombie shooter "Corpse Killer" (Digital Pictures, Sega CD, Sega 32X, 3DO and PC/Mac CD-ROM); the "Quantum Gate" sci-fi sequel "The Vortex" (Hyperbole, PC CD-ROM); the animated horror film "Braindead 13" (Readysoft, Sega CD, 3DO, PC/Mac-CD and Jaguar-CD); an interactive version of the syndicated television show "Thunder In Paradise" (Philips, CD-I); "The Daedelus Encounter," starring Tia Carrere (Mechadaeus, PC CD-ROM); and the controversial "Night Trap," which comes to Mac CD-ROM and Sega 32X amidst debate about its violent content.