L'expresso Empoisonné (The Poison Coffee) is a superb point-and-click mystery game created by Anode & Cathode, the authors of The Museum, The Casino, and other games in this genre.
Paintings and other artwork have been stolen from a museum gallery. All of the evidence points to Damien Bestieu, one of the featured painters. A school teacher solves the mystery, but just as she is about to reveal the thief, Damien hands her a cup of coffee. She takes a sip and falls to the floor unconscious. The coffee was poisoned. The police consider it an open and shut case, but two young school children think differently. Help the children solve the mystery by searching the museum and surrounding grounds for clues that will clear Damien of the crime.
L'expresso Empoisonné is exquisitely designed with an easy point-and-click interface and fetching artwork. The story might be simple, but it's catchy and extremely enjoyable, kind of like an episode of Scooby Doo minus the campy humor. You carry a backpack that holds your inventory along with a clue journal. There are four entries in the journal that point to Damien's guilt. Your overarching goal is to prove each of these points false. You'll also be solving typical point-and-click puzzles to unlock doors, navigate mazes and find necessary items to continue in the game.
A small but enormously enjoyable feature of L'expresso Empoisonné are little mini-games that are integrated into the story. One example is a short bout of whac-a-mole. There's also a small (but oh-so-fun) maze and a short action-arcade sequence involving fish. Each time I hit one of these mini-games it was the perfect time to break the cerebral activity of solving a mystery. And I admit it, they made me grin.
L'expresso Empoisonné was released in French a little over a month ago, but this version has been translated to English. There are some rough patches and a few untranslated bits of text, but nothing that will hamper your understanding or enjoyment of the game.
You'll spend a solid hour on this game and will be glued to the screen the entire time. Puzzles are just difficult enough to keep you entertained but not too tough to discourage you. A very well-balanced title that captured my imagination and admiration right from the start.
Update: It appears that Anode & Cathode have taken The Poison Coffee offline and therefore it is no longer available. :(
Walkthrough Guide
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I don't want to hear any more 'where is....' because here is a walkthrough. Love the site, J.
Froggie
Go left to the manor. Get the cube. Enter the manor, main hall, top-left door. Only one door in the corridor works. Enter, get cube, play the memory game. Get the key. Return to the main hall.
Go into the top middle portal of the main hall. Get the cube. Exit the manor. Go left (or right) to the back.
Get the round red thing in the tree and the cube. Enter the upper right hut. Talk to