I was very excited to see one of my favorite PC games of old. I can remember when I was a kid playing this game. I did find it a bit difficult at the time and never actually caught Carmen Sandiego. I got close a few times, but she always seemed to be just out of my grasp. I think I must have been 12 or so - but I don't really remember.
This game had a very good premise. You were working for a detective agency that would capture international criminals, which had funny names that were pun inspired.
This game required knowledge of different regions of the Earth and the cultures that lived in them.
Here is how the game would play: You would start out given a clue. From this clue you should go to someone on the planet, where you would find more clues. After a few trips, assuming you made the correct assumptions based on the given clues, you would run into an international criminal. You would capture the criminal. All the wile the other criminals that were at large would be causing general mayhem and shenanigans around the planet. Every time they did so, they would leave clues to their whereabouts and where they might strike next.
You would have to capture a few of these criminals
before you would find Carmen Sandiego. One aspect of this game that I really enjoyed was the timing, you had to be quick and accurate or else the criminal would "know" that you were on their tail and would run like a scared puppy.
This game is great for kids as it helps them to learn about the different aspects of our world and the people that live within it. It also is a non-violent game that teaches kids to solve problems and distinguish right from wrong. Kids especially love the cunning names of the criminals and the hilarious pseudo-crimes they commit.
If you like this game there is also a sequel to this game called Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego. This game is much more challenging as it requires not only geographic knowledge but also historical significance. In this game you are armed with a time machine that can go forward or backward in time to different locations.
All in all this is a great game that I highly recommend to anyone of any age for a good wholesome learning experience.
