Spy time
This is the first in the reasonably successful series of edutainment titles which continued with trips to North America and South America. This one is reasonably representative of the series, and if you have played and enjoyed the other titles, you should have a decent time here. None of the games is quite up to Carmen Sandiego's standards and some of the educational elements are a little out of date but they all prove strangely compelling and should provide a few fun facts to bore your friends with. The goal here is to track down the legendary jewel thief Dr. X who is currently hiding out somewhere in Europe along with his ill-gotten gains. To find him, you must travel between various countries, following clues and talking to informants to get more, with the option to brie them if they're not being freely chatty. The faster you track down Dr. X, using as few turns as possible and finding as many jewels as you can, the higher your efficiency rating, which is basically just earning you bragging rights. There's the neat addition of a couple of multiplayer modes, where you can either team up with a friend or take them on head-to-head which certainly adds some interest to proceedings. As far as edutainment games go, this isn't bad, but it is looking a little dated and plays out a little dryly. There's certainly plenty to learn, although as mentioned some facts might be a little unreliable, while the still pictures of each location are quite pleasing, if not exactly postcard quality. On the whole though, this is a reasonable attempt at edutainment, but not quite in the same league as Headline Harry.
