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

For other uses, see Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego?

Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego?
File:Where in USA cover Broderbund.gif The former box cover artwork of the game. It was redesigned when Broderbund was sold to The Learning Company in 1999
Developer(s)	Brøderbund
Publisher(s)	Brøderbund
Distributor(s)	The Learning Company
Series	Carmen Sandiego
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
Release date(s)	1996
Genre(s)	Educational
Mode(s)	Single-player

The remake version of Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego? was released in 1996 by Windows and Macintosh and features Lynne Thigpen playing "The Chief" from the World game show. The game's opening credits finds Carmen arriving in her underground V.I.L.E. outpost in Washington, D.C., as she and RoboCrook plans to steal America's greatest treasure. Carmen later contacts each of her 39 V.I.L.E. operatives telling them to begin their missions.

The Deluxe Edition released in 1998 (also sometimes subtitled as "version 3.5") added an "ACME Global Language Link-Up" satellite which quizzed the user on facts about the current state they were visiting.

The Chase

File:Where in USA 1996 travel.jpg

After receiving enough clues to where the thief went, the player may choose the next location on the map and travel to the next state.

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.

The warrant and the arrest

Another change is that 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. The crook's name is only given after the arrest, in which a newspaper (U.S.A. Someday) appears with a headline declaring the criminal has been captured. If the person arrested does not match the warrant, they will be found innocent and released just as they would if the warrant were inaccurate or not issued. 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:

Dear RoboCrook,

Soon we'll pull off the perfect theft-

A scheme of grand design.

The greatest treasure in the states

will very soon be mine!

When we convene for our exchange,

Don't get caught by surprise.

Be sure you don't forget

That I'm a mistress of disguise.

I've made myself look shorter

And that's harder than it sounds.

I've transformed my slender size

By putting on some pounds.

An apron's tied around my waist.

My slippers hide no socks.

Underneath my red bandana

Lies a wig of golden locks.

Signed, Carmen Sandiego

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.

Characters and animation

Another added feature were 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; 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.

List of stolen items

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

State	Item Stolen	Location Visited	Good Guide
Alabama	Rocket City	Montgomery, Alabama	Dee Plomasy
Alaska	The Alaska Oil Pipeline	Sitka, Alaska	Ivan Idea
Arizona	The O.K. Corral	Sedona, Arizona	Rock Solid
Arkansas	The Dripstone Trail from Blanchard Springs Caverns	T. R. Pugh Memorial Park	Renee Santz
California	Hollywood Walk of Fame	Yosemite National Park	Rock Solid
Colorado	Pikes Peak	Aspen, Colorado	Kim Yoonity
Connecticut	All the hour hands from the American Clock & Watch Museum	Mystic Seaport	Renee Santz
Delaware	All the state's certificates of incorporation	New Castle Historic District	Kim Yoonity
Florida	The countdown clock from the Kennedy Space Center	Kennedy Space Center	Ivan Idea
Georgia (U.S. state)	The recipe for Coca-Cola	Swan House (Atlanta)	Kim Yoonity
Hawaii	The sand from Waikiki Beach	Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park	Ann Tikwitee
Idaho	America's first ski lift from Sun Valley	Snake River Plain	Rock Solid
Illinois	The recipe for Chicago-style pizza	Grant Park (Chicago)	Renee Santz
Indiana	The checkered flag from the Indy 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Ivan Idea
Iowa	Field of Dreams	Iowa State Capitol	Dee Plomasy
Kansas	The Little House on the Prairie	Spring Hill Stock Ranch Flint Hills	Rock Solid
Kentucky	Abraham Lincoln's log cabin	Churchill Downs	Kim Yoonity
Louisiana	The receipt for the Louisiana Purchase	French Quarter, New Orleans	Herman Nootix
Maine	Every lobster bib in the state	Portland Head Light	Ivan Idea
Maryland	The Mason–Dixon line	Inner Harbor, Baltimore	Dee Plomasy
Massachusetts	All the socks from the Boston Red Sox	Harvard University	Herman Nootix
Michigan	The hand crank from Henry Ford's first Model-T	Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village	Ivan Idea
Minnesota	The Mall of America	Basilica of Saint Mary (Minneapolis)	Renee Santz
Mississippi	The paddle wheel from the Delta Queen riverboat	Natchez National Historical Park	Renee Santz
Missouri	The head of the Oregon Trail	Old Courthouse (St. Louis)	Renee Santz
Montana	The Continental Divide	Glacier National Park (U.S.)	Rock Solid
Nebraska	Chimney Rock	Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District	Ivan Idea
Nevada	Hoover Dam's drain plug	Las Vegas	Kim Yoonity
New Hampshire	All the ballot boxes from the presidential primary	Canterbury Shaker Village	Herman Nootix
New Jersey	The Jersey Turnpike	Cape May, New Jersey	Ivan Idea
New Mexico	The Bottomless Pit from Carlsbad Caverns National Park	Taos Pueblo	Ann Tikwitee
New York	The electronic billboard from Times Square	Ellis Island	Kim Yoonity
North Carolina	The Wright Brothers' runway from Kitty Hawk	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Herman Nootix
North Dakota	The entire town of Rugby	Bonanzaville USA	Herman Nootix
Ohio	The Pro Football Hall of Fame	Wade Park (Cleveland park)	Herman Nootix
Oklahoma	John Wayne's boots from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame	Indian City USA	Ann Tikwitee
Oregon	All the water from Crater Lake	Washington Park (Portland, Oregon)	Rock Solid
Pennsylvania	Valley Forge	Independence National Historical Park	Ann Tikwitee
Rhode Island	The Breakers	Newport, Rhode Island	Renee Santz
South Carolina	The flag pole from Fort Sumter	White Point Garden	Herman Nootix
South Dakota	The Mitchell Corn Palace	Mount Rushmore	Ivan Idea
Tennessee	The gates to Graceland	Nashville, Tennessee	Renee Santz
Texas	The Dallas Cowboys' playbook	Alamo Mission in San Antonio	Ann Tikwitee
Utah	The organ from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir	Zion National Park	Rock Solid
Vermont	All the maple syrup in the state	Arlington Green Covered Bridge	Kim Yoonity
Virginia	Monticello	Williamsburg, Virginia	Dee Plomasy
Washington	The Space Needle	Pike Place Market	Kim Yoonity
Washington, D.C.	The card catalog from the Library of Congress	National Mall	Dee Plomasy
West Virginia	Seneca Rocks	Harpers Ferry National Historical Park	Dee Plomasy
Wisconsin	The recipe for sharp cheddar cheese	National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame	Rock Solid
Wyoming	The schedule for Old Faithful	Grand Teton National Park	Rock Solid

