Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego
Reviewed By Robert Brown [RB] and Wal Glynn [WG].
Copyright (c) 1990 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
Requirements
- An Apple //e with at least 128k, //c, or //GS
- One disk drive preferably two
Optional
- Mouse or Joystick
- Colour Monitor
WG: "Carmen Sandiego" has stepped up a notch with this program from the very compelling, and educational, series about the adventures of this master criminal.
RB: The basic ideas of the other Carmen Sandiego games (Europe, USA, World) are there. That is, you piece together clues and follow her to different places but these places range from the 5th century up and including the 21st.
WG: As usual the graphics are excellent and there have been some interesting graphic features added to this program. The Headquarters of the Acme Detective Agency - Time Crimes Division - is located in a five storey building, somewhere in San Francisco. When you enter the building you are faced with the door to the lift - a notice on the left side indicates that Personnel is on the second floor.
RB: You now have to work out how to get to the right floor first which makes the start more exciting.
WG: From this point on, your office will be determined by your skill as a detective - the more skillful you are, the higher up the building your office is placed. Unlike the earlier programs, you are only identified by going to the floor that your rank entitles you to be on. All of the records are kept in the basement - you can delete names of agents here (as well as establish their rank).
RB: You also have now in your possession a 'Chronoskimmer Model 325i'. What is that? It is your main tool for transportation through time, data entry, and clue searching. It is a display for your destination, current position, current year and time remaining.
WG: The use of the Time Leap is not threatening - you do not have to establish a time, the program does that for you in most instances. That is, if you assess that you have to go the China you are normally presented with the one option and away you go! However, be careful, in one episode I was presented to two options to go to China - in different centuries, so be aware that you can be caught.
WG: Your journey (and your time allocation) commences from some location earlier in time. Your success in capturing Carmen replies on your use of the four keys "Time Leap, Clues, Data, and Abort". "Clues" present you with three options - Witness, Informant and Scanner. "Data" allows you to build up information in Evidence or Dossiers. Evidence is the standard location for placing clues to get a warrant for the criminal, Dossiers provides information about all of the criminals in the program. When you have gathered sufficient clues to justify a warrant, a Capture Robot is put on the job and provided you are in the right place at the right time, the capture is made and your office moves upstairs.
RB: 'Where In Time' is not just a game of playing detectives. It is a tool to teach the history of the world. All the facts, figures and events in the program are accurate.
RB: 'Where In Time' comes complete with a Detective's Manual, two 5 1/4 inch disks (with the ability to load it onto a hard disk which I would recommend), a fold out sheet with pictures of 16 known friends of Carmen Sandiego, and a 4 inch, 1374 page, paperback Desk Encyclopedia containing all the information that will have to be looked up through the game. The Encyclopedia can also be used by anybody in their history course at school or just for general reference.
RB: Like the other Carmen games, this one is a joy to play and apart from having basically the same game idea behind it, the graphics and time concept make it interesting.
WG: All in all an excellent program - Carmen tends to mature with age. My thanks for Mrs Patricia Stemp for a loan of the program to review - Patricia won the program at the February Apple // meeting where Dataflow demonstrated their range and allowed the club to raffle three programs - thank you Dataflow.
Program courtesy of DataFlow
134 Barcom Avenue
Rushcutters Bay NSW 2011
(02) 331 6153

THIS CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2007, APPLE MACINTOSH USERS' GROUP, SYDNEY
Permission has been obtained to make this material available on the Internet.

Permission is hereby granted for non-profit user groups to republish this content.
PLEASE CREDIT THE AUTHOR AND THE SOURCE: Applecations, publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia

THIS PAGE COPYRIGHT © 2007, ANDREW ROUGHAN