Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1996 video game) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Where in the World IsCarmen Sandiego? |
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| Developer(s) | Brøderbund Software |
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| Series | Carmen Sandiego |
| Platform(s) | Windows, MacOS |
| Release date(s) | 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Educational/strategy/side-scrolling |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (sometimes referred to as Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? v3.0) is a 1996 video game part of the Carmen Sandiego franchise. It was the third version of the game, after the 1985 title of the same name and a 1992 Deluxe version of said game. The game was released on the heels of the end of the PBS game show in 1996, and features hundreds of QuickTime videos of Lynne Thigpen reprising her role as "The Chief". This was the last version of the game to follow the "classic" formula of the series (until the Facebook version), but much of the game, especially the "warrant" portion, was heavily redesigned. The Deluxe Edition released in 1998 (also sometimes subtitled as "version 3.5") added speech welcoming the player to each country and an "ACME Global Language Link-Up" satellite which quizzed the user on the local language. Players also received a spy watch and "an introduction to 12 foreign languages".
This "upgrade of the classic [1985] detective program", in which players "take on the role of gumshoe and explore the globe tracking down crafty criminals" remains the same as the original version. Upgraded features include: "guided tours of various locales and beautifully painted 360-degree panoramas". The game uses "geopolitical maps from National Geographic for more than 50 countries". The searchable database within the game contains: "video clips; essays on each area's economics, politics and culture; maps; and photographs.
According to the BOX: TOP SOFTWARE CALENDAR YEAR, Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego was the second best-selling title of 1996 after Disney's Toy Story Animated Storybook.
Gameplay
Unlike in the previous games, the image of the locations took up most of the screen, with the game options only taking up the bottom third of the screen. Each location had an elaborately painted backdrop that could be scrolled around a full 360 degrees. Each location provided clues in the form of several bystanders and scraps of paper lying on the ground. The scraps of paper exclusively provided clues about the suspect's appearance.
This game used a few aspects from the previous Junior Detective Edition game. For instance, this game identified locations by the name of the country, used the "fuel limit" convention instead of the "time limit" and eliminated the questions that needed to be answered before being promoted. However, the game did feature an elaborate time system that calculated the time of arrival in each country given the flight time and the number of time zones crossed. Traveling to the correct locations is represented by comedic acts of Carmen's pet cat, Carmine, or two bumbling janitors that were assigned to clean up after the crooks.
The user is not given dossiers describing the members of V.I.L.E., but all the clues given about the suspect are physical traits, enabling the user to identify the crook on sight. This means that the user will have to compile a full warrant rather than one of just enough traits to distinguish which crook is responsible. In the final destination, the crook is seen walking around the location with several innocent bystanders, meaning the user will have to use the warrant to identify which person is the criminal.