V.I.L.E. villains

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

Suspect	Pun	Gender	Hair Color	Height	Weight	Wearing	Captured by
Ann Arky	Anarchy	Female	Gray	Medium	Heavy	Glasses	Ivan Idea
Barney Cull	Barnacle	Male	Brown	Short	Average	Hat	Ivan Idea
Beau Zoe	Bozo	Male	Black	Tall	Heavy	Hat	Renee Santz
Bee Smirch	Besmirch	Female	Red	Medium	Average	Glasses	Dee Plomassy
Belle Igerent	Belligerent	Female	Red	Medium	Thin	Hat	Dee Plomassy
Ben E. Ficiary	Beneficiary	Male	Red	Short	Thin	Hat	Kim Yoonity
Billy Flop	Belly flop	Male	Black	Tall	Thin	Camera	Ivan Idea
Bob Sled	Bobsled	Male	Black	Tall	Thin	Watch	Rock Solid
Boone Doggle	Boondoggle	Male	Brown	Tall	Thin	Hat	Herman Nootix
Buck Aneer	Buccaneer	Male	Blond	Medium	Heavy	Hat	Dee Plomassy
Buzz Word	Buzzword	Male	Blond	Tall	Heavy	Glasses	Ivan Idea
Carrie Kature	Caricature	Female	Black	Short	Thin	Glasses	Kim Yoonity
Cassie Nova	Casanova	Female	Brown	Short	Thin	Watch	Kim Yoonity
Charlie Horse	Charlie Horse	Male	Red	Short	Heavy	Glasses	Rock Solid
Clement See	Clemency	Male	Blond	Short	Average	Glasses	Ann Tickwitee
Cliff Hanger	Cliffhanger	Male	Blond	Tall	Heavy	Camera	Herman Nootix
Cora Spondent	Correspondent	Female	Black	Short	Average	Hat	Ivan Idea
Dan Gerous	Dangerous	Male	Red	Medium	Thin	Camera	Dee Plomassy
Deb O'Naire	Debonair	Female	Black	Tall	Thin	Glasses	Rock Solid
Dee Linquent	Delinquet	Female	Blond	Short	Average	Watch	Ann Tickwitee
Diane Toshop	Dying to shop	Female	Red	Medium	Thin	Camera	Ann Tickwitee
Emma Welcher	I'm a welcher	Female	Gray	Short	Heavy	Glasses	Rock Solid
Gil Tee	Guilty	Male	Gray	Short	Heavy	Camera	Kim Yoonity
Hope Less	Hopeless	Female	Blond	Tall	Average	Glasses	Herman Nootix
Ivana B. Rich	I wanna be rich	Female	Blond	Medium	Heavy	Watch	Ann Tickwittee
Joy Ryder	Joyrider	Female	Gray	Medium	Average	Hat	Dee Plomassy
Kat Astrophic	Catastrophic	Female	Brown	Short	Heavy	Watch	Kim Yoonity
Kay Os	Chaos	Female	Red	Tall	Thin	Glasses	Ivan Idea
Les Ismore	Less is more	Male	Gray	Medium	Average	Glasses	Ann Tickwitee
Lily Livered	Lily-livered	Female	Blond	Tall	Heavy	Hat	Renee Santz
Luke N. Ferloot	Looking for loot	Male	Brown	Tall	Average	Camera	Renee Santz
Mandy Lifeboats	Man the lifeboats	Female	Gray	Tall	Average	Hat	Renee Santz
Noah Clue	No clue	Male	Red	Short	Heavy	Hat	Rock Solid
Paul Lution	Pollution	Male	Blond	Medium	Thin	Watch	Dee Plomassy
Perry Syte	Parasite	Male	Blond	Tall	Average	Glasses	Herman Nootix
Rhonda Voo	Rendezvous	Female	Blond	Tall	Heavy	Camera	Herman Nootix
Rob Burr	Robber	Male	Red	Medium	Heavy	Camera	Ann Tickwitee
Robyn Steele	Rob and steal	Female	Red	Tall	Thin	Watch	Renee Santz
Tim Tation	Temptation	Male	Red	Short	Average	Watch	Rock Solid

Quotes

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..."

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.