Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?

"Time Hunting"

Do you love historical trivia? If you do then this is likely one of the best games you'll ever play.

The basic surmise is this, Carmen Sandiego and her wacky crew of villains and thugs have managed to find a way to travel through time. On their journeys they have been pilfering the great artifacts of our time. However, unless you're a historical genius you'll likely find yourself needing the aid of a desk encyclopedia.

Story 3/10

Well the storyline falls abit short. There is no real storyline. You're just a time travelling policeman hunting down VILE agents.

Graphics 5/10

There isn't anything special with the graphics here. Just standard SNES fare. Although some of the portraits at the various locations in time are somewhat memorable. The graphics get the job done and while they certainly don't look nearly as good as the stuff the PS2 or Gamecube can spit out, you must remember, they were good enough for the time. This is not a graphics-driven game, remember that.

Challenge 10/10

This game can be incredibly hard. Or incredibly easy, it all depends on how much you know about history. As your rank increases your time to solve cases gets harder. Since time is consumed whenever you put info in the criminal profile you have to start doing time management. You've got to collect clues and find out where the next destination is. Trying to construct the profile at all haste. It can be very rough at the higher difficulties.

Sound 4/10

Some of the sound effects are quite amusing and comical. However, there is a lack of variety and the sounds quickly get very dull. The absence of any music whatsoever is a definite negative factor as far as all things go.

Buy or Rent? If you like history then this game will entertain you for awhile, but it gets old fast. It's not worth buying at all. It'll only keep you occupied for a bit and people who don't know much about history will quickly become frustrated when they get tired of constantly looking up historical stuff in an encyclopedia.

This game is definitely geared towards a single audience. The lovers of trivia. Even though Carmen Sandiego stuff tends to be geared towards the younger people, it will be much too challenging usually. Although, in the rare case of a young kid, or an old fan of Carmen Sandiego, who likes history, this game can be a god-send. It really will keep you occupied for a time.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/14/02, Updated 05/14/02