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"Back in the U.S.S.R.!"

Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego is classified as an "edutainment" game, meaning it's supposed to entertain its players while providing instruction in educational topics such as, in this case, geography and history. And while most edutainment titles fall short at actually being fun to play, this one, like all of the Carmen games, succeeds at being both enjoyable to play as well as educational.

In this game, as in all of the early Carmen games, one of the members in Carmen's criminal organization, V.I.L.E. (Villain's International League of Evil), steals a great European treasure, from the Little Mermaid of Copenhagen to Freud's couch. All of these items, needless to say, are from Europe. The ACME Detective Agency then sends you on the trail of the thief, talking to witnesses and investigating various locations in the effort to find clues that will help you figure out where to go next. Other clues will help you unveil the thief's identity. After crisscrossing some of the 32 European cities (all in a different nation) on your quest to find the suspect, you will, if you connected the dots right, come face-to-face with him (or her, if appropriate). But you won't be able to make a valid arrest unless you've obtained a warrant, which requires you to collect enough clues relating to the suspect's identity and appearance (sex, hair color, eye color, and favorite book and movie genre) to rule out all the other V.I.L.E. henchmen. If you succeed in apprehending the henchman, you'll be one case closer to your next promotion.

As you advance up the ranks of the ACME Detective Agency, cases will become longer with less time to solve them. And eventually, you may get a chance to catch Carmen herself!

Canonically, Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego is a sequel to Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego, since the opening sequence depicts Carmen escaping from a U.S. jail. However, the story doesn't play a substantial part in game play.

The graphics are kind of grainy for this DOS-era title, although the frequent animations of the bumbling crooks provide lots of fun, and the game includes numerous photos of famous landmarks that capture the feeling of the countries you're visiting.

There's no in-game music, sadly, but there are plenty of PC speaker-based sound effects - some of which are great, while others can be loud and annoying. Fortunately, the game allows you to turn the sound off, which is very useful in a classroom setting.

The controls are really easy to learn - just use the arrow keys and ENTER to access the various screens. The Ctrl key accesses some of the other features.

The game isn't that tough for someone who's good at history and has a couple of good reference books handy, but it may present a real challenge for many players, including some with college diplomas. While the game is aimed at kids in the 8-14 age range, players of all ages can - and will - expand their knowledge of European history and culture by playing this. It could also be a great way to study for a European History or Western Civilization test.

Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego remains a great game with substantial educational value, but today it's undoubtedly the least relevant title in the Carmen series. The biggest problem stems from the breakup of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia (and, in Version 1.0 of the game, the reunification of Germany), which means that many of the clues refer to cities and regions that are now part of other countries. Even with the developments that have occurred since the release, though, the game remains a fun way to learn about European history and geography. Maybe it's just me, but I also feel this game lacks some of the wit and goofiness of the other Carmen games. Also irksome is the robotic sign-in screen, which takes forever to load. Overall, it's still a fun, educational game, just like all the others in the series.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/14/09

Game Release: Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego? (US, 1988)