Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego? (1993)

Overview

Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego? (1993) takes the series off the planet, sending the player across the Solar System to recover what V.I.L.E. has stolen. To suit the science-fiction setting, Carmen's gang are reframed as her "henchthings".

Gameplay

The detective travels between thirty-two locations — planets, moons, and points of interest — gathering evidence to identify the crook and obtain an arrest warrant. In place of the usual case clock, the pressure here is a fuel limit: run out before securing the warrant and the crook escapes.

Reference comes not from a boxed book but from an on-board computer database, the VAL 9000, which holds astronomy data and space-exploration history — including digitised NASA photographs — alongside the criminal dossiers and location logs the player consults to crack each case.