WHERE IN TIME IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?

 WHERE IN TIME IS CARMEN SANDIEGO? You well might ask! The elusive Carmen has a
new gang, and is now plundering not only the priceless relics of today but of
yesterday, as well. Apparently, she's doing this more for pleasure than for
financial gain...after all, how much can you get for the Kabuki Theatre on the
open market? Nonetheless, the Time Travel Division of the Acme Detective Agency
has enlisted your help again, and you're off on a jaunt through time and history
to capture the gang and, eventually, Carmen herself.

 This is the fourth and, in some respects, the best of the CARMEN SANDIEGO
series of educational detective games from Broderbund. The previous three (WHERE
IN THE WORLD, WHERE IN EUROPE, and WHERE IN THE USA) are all fine additions to
any educational software library, but WHERE IN TIME encompasses a greater and
more complex world. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version of the game.)

 A brief example illustrates WHERE IN TIME's complexity:  One of the clues may
tell you that the suspect was planning to visit the Kremlin. But when you
activate your portable Chronoskimmer, you may find that you can visit Russia in
two or three different time periods. Which is correct? You may have to pay more
attention to the clue: If the wording is, "He planned to attend the
groundbreaking ceremonies at the Kremlin," then you know it was in the 1400s.
Or, you may have to obtain an additional clue from another witness or informant.
The problem is that you're given a limited period in which to track the suspect,
and traveling and investigation consume a lot of time. You must also determine
who among the gang of fifteen is responsible, and have a correct arrest warrant
issued. That delays you, too.

 If you're like me, you didn't know that the Kremlin was built in the 15th
century. That's why WHERE IN TIME comes packed with the New American Desk
Encyclopedia. This hefty paperback reference work is the kind of book you should
always have around, and not just for the purposes of WHERE IN TIME. It's an
amazing little information-packed volume. But even so, not every solution to
every clue can be found in its pages. Some important information is also
provided in the brief anecdotes given onscreen whenever you travel to a new
time/place. And still other information must be found elsewhere...in a
dictionary or atlas, perhaps. If you don't have those books, you can still play,
because there are plenty of clues to be found, and one or two of them are likely
to reveal enough to solve the problem. Again, you have a time constraint, so
don't expect to be able to read all the available clues.

 Another remarkable feature of WHERE IN TIME is the graphics. Early CARMEN games
had primitive, though enjoyable, graphics to illustrate the various cities. As
the series matured, the graphics improved somewhat. But WHERE IN TIME takes a
major leap forward, and in fact offers some of the most brilliant graphics of
any current computer game, educational or otherwise. If you have an IBM with VGA
(the system I used), you can expect dozens and dozens of brilliantly colored,
high-resolution pictures that appear to be digitized photographs or paintings. I
don't know whether the pictures reach a full 256 colors, but they're stunning,
atmospheric, and stylish. The picture of Gandhi seated in front of a microphone
is amazing, as are the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Japanese actors, and many
more. Thus, the pictures convey infinitely more beauty and memorability than the
preceding three CARMENs. Even in EGA, the graphics are impressive, but this is
the first time that VGA has been used to such dazzling advantage in _any_ game.

 When you fire up WHERE IN TIME, you're taken to a skyline of San Francisco (a
startling first impression), and thence to the lobby of the Acme Detective
Agency, Time Travel Division. You enter the elevator and make your choice:
Basement (where the records of current detectives are maintained, along with
their ranks and number of cases solved); Lobby (where you can exit the game);
Personnel (where you sign in the first time you play); the 3rd floor (the
Laboratory, with an experiment always in progress, and the offices of junior
Detectives); the Lounge (fourth floor, with the vending machines, where the more
experienced Detectives hang out); and the Hall of Fame, 5th floor (where the
retirees' names are inscribed). To retire, you must bring eighty cases to a
successful conclusion, ending with the capture of Carmen SanDiego herself.

 After you sign in as a new Detective -- you can have twenty-four Detectives on
the Active roster at any one time -- you're given an office on the 3rd floor.
You're also issued a 325i Chronoskimmer, a time-traveling device. The first
assignment comes in: A great work of art or historical monument has been ripped
off by one of Carmen's gang (never Carmen; not 'til the end). You're given a
certain amount of time on your Chronoskimmer, and it's automatically set to take
you to the scene of the crime. After the 'Skimmer runs through a couple of
diagnostics, the countdown starts, and you're off.

 A fierce shudder runs through the 'Skimmer, and suddenly you're in a new time
and place. You have three options: speak to a witness, speak to an informant, or
use the 'Skimmer's scanner to check for physical clues. A witness or informant
will give you a clue as to where the suspect intended to visit next; you'll have
to interpret that clue with the encyclopedia. For instance, the witness may say,
"He went to spy on Francis Xavier's mission." You'd look up Francis Xavier and
find out where -- and when -- his mission was. Sometimes the witness or
informant will also give a clue as to the suspect's identity. These facts are
all considerations: the suspect's gender, hair color, eye color, favorite
author, and favorite artist. Amass three or four such clues, and you'll have
enough identity to issue a warrant. Should you fail to issue the warrant before
you catch up with the crook, the crook gets away for lack of a valid warrant.
Using the Scan will always net a clue about the suspect's next location, but
will never give any clues to help identify the suspect.

 There's also a Travel screen you can look at anytime; it shows the locations in
time/space you can reach from your present location. That helps when you're
narrowing the search. Also, if you take a guess and you're wrong, the informant
and witness in the new area will have no information to give you. You'll have to
travel back to your previous location and re-examine the clues.

 Catch the crook (and have your valid warrant) before the time is up, and you'll
receive a congratulatory message and another case...if you want one. When you
finish a certain number of cases, you're promoted, given a new office, and new
title. As the game progresses, the cases become harder: The criminals travel
further away, requiring more investigation and less time for clues. If you're
called away from the computer by circumstances beyond your control, you can
abort the case (cancel it, or save it in progress). Once you solve the final
case and catch Carmen, you're automatically retired and your name is stricken
from the active roster.

 WHERE IN TIME IN CARMEN SANDIEGO? comes on 5-1/4" disks or 3-1/2" disks (look
on the spine for the version you need). The program is copy-protected in that
you must occasionally insert the original disk. This is only required when you
upgrade from one title to another, so while it's an inconvenience, at least it's
one you probably won't be subjected to _every_ time you play. Broderbund should
catch up with the rest of the industry and go with a more reasonable protection
scheme, either a document check or The Software Toolworks' commendable
arrangement.

 The game requires 512K for the EGA, CGA, Tandy, and Hercules versions; 640K for
the VGA and MCGA versions. Mouse and joystick are supported. Note that there is
a bug in the first version that affects some mouse drivers, enhanced keyboards,
and DOS 4.0. Broderbund is aware of the problem and expects to have a new
version very shortly; if you experience any problems (as I did occasionally with
the mouse and with "system errors"), call 1-800-521-6263 for information about
receiving the fix.

 WHERE IN TIME is a splendid educational adventure, full of color and history.
The sound and graphics are topnotch, and the game has as much appeal for adults
as for children. I also love the fact that you can play a single game in five to
ten minutes, get a sense of completion and satisfaction, and move on. But that
rarely happens: These are potato chip games...you can't eat just one. I highly
recommend WHERE IN TIME; it's not only fascinating and delightful, it's
educational as well.

 WHERE IN TIME IS CARMEN SANDIEGO is published and distributed by Broderbund
Software, Inc.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253