Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? Apparently, everywhere

A few posts back, I answered fellow b5media video games channel blogger Aiza Bautista’s meme on what games I currently play. My answer included “a plethora of old video games, including Super Mario Brothers, Adventure Island, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, and Contra. Well, I’ve talked about the first two and the last game on the list a few times already, but haven’t gotten down to saying anything about dear ol’ Carmen. So here I go …

First off, it’s important to remind you, dear readers, who Carmen San Diego is. This is especially important for those who haven’t even come across the fiendish Carmen in their video gaming lives (poor you).

Well, Carmen San Diego isn’t an actual person. The name actually refers to a media franchise of edutainment (there’s that word again) computer games, television programs, books and other media featuring a thieving villainess of the same name. Here’s a more thorough description from Wikipedia:

The basic premise of the franchise has the player getting into the role of an agent for the ACME Detective Agency, which attempts to thwart and capture V.I.L.E. ringleader and former ACME agent Carmen San Diego. The series initially focused on teaching geography and history, though it later branched out into mathematics, English and other subjects.

Originally distributed in the United States and Canada, most of the computer games are now available to international audiences. With the exception of Carmen San Diego: Junior Detective Edition, all the games in the series are aimed at preteens although the geography and history games are often difficult enough for adults since much of the trivia learned is not widely known. Many entries in the series contain elements of various genres, including mystery, comedy, science fiction, spy-fi and fantasy.

You gotta love this game. I know, I know … edutainment software usually sucks, but Carmen San Diego is a break from the mold. Before reviving my addiction for this game, the last time I played it was, hmmm, almost two decades ago. Yes, the game, or rather the franchise, is that old.

The first of the series, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, was released way back in 1985 for the Apple II computer. Hooray for Apple II users like me! The game was later ported to other systems, thanks to the efforts of developer Brøderbund.

Here’s a list for Carmen San Diego fanatics who wish to look up one of their childhood’s fondest games:

More Carmen San Diego in a later post.