Writing a review of this game reminds me very much of
looking at a painting of modern art in a museum. I know it has artistic
merit; I know it will have appeal for those who like that particular style
of art, and I know it has symbolic undertones of biting social commentary
that I cannot appreciate. But I also know that I don’t like it, and I’m
going to quickly move on to the classical works of art down the hall. In
that fashion, let me proceed.
Carte Blanche is executed
in a film noir style. What is film noir? Briefly, it is a cinematic term
that was coined to describe old Hollywood crime dramas that were made in
black and white and contained moral ambiguity and essentially pessimistic
views of the world. Crime is almost always an element; crime investigation
is the usual plot. The tone is bleak and the world is depressingly
corrupt. The hero is thrust into the position through no desire of his own
and must delve into the situation at hand, which almost always has a dark
conclusion.
Carte Blanche has captured
the essence of film noir. From an artistic point of view it has succeeded.
For those people who have bemoaned the fact that there are few highbrow
offerings in gaming media, this one’s for you. It may be destined to be
one of those games that in years to come will be worth a gazillion dollars
on eBay when it is in scarce supply. While it may be an artistic marvel,
most of us that play games are more concerned with having a game that is
fun to play. That is where this game falls short.
Absurdus, the developers who created this game, offered
us Eye of the Kraken in 2002. That game was a fresh look at the
adventure genre, with zany off-beat characters and funny dialogue that
made it a delight to play. It gently mocked adventure games and the world.
The gentle nudge became a slap with Carte Blanche.
The Story:
Montreal, 1924. A melting pot of immigrants and
unemployment is high. Prohibition in the United States has led to an
inpouring of those seeking alcohol and other vices, and the easy waterway
access has led to a counterculture of illegal activity.
Enter our character, Edgar Delacroix. He is highly
educated but naïve in worldly matters, and his family has sent him to the
big city to “make a man” of him. Gaining employment is necessary to his
survival, so he takes on a job for which he has no prior experience --
private investigator. He is given two minor cases to learn the tricks of
the trade, but scarcely has he begun when events spin out of control and
he finds himself investigating a murder case that touches him personally.
Luckily for him he has a wealth of characters from which
he can draw information and experience, including a few characters with
items that are necessary to progress in his investigation. From the
landlady pressing her ear to the locked bathroom containing a disenchanted
poet, to the androgynous secretary with a fixation on her pet iguana, from
the obese naked Russian mobster, to the corrupt priest -- Edgar must
travel between these and other assorted misfits to successfully complete
his case.
Game Mechanics:
The viewpoint changes back and forth between first and
third person perspective.
The point and click interface is a simple one. You left
click on items or characters, and a text menu appears with actions
possible (including dialogue choices or inventory items where
appropriate). If your selection is not the correct choice, you can then
select another choice, and so on. Each location consists of a single
screen with no panning or scrolling, so there is little chance you will
miss any objects.
There are a limited number of inventory items to
acquire. Once they are in inventory, the game automatically selects them
as a clickable option when it is the appropriate place to use them in the
game. On a couple of occasions I had the item in inventory which I knew I
needed for a situation, but it would not appear as an option until I
triggered its use by a dialogue elsewhere.
Movement between locations is also simple. You exit the
scene, and a map appears with locations available. Your actions or
dialogue will add new locations as the game progresses.
Right clicking during the game will bring up an
additional menu with tabs to select to view your inventory, Edgar’s
resume, case descriptions, game options and the save screen. You can left
click to view each entry and receive further information and possibly
clues.
Edgar’s resume shows you his skills in such things as
spying, persuasion, scamming and ventriloquism. As you play through the
game your actions add to these skills. For instance, if you click on a
window, you may add a point in spying. If you click on a bell, it may
increase your musical ability. When you left click on characters or
certain items during the game, one of these skill options may appear, and
your level of competency in that skill will affect the success of what you
are trying to accomplish. It is necessary to have a high level in some
skills to complete the game.
At the end of the game you have an option to save these
skills for further episodes of Carte Blanche.
I encountered no bugs or glitches.
Puzzles:
There are essentially no puzzles in this game. You do
have to obtain a few items, and you eventually have to select the correct
option of available choices in dialogue or interaction. Therefore, if you
haven’t progressed in the game, all you have to do is visit the limited
number of locations and select whichever option you didn’t previously
choose. On the positive side, if you don’t like mazes, sliders, timed or
action bits, the game doesn’t have them. While this may seem a fresh idea
at the beginning of the game, I wearied of it towards the end, where I had
to go from location to location to increase inane skill levels. There is
no thinking required, and to me it felt a lot like sorting laundry.
Visuals and Sound:
As I mentioned previously, this is completed in a film
noir style -- black and white, and somewhat grainy and stark. There is a
zany art style to the characters that is not unappealing. It is not full
screen.
There is little music in the game. A few strums of the
guitar here and there. There are a few assorted background sounds.
The dialogue is voiced, from the somewhat charming main
character to the painful screech of the secretary, which I am assuming was
intended by the developers. There are subtitles throughout and the game
can be played in either French or English. For those curious, the
secretary is agonizing to the eardrums either way.
Odds and Ends (Mostly Odd):
The game takes a jab at the world through racial and
ethnic stereotyping; America as “big brother,” and morality and legality
issues in what I am supposing is an attempt to be humorous. It isn’t.
There are obscenities sprinkled throughout the game, and
one instance of nudity.
This is the first game in a proposed series. While it is
a self-contained game, there is a background story that will tie the
episodes together. The skills you gain in the first episode can be saved
for the next episode.
Summing It Up:
Writing a review of this game reminds me very much of
looking at a painting of modern art in a museum. I know it has artistic
merit, but I also know that I don’t like it, and I’m going to quickly move
on to the classical works of art down the hall. In that fashion, let me
close.
Grade: C
