Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? is a 1996 educational video game and the third version of the 1985 game Where in the Word is Carmen Sandiego? and its 1992 Deluxe version. It was released shortly after the fifth and final season PBS TV series came to an end.
Contents
Gameplay
The chase
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 three hundred and sixty 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.
The bystanders, on the other hand, could either be asked where the suspect went, in which case they would provide a geography clue, or what the suspect looks like, in which case they would make a casual comment about one of the suspect's physical attributes, i.e. "You'd lose sight of her if stepped behind a lightpost." or "His height wasn't standard for basketball, but it was perfect for miniature golf." Although speech balloons were still used on them, bystanders spoke their dialogue aloud as well. The text of notes and of bystanders' dialogue could be dragged into an "electronic notepad" in the bottom right corner of the screen for reference.
The warrant and the arrest
Another change is that the user is not given dossiers describing the members of V.I.L.E. and that 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. The crook's name is only given after the arrest, in which a newspaper (The Worldly Blab) appears with a headline declaring the criminal has been captured. If the person arrested does not match the warrant, they will be found innocent and released just as they would if the warrant were inaccurate or not issued. Eight of the thirty-nine crooks captured over the course of the game each provided a single line of verse. These eight verses, once pieced together, created a poem that read as follows:
- I'll steal the planet's treasures till there's nothing precious left.
- I never wear a watch because it's always time for theft.
- Loot is on my mind, though something else is on my head.
- Why should I take a picture, I'll just steal the scene instead.
- I always hide the things I steal regardless of their size.
- And I don't wear any sunglasses to protect my eager eyes.
- A special Trophy will be mine, the plan is now in motion.
- I adorn my neck with loot I stole from oysters in the ocean.
Upon reaching the final destination on the final case, the Chief calls to inform the user that the culprit is Carmen Sandiego and that the poem indicates she is wearing a pearl necklace. The user then finds the location inhabited by several women resembling Carmen, but that only one of them is wearing pearls. After the user and all the seven Good Guides successfully captures Carmen and the ICK Brothers, The Chief informs the user that Carmen's ultimate plan was to "steal" ACME Headquarters (the "Trophy" in question) and that the user has therefore not only captured Carmen herself, but saved ACME itself. Afterwards, the user is later inducted at the ACME Detective Hall of Fame on the World Wiz Database and retired. If the user accidentally catches the wrong character, Carmen will escape and breaks three of her criminal henchmen out from ACME prison, immediately producing three more cases for the user to solve.
Characters
The ACME Good Guides are a group of colorful characters who, if called upon, provide information about the current country and the direct surroundings. If the user calls an ACME Good Guide during a case, that guide will call back later to inform the user whether or not their warrant has any errors. If the user wishes to take tours with the Good Guides and travel to countries without the inconvenience of having to track a crook, "explorer mode" is available.
Countries
Countries visited on the third edition of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
| Continent | Countries |
|---|---|
| North America | Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, United States |
| South America | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru |
| Europe | Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom |
| Asia | Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam |
| Africa | Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania. Zaire |
| Oceania | Australia, New Zealand |
List of stolen items
| Item Stolen | Country of origin |
|---|---|
| Khyber Pass | Afghanistan |
| The steps to the Tango | Argentina |
| Uluru | Australia |
| The baton used to lead the Vienna Boys Choir | Austria |
| The fish from half of Lake Titicaca | Bolivia |
| The plans for this year's Carnival | Brazil |
| The Silver Pagoda | Cambodia |
| The game winning puck from the first Stanley Cup championship | Canada |
| The Strait of Magellan | Chile |
| The keys to the Forbidden City | China |
| Havana's best Cigars cigars | Cuba |
| The writing desk of Hans Christian Andersen | Denmark |
| The Nile River Delta | Egypt |
| The gargoyles from Notre Dame Cathedral | France |
| The keys from Beethoven's first piano | Germany |
| The Olympic Flame | Greece |
| The best coffee | Guatemala |
| All the goulash | Hungary |
| Geysir | Iceland |
| Gandhi's glasses | India |
| The island of Bali | Indonesia |
| The Presidential Palace's finest rug | Iran |
| The salt from the Dead Sea | Israel |
| The Sistine Chapel's ceiling | Italy |
| The snow from atop Mt. Fuji | Japan |
| Nairobi International Airport | Kenya |
| Every last drop of salsa | Mexico |
| The entire city of Casablanca | Morocco |
| The Abominable Snowman | Nepal |
| The dykes | The Netherlands |
| All the kiwi birds | New Zealand |
| The delta of the Niger River | Nigeria |
| K2 | Pakistan |
| The controls for the Panama Canal | Panama |
| The headwaters of the Amazon River | Peru |
| A monkey-eating eagle | The Philippines |
| The Trans-Siberian Railroad | Russia |
| The middle of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline | Saudi Arabia |
| The statue of Sir Stamford Raffles | Singapore |
| The Cape of Good Hope | South Africa |
| The secret recipe for kimchee | South Korea |
| The bulls from Pamplona Pamplona | Spain |
| The court stage from Drottningholm Palace | Sweden |
| The Ngorongoro Crater | Tanzania |
| King's Siamese cat | Thailand |
| Every anchovy from the Black Sea | Turkey |
| The keys to the Tower of London | The United Kingdom |
| The Statue of Liberty's torch | The United States |
| The Mekong River | Vietnam |
| The Zaire River Ferry | Zaire |
V.I.L.E.
The following members of V.I.L.E. are criminals that the player must catch for each of the cases and each of their crimes:
| Suspect | Pun | Gender | Hair Color | Height | Weight | Wearing | Captured by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anita Bath | I need a bath | Female | Red | Medium | Thin | Hat | Ann Tickwittee |
| Art Schrival | Archrival | Male | Grey | Short | Thin | Hat | Kim Yoonity |
| Auntie Matter | Antimatter | Female | Grey | Medium | Average | Glasses | Ann Tickwittee |
| Barb Dwyer | Barbed wire | Female | Black | Medium | Average | Hat | Ivan Idea |
| Barry Koodah | Barracuda | Male | Blond | Medium | Heavy | Hat | Ann Tickwittee |
| Buzz "Ted" Loose | Busted loose | Male | Black | Tall | Heavy | Glasses | Herman Nootix |
| Dee Pockets | Deep Pockets | Female | Red | Tall | Average | Watch | Renee Santz |
| Dinah Myte | Dynamite | Female | Blond | Short | Average | Watch | Kim Yoonity |
| Don N. Hout | Down and out | Male | Brown | Short | Heavy | Camera | Rock Solid |
| Flo N. Eddy | Flo and Eddie | Female | Grey | Medium | Heavy | Hat | Ann Tickwittee |
| Hal E. Tosis | Halitosis | Male | Grey | Short | Heavy | Glasses | Kim Yoonity |
| Harry Bacque | Hairy back | Male | Red | Tall | Average | Camera | Renee Santz |
| Herb Aside | Herbicide | Male | Blond | Tall | Thin | Camera | Herman Nootix |
| Indy Slammer | In the slammer | Male | Brown | Medium | Thin | Watch | Ivan Idea |
| Ivana Steele | I wanna steal | Female | Grey | Tall | Average | Watch | Dee Plomassy |
| Jack Cheez | Jack cheese | Male | Red | Medium | Average | Camera | Herman Nootix |
| Jerri Riggs | Jury-rigs | Female | Black | Medium | Heavy | Glasses | Herman Nootix |
| Jonah Fark | Joan of Arc | Male | Grey | Short | Average | Hat | Kim Yoonity |
| Kay Serrah-Serrah | Que Sera, Sera | Female | Brown | Medium | Average | Camera | Ann Tickwittee |
| Ken U. Sparadigm | Can you spare a dime? | Male | Black | Tall | Thin | Watch | Renee Santz |
| Leia D. Land | Lay of the land | Female | Red | Medium | Thin | Camera | Herman Nootix |
| Les Cash | Less cash | Male | Black | Medium | Thin | Camera | Ivan Idea |
| Lisa Carr | Lease a car | Female | Brown | Short | Heavy | Watch | Kim Yoonity |
| Lou Pole | Loophole | Male | Blond | Tall | Thin | Hat | Dee Plomassy |
| M.T. Pockets | Empty pockets | Female | Blond | Tall | Heavy | Camera | Dee Plomassy |
| Mac R. Roni | Macaroni | Male | Brown | Tall | Heavy | Camera | Dee Plomassy |
| May K. Deal | Make a deal | Female | Brown | Tall | Average | Glasses | Renee Santz |
| Meg Maidey | Make my day | Female | Grey | Short | Heavy | Glasses | Rock Solid |
| Mel Function | Malfunction | Male | Red | Short | Heavy | Glasses | Rock Solid |
| Miss Ann Stuf | Missing stuff | Female | Black | Tall | Thin | Hat | Renee Santz |
| Olive Yermunny | All of your money | Female | Red | Tall | Thin | Watch | Renee Santz |
| Penny Pincher | Penny-pincher | Female | Black | Short | Thin | Glasses | Rock Solid |
| Phil O. Dendron | Philodendron | Male | Brown | Tall | Average | Glasses | Herman Nootix |
| Rob M. Blind | Rob 'em blind | Male | Red | Medium | Average | Glasses | Ivan Idea |
| Ruth Less | Ruthless | Female | Blond | Medium | Heavy | Glasses | Ivan Idea |
| "Shaky" Al LeBye | Shaky alibi | Male | Grey | Short | Thin | Glasses | Rock Solid |
| Skip N. Skule | Skipping school | Male | Brown | Short | Average | Watch | Rock Solid |
| Stu L. Pidjin | Stool pigeon | Male | Blond | Tall | Heavy | Hat | Dee Plomassy |
| Tsu Mi | Sue me | Female | Brown | Short | Thin | Watch | Kim Yoonity |
