Carmen Sandiego will be suing
It shouldn't come as any great surprise that this little known game is basically a knock-off of more famous edutainment titles like Carmen Sandiego. It's not quite as polished as the best games in that series but proves to be a decent, if unspectacular, slice of crime busting fun. If you're not aware of the Carmen Sandiego franchise, then it's one which puts players in the shoes of a would-be detective, tracking down the titular criminal mastermind and her associates across the world, in space and even through time. This game however, restricts its activities to New York City, where it's Simona and her gang doing the thieving, stealing anything they can get their hands on from the city's unwary citizens. Your job is to follow the clues left behind after each crime, interrogating the witnesses and figuring out where the nefarious thieves are heading next. You follow the trail of breadcrumbs, putting together a file of the crooks' appearance until you have enough evidence to get a warrant for their arrest and if successful, you get promoted onto bigger and more complex cases. This really is pretty much an exact copy of Carmen Sandiego, right down to its interface and just about every aspect of the gameplay itself. As such, it's rather difficult to recommend it wholeheartedly, simply for the lazy ripoff approach that has been taken here, as it really is trying to coast of the success of others. However, in itself, it's not a bad little game, lacking somewhat in the edutainment aspects of its inspiration but remaining mildly enjoyable for all that. If you enjoy Carmen's adventures or just like clones, then by all means take a look here.
