The Carmen Sandiego Series of games is my all time favorite. I played the first one ever released, “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” which was in 1985, and played it on the lovely Apple IIc. The graphics were blotchy and just shades of green, but man did I love it.
This game I’m reviewing is the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Deluxe Edition which was released on CD-ROM for DOS in 1992 by Broderbund Software—a company well known for its educational software.
Yes, “Carmen Sandiego” is very educational, but it has a crime adventure element as you have to go after the villains, ultimately going after Carmen herself.
You start out as a rookie detective and are given a case by the Chief and little is known about your suspect. You have to track down your suspect before time runs out. Each action you do takes up time, so you need to make sure not to make mistakes or do something twice and waste time.
You start out in the country the crime took place. The crimes the villains commit are always over the top. I seem to recall one being that the Statue of Liberty was stolen (maybe it was David Copperfield who did it...lol).
You
walk around talking to people so you can find clues as to what the suspect looks like, what he/she is wearing, and where he/she might be going next. You might find out the color of the villain’s hair or if he/she is short, tall, or of average height. A clue as to what he/she is wearing would be a statement such as, “She sure was taking a lot of pictures.” That would mean she is wearing a camera around her neck. Or as for a clue to where she is going: “He said he always wanted to see the Valley of the Kings.” That would mean he would be going to Egypt.
There are 59 possible locations your suspect could be in. Some countries you will find yourself in: Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Greece, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Zaire. But luckily your choices are narrowed down to just a few to choose from when hunting down your villain. If you travel to an incorrect location, you waste valuable time, as you have to go back to the previous location and search again for clues. You will know if you go to a wrong location because when you talk to people on the streets, they will tell you they have no clue what you are talking about. If you see goofy criminals running around on the screen when you arrive at a new location, you know you’re in the right spot.
In order to apprehend the villain, you have to have a warrant for him/her. This is where the clue about his/her appearance and attire help you out. Once you have enough information gathered (usually all fields filled up), you can have a warrant issued. This needs to be done as soon as possible, so when you catch up to the villain, you can arrest them. No warrant, no arrest. If you issue a warrant and it turns out you didn’t have all the information correct, or some is missing, then when you catch up to the villain, he/she will get away.
Every so often you will be promoted in rank. The cases will get harder with each rank. Your last case will be to catch the leader of all of these villains—Carmen Sandiego. Doing so will get you into the Hall of Fame.
If you love geography, history, and/or crime, then you will just love the Carmen games. There are others on this website besides this one. So I suggest you go and download them all and have a bunch of fun catching the criminals. I know I sure have over the years.
