139 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
139 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
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WHERE IN TIME IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?
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WHERE IN TIME IS CARMEN SANDIEGO? You well might ask! The elusive Carmen has a
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new gang, and is now plundering not only the priceless relics of today but of
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yesterday, as well. Apparently, she's doing this more for pleasure than for
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financial gain...after all, how much can you get for the Kabuki Theatre on the
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open market? Nonetheless, the Time Travel Division of the Acme Detective Agency
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has enlisted your help again, and you're off on a jaunt through time and history
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to capture the gang and, eventually, Carmen herself.
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This is the fourth and, in some respects, the best of the CARMEN SANDIEGO
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series of educational detective games from Broderbund. The previous three (WHERE
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IN THE WORLD, WHERE IN EUROPE, and WHERE IN THE USA) are all fine additions to
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any educational software library, but WHERE IN TIME encompasses a greater and
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more complex world. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version of the game.)
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A brief example illustrates WHERE IN TIME's complexity: One of the clues may
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tell you that the suspect was planning to visit the Kremlin. But when you
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activate your portable Chronoskimmer, you may find that you can visit Russia in
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two or three different time periods. Which is correct? You may have to pay more
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attention to the clue: If the wording is, "He planned to attend the
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groundbreaking ceremonies at the Kremlin," then you know it was in the 1400s.
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Or, you may have to obtain an additional clue from another witness or informant.
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The problem is that you're given a limited period in which to track the suspect,
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and traveling and investigation consume a lot of time. You must also determine
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who among the gang of fifteen is responsible, and have a correct arrest warrant
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issued. That delays you, too.
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If you're like me, you didn't know that the Kremlin was built in the 15th
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century. That's why WHERE IN TIME comes packed with the New American Desk
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Encyclopedia. This hefty paperback reference work is the kind of book you should
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always have around, and not just for the purposes of WHERE IN TIME. It's an
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amazing little information-packed volume. But even so, not every solution to
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every clue can be found in its pages. Some important information is also
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provided in the brief anecdotes given onscreen whenever you travel to a new
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time/place. And still other information must be found elsewhere...in a
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dictionary or atlas, perhaps. If you don't have those books, you can still play,
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because there are plenty of clues to be found, and one or two of them are likely
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to reveal enough to solve the problem. Again, you have a time constraint, so
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don't expect to be able to read all the available clues.
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Another remarkable feature of WHERE IN TIME is the graphics. Early CARMEN games
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had primitive, though enjoyable, graphics to illustrate the various cities. As
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the series matured, the graphics improved somewhat. But WHERE IN TIME takes a
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major leap forward, and in fact offers some of the most brilliant graphics of
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any current computer game, educational or otherwise. If you have an IBM with VGA
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(the system I used), you can expect dozens and dozens of brilliantly colored,
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high-resolution pictures that appear to be digitized photographs or paintings. I
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don't know whether the pictures reach a full 256 colors, but they're stunning,
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atmospheric, and stylish. The picture of Gandhi seated in front of a microphone
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is amazing, as are the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Japanese actors, and many
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more. Thus, the pictures convey infinitely more beauty and memorability than the
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preceding three CARMENs. Even in EGA, the graphics are impressive, but this is
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the first time that VGA has been used to such dazzling advantage in _any_ game.
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When you fire up WHERE IN TIME, you're taken to a skyline of San Francisco (a
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startling first impression), and thence to the lobby of the Acme Detective
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Agency, Time Travel Division. You enter the elevator and make your choice:
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Basement (where the records of current detectives are maintained, along with
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their ranks and number of cases solved); Lobby (where you can exit the game);
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Personnel (where you sign in the first time you play); the 3rd floor (the
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Laboratory, with an experiment always in progress, and the offices of junior
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Detectives); the Lounge (fourth floor, with the vending machines, where the more
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experienced Detectives hang out); and the Hall of Fame, 5th floor (where the
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retirees' names are inscribed). To retire, you must bring eighty cases to a
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successful conclusion, ending with the capture of Carmen SanDiego herself.
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After you sign in as a new Detective -- you can have twenty-four Detectives on
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the Active roster at any one time -- you're given an office on the 3rd floor.
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You're also issued a 325i Chronoskimmer, a time-traveling device. The first
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assignment comes in: A great work of art or historical monument has been ripped
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off by one of Carmen's gang (never Carmen; not 'til the end). You're given a
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certain amount of time on your Chronoskimmer, and it's automatically set to take
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you to the scene of the crime. After the 'Skimmer runs through a couple of
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diagnostics, the countdown starts, and you're off.
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A fierce shudder runs through the 'Skimmer, and suddenly you're in a new time
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and place. You have three options: speak to a witness, speak to an informant, or
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use the 'Skimmer's scanner to check for physical clues. A witness or informant
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will give you a clue as to where the suspect intended to visit next; you'll have
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to interpret that clue with the encyclopedia. For instance, the witness may say,
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"He went to spy on Francis Xavier's mission." You'd look up Francis Xavier and
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find out where -- and when -- his mission was. Sometimes the witness or
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informant will also give a clue as to the suspect's identity. These facts are
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all considerations: the suspect's gender, hair color, eye color, favorite
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author, and favorite artist. Amass three or four such clues, and you'll have
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enough identity to issue a warrant. Should you fail to issue the warrant before
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you catch up with the crook, the crook gets away for lack of a valid warrant.
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Using the Scan will always net a clue about the suspect's next location, but
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will never give any clues to help identify the suspect.
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There's also a Travel screen you can look at anytime; it shows the locations in
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time/space you can reach from your present location. That helps when you're
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narrowing the search. Also, if you take a guess and you're wrong, the informant
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and witness in the new area will have no information to give you. You'll have to
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travel back to your previous location and re-examine the clues.
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Catch the crook (and have your valid warrant) before the time is up, and you'll
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receive a congratulatory message and another case...if you want one. When you
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finish a certain number of cases, you're promoted, given a new office, and new
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title. As the game progresses, the cases become harder: The criminals travel
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further away, requiring more investigation and less time for clues. If you're
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called away from the computer by circumstances beyond your control, you can
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abort the case (cancel it, or save it in progress). Once you solve the final
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case and catch Carmen, you're automatically retired and your name is stricken
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from the active roster.
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WHERE IN TIME IN CARMEN SANDIEGO? comes on 5-1/4" disks or 3-1/2" disks (look
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on the spine for the version you need). The program is copy-protected in that
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you must occasionally insert the original disk. This is only required when you
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upgrade from one title to another, so while it's an inconvenience, at least it's
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one you probably won't be subjected to _every_ time you play. Broderbund should
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catch up with the rest of the industry and go with a more reasonable protection
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scheme, either a document check or The Software Toolworks' commendable
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arrangement.
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The game requires 512K for the EGA, CGA, Tandy, and Hercules versions; 640K for
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the VGA and MCGA versions. Mouse and joystick are supported. Note that there is
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a bug in the first version that affects some mouse drivers, enhanced keyboards,
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and DOS 4.0. Broderbund is aware of the problem and expects to have a new
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version very shortly; if you experience any problems (as I did occasionally with
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the mouse and with "system errors"), call 1-800-521-6263 for information about
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receiving the fix.
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WHERE IN TIME is a splendid educational adventure, full of color and history.
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The sound and graphics are topnotch, and the game has as much appeal for adults
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as for children. I also love the fact that you can play a single game in five to
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ten minutes, get a sense of completion and satisfaction, and move on. But that
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rarely happens: These are potato chip games...you can't eat just one. I highly
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recommend WHERE IN TIME; it's not only fascinating and delightful, it's
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educational as well.
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WHERE IN TIME IS CARMEN SANDIEGO is published and distributed by Broderbund
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Software, Inc.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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