Carte Blanche: First Episode - For a Fistful of Teeth

Raised in a bourgeois family and only recently graduated, young Edgar Delacroix still has to discover what life has in store for him. Set in the 1920s, he leaves his home to build a life in the city of Montreal. He applies for a job at a private investigation agency, where he is hired by Gaspard Lemaître and his sadistic chain-smoking secretary Jeannine. Soon, he learns the tricks of the trade and works his way through cases to earn money.

For a Fistful of Teeth is the first episode in the noir Carte Blanche click-and-point adventure series by independent developer Absurdus. The game is done completely in black and white, using a letterboxed format, with constant grain slightly distorting the image. Despite the serious setting, the characters' disproportional profiling and voice acting is over the top, with humourous puzzles and loopholes - rendering it a B-movie feel.

Most of the game is shown through a 1st-person perspective, with Myst-style drawn static images, combined with action-triggered animations. All of the actions are controlled through the left mouse button. Hover over an item and click to reveal the possible actions - to examine it, pick it up or use it. Although Edgar has an inventory, logical item-based actions are shown inside the game, and it is not needed to select or combine items. There are no time limitations, no action puzzles, and Edgar cannot die.

A slight layer of RPG elements is applied over the game. Edgar starts as a complete nitwit, but can learn skills and competences, either through performing actions or observing other characters' behaviour. All competences are added to his resume, and they range from "naivété" - the only skill Edgar starts with, at level 11 - and bitterness, to spying, examination, persuasion, deduction, sensuality, and, of course, ventriloquism and taxidermy. These competences appear when solving puzzles or during conversations. When multiple skills can be used, the player can craft Edgar to a certain playing style.

Added March 8, 2020
Published By 1C Company
Absurdus
G2 Games
Front Cover (United Kingdom) (Windows) from mobygames.com
Back Cover (United Kingdom) (Windows) from mobygames.com
Media (United Kingdom) (Windows) from mobygames.com
Inside Cover (United Kingdom) (Windows) from mobygames.com
IGDB Cover from igdb.com
Title screen (Windows) from mobygames.com
The map used to travel to the different locations. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Jeanine, the ruthless secretary (Windows) from mobygames.com
New competences are added to your résumé. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Outside the hotel (Windows) from mobygames.com
At the antique shop (Windows) from mobygames.com
This kid knows a lot of gossip, you should use his services. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Competences are shown in red. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Gaspard Lemaître, Edgar's boss (Windows) from mobygames.com
The landlady (Windows) from mobygames.com
A description of items in Edgar's inventory (Windows) from mobygames.com
Visiting a graveyard looking for an old thief. (Windows) from mobygames.com
The local bar (Windows) from mobygames.com
A meeting with your boss (Windows) from mobygames.com
Edgar is having a nightmare. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Edgar contemplates what to do next. (Windows) from mobygames.com
A rough man at the docks (Windows) from mobygames.com
The university (Windows) from mobygames.com
Trailing a suspect through town. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Some divine interference is needed to get inside this house. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Overview of a case (Windows) from mobygames.com
Mario and Luigi... rings a bell? (Windows) from mobygames.com
Edgar tries to sneak inside a building. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Practicing the amnesia move. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Rednecks (Windows) from mobygames.com
McCullough is held captive. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Edgar has some unusual means at his disposal at the morgue. (Windows) from mobygames.com
Close-up of Edgar (Windows) from mobygames.com

Year of Release:
2006

Platform(s):

Genre(s):
Traditional

Graphic Style:
3D

Camera View:
First-Person Third-Person

Control Type:
Point and Click

Setting/Theme:
Interwar Mystery

Available From: