Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego (1996)

Gameplay

Unlike in the previous games, the image of the locations took up most the screen, with the game options only taking up the bottom third of the screen. Each location had an elaborately painted backdrop that could be scrolled around a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Each location provided clues in the form of several bystanders and scraps of paper lying on the ground. The scraps of paper exclusively provided clues about the suspect's appearance. An energy meter at the bottom of the screen steadily diminishes as the player travels between states, speaks with bystanders, and obtains a warrant. If the meter is completely emptied, the case ends in failure.

The user is not given dossiers describing the members of V.I.L.E. and that all the clues given about the suspect are physical traits, enabling the user to identify the crook on sight. This means that the user will have to compile a full warrant rather than one of just enough traits to distinguish which crook is responsible. In the final destination, the crook is seen walking around the location with several innocent bystanders, meaning the user will have to use the warrant to identify which person is the criminal. Eight of the thirty-nine crooks captured over the course of the game each provided a single line of verse. These eight verses, once pieced together, created a part of Carmen's letter to RoboCrook:

Upon returning to Washington, D.C. on the final case, the Chief calls to inform the user that the thief is Carmen Sandiego and because that Carmen is a master of disguise, she will not look anything like what the user would expect. The user must find the person who matches the description in Carmen's letter to RoboCrook. If the right character is arrest, she will shed her disguise, revealing her true identity as Carmen, who will escape along with RoboCrook in a drilling machine made out of the spare parts he has been trafficking throughout the game. The user and all the seven Good Guides pursue Carmen and RoboCrook down the tunnel they create and discovering along the way that Carmen steals the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives. The user and the Good Guides pursue Carmen to her underground V.I.L.E. outpost, later revealed to be below the Capitol Building, where the user and the Good Guides eventually manage to disable RoboCrook and trap Carmen in a display case before she can lock away America's greatest treasure. Afterwards, the user is later inducted into the ACME Detective Hall of Fame and retired. If the user does anything that causes this mission to fail at this moment (such as capturing the wrong character), Carmen will escape and breaks three of her henchmen from ACME prison and the user has to arrest them to follow Carmen's trail again.

List of stolen items

Each of the 50 states (plus Washington, D.C.) has only one item that can be stolen from it.

V.I.L.E. villains

The V.I.L.E. agents the player runs into are the following:

V.I.L.E. villains

Luke N. Ferloot: You may have netted me, but my money is still on Carmen Sandiego!

Perry Syte: Rats, I've been caught! I guess this time I bit off more than I could chew.

Ann Arky: I tried to be unpredictable, but you found me out anyway!

Paul Lution: Curses! All my foul plans have gone up in smoke!

Dan Gerous: I'm all yours, flatfoot, but they haven't built a hoosegow yet that can hold me!

Tim Tation: Drat! I couldn't resist one more crime, and now I'm going to do some time!

Kat Astrophic: Oh, this is a disaster! But Carmen will move much faster.

Boone Doggle: Catching me was a tall order, but you made short work of it!

Bob Sled: I thought I pulled a snow job on you, but you put me on ice!

Noah Clue: I thought I could relax, but you uncovered my tracks!

Joy Ryder: Just when my plans rolled into high gear, you come along and stall my engines!

Rhonda Voo: Curses, I've been caught! I didn't expect to meet you here.

Beau Zoe: I've been spied! I don't suppose it would help to say I was just clowning around…

Billy Flop: Darn! You got the drop on me before I could make my big splash!

Cora Spondent: I guess the writing's on the wall. I hope I get letters in jail.

Dee Linquent: I can't believe you found me! I suppose it's too late for a plea bargain...

Buzz Word: You found me?! I'm speechless! I guess you got the last word in.

Hope Less: Oh, my! I didn't expect you to catch up with me! Relish your victory while you can...

Emma Welcher: I'm caught! I knew I should've stolen away when I had the chance...

Gil Tee: Go ahead and take me in, but Carmen is still gonna win!

Carrie Kature: Oh, no—I've been caught! I guess it's back to the drawing board...

Diane Toshop: I have to give you credit for catching me, but Carmen will still make out like a bandit!

Ivana B. Rich: You may have me over a barrel, but I'm bankin' on Carmen to roll me back to freedom!

Ben E. Ficiary: Oh, dear! Pardon me, but is there any chance they'll pardon me?

Deb O'Nare: My word! You may be smiling now, but Carmen will have the last laugh!

Buck Aneer: I thought this would be smooth sailing, till you lowered the boom on me!

Charlie Horse: Don't expect me to congratulate you for catching me. I'm a sore loser!

Rob Burr: You've won this match, but Carmen Sandiego is way out of your league!

Bee Smirch: Go ahead and read me my rights, but you'll never get Carmen in your sights!

Belle Igerent: You may have pulled the rug out from under me, but Carmen's plans will still floor ya!

Robyn Steele: You've proven your mettle against me, but you’ll never clap irons on Carmen Sandiego!

Clement See: How dare you defeat my designs! Carmen will hear about this!

Barney Cull: I've been nabbed! I knew I shouldn't have stuck around here!

Cassie Nova: I guess the jig is up, but you'll be dancing to a different tune when Carmen hears about this!

Ivana B. Rich: You may have me over a barrel, but I'm banking on Carmen to roll me back to freedom!

Carmen Sandiego

"You better kick up your heels, flatfoot, because I'm one step ahead of you."

"You've been a worthy opponent so far, but I'm so far ahead of you now, you'll never catch me!"

"I have to admit you foiled my plot, but the sequel belongs to Carmen Sandiego!"

"I couldn't help overhearing. I just wanted to warn you that you'll have to work hard to confound my next caper."

"This is Carmen calling to wish you luck. You'll need it!"

"Carmen here! Catch me if you can!"

"You've stopped me for the last time! You'll never cancel my current crime!"

"You stopped my previous plot, do-gooder, but it'll do you no good. Carmen Sandiego always has something up her sleeve."

"I hate to interrupt, but I thought you'd be interested to know that my next underhanded scheme is already underway..."

"You came out on top last time, gumshoe, but you'll never get to the bottom of my latest caper."

"I know it's rude to intrude, but I just want to let you know, I'm off to commit another crime. And there's nothing you can do about it."

"You got the better of me this time, gumshoe. But the best is yet to come."

(when promoted to Detective) "Well done, detective, but you don't have a clue what my next crime will be."

(when promoted to Master Detective) "So I hear you're a master detective now. Let's see how good you really are."

(if the mission is failed for whatever reason) "Sorry my scheme was a success, but I suspect we'll meet again soon..."

Characters and animation

Lynne Thigpen appears in various cutscenes as The Chief of ACME, reprising her role from the game shows Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? An added feature are the ACME Good Guides, a group of colorful characters who, if called upon, provide information about the United States. If the user calls an ACME Good Guide during a case, that guide will call back later to inform the user whether or not their warrant has any errors. If the user wishes to take tours with the Good Guides and travel to states without the inconvenience of having to track a crook, "explorer mode" is available.

The animation in the game closely imitated the look of traditional animated cartoons. The animations that alert the user that the correct destination has been reached featured either Carmine from Junior Detective Edition, a pair of bumbling janitors named Rick and Nick ICK, or RoboCrook. These animations, as well as the animations that depicted the arrest of the crooks, featured much use of cartoon physics (with cartoon sound effects). Ivan Idea will summon his floating orb that sprouts a large glove that flattens the crook; Herman Nootix will literally throw his book at the crook to trip them; Dee Plomasy will trap the crook with her turban; Renee Santz will play her saxophone, where a musical note will trip the crook; Rock Solid will toss his tree and hit it with his axe, causing the tree to split into several logs that traps the crook; Ann Tickwittee touches her magic lamp to summon a Genie to capture the crook while they are laughing in disbelief; and Kim Yoonity will give the crook her balloon that causes them to float up and Kim later pops her balloon that causes the crook comes crashing down.

Critical reception

A review by William T. Yates for the website WorldVillage Software Reviews on March 9, 2005 praised the game. The review concluded with "The whole package is well-designed and constructed. The graphics are good as is the sound. And there is no shortage of content, both educational and recreational. In fact, it’s hard to differentiate between the two. Broderbund has done an excellent job and provides you with excellent value". The game was given a rating of 5 globes.

Allgame said the game "represents a huge leap forward in the Carmen Sandiego series" as it is the first one "presented in more of a graphical format", as opposed to the older games which were largely text-based. It gave the game a rating of 4 stars out of 5.

A review of the game Where in the USA Is Carmen Sandiego? off TopTenREVIEWS summarised by saying "The interesting facts that are included in Where in the USA Is Carmen Sandiego? are fun and educational for the whole family. It has long since been a favorite of geography students. The software is quite old, but still playable with the right operating system". Whilst stating that "this program specializes in USA facts and material", it continued to say that "it does not have materials for the entire globe". The verdict was that "this is a good product with a lot of great facts about the United States". The game was given an overall rating of 2.5/4 stars.

Where in America is Carmen Sandiego?: The Great Amtrak Train Adventure

This was a cross-promotional version of the game which featured Amtrak's logo on the travel map, among other things. It was released in 1998. A Travel Weekly article explained: "Amtrak said its version of the [game], [would] help drive family sales to agencies. The special spring fares [were] valid for sites highlighted in the game...Travel agents [could] offer their clients coupons to purchase the game for $7.95 plus tax, which is $2 off the advertised price."

Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego? School Version

In 2004, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt released a school edition of this game. The new version included "the "State-A-Base", an electronic database filled with essays, maps, music, color photos, and video clips that can be searched by key word". Also, all the data within the program was updated to 2004; the game could be supported on Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Mac OS X; 50 printable state outline maps were provided, which could be used in classrooms; and a Full Install Option which allowed teachers install and run the software without the CD. The "Teacher's Resource CD-ROM" included a comprehensive user's guide, 19 lesson plans, tutorials, blackline masters, and an annotated bibliography of resources.