Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego?

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Where in Space Is
Carmen Sandiego?
File:Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego? cover.jpg
Macintosh Cover art
Developer(s) Brøderbund
Publisher(s) Brøderbund
Director(s) David Ross, Christa Beeson
Producer(s) David Ross, Christa Beeson
Designer(s) Kim Walls
Programmer(s) Bob Arient
Artist(s) Michelle Bushneff
Composer(s) Tom Rettig, Michael Barrett
Series Carmen Sandiego
Platforms DOS, Macintosh
Release date(s) 1993 (DOS)
1994 (Mac)
Genre(s) Educational
Mode(s) Single-player

Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego? is a game produced by Brøderbund and released in 1993 for DOS and 1994 for Macintosh.

Development

In the time before the company was acquired by The Learning Company, Carmen Sandiego games are generally divided into four eras: CGA (1985/6), VGA enhanced, (1989/1992), high-res VGA (1992-4), and CD-ROM (1995 onwards). This game falls within "the second group...that are based on the improved game engine that offers high-res VGA graphics, thousands of clues (as opposed to hundreds), and a more polished interface."[1]

According to Mobygames, "Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego uses the original formula from the first 4 games in the series (Where In The World, Where in Europe, Where In Time, Where in the USA) and extends it to our knowledge of astronomy and space".[2] The game includes 32 locations and 1100 clues, the latter of which can be deciphered through the VAL 9000 computer which "provides information about the history, science, and mythology of space that will aid you in your search". The game includes "digitised NASA images of the sun, planets and moons, star searches, talking aliens, planetary fly-bys and launches of interplanetary probes", while "the original music score includes different themes for each planetary system in digitised sound."[2]

Gameplay

The player flies in a rocket ship throughout the solar system, questioning various alien lifeforms in order to solve the theft of an important part of the solar system (e.g. Saturn's rings). There was only a limited amount of fuel available for travel. So if the player didn't ask the right questions on the right planets, or followed the wrong clues, the criminal(s) would get away, leaving the player to start over again with another crime. This version is somewhat similar to Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?.

Reception

Asking a witness for clues in Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego?

Charles Ardai wrote in Computer Gaming World in 1993 that "the game's quality [is] quite high" but criticized "its longevity, which is low", noting the small number of animations that, despite their high quality, often repeated. He concluded that "Carmen seems to be feeling the effects of middle age ... it seems to lack the staying power of the earlier games".[3]

Clayton Walnum of Atari Magazines wrote "Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego? is yet another wonderful entry into an already long and successful line of educational computer games. Plus it's a fascinating romp through the solar system featuring awesome digitized photos from NASA's own files and a clever gang of otherworldly character".[4] WIZ gave the game 80, PC Player (Germany) gave it 73, PC Games (Germany) gave it 69, and Power Play gave it 62.[5] Eugene Register-Guard said "The graphics are gorgeous and the script witty".[6]

References

  1. ↑ Home of the Underdogs
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.mobygames.com/game/where-in-space-is-carmen-sandiego-deluxe-edition
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue158/108_Where_in_Space_is_Ca.php
  5. ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/where-in-space-is-carmen-sandiego-deluxe-edition/mobyrank
  6. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19940508&id=aUlWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KesDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7086,1755768

External links

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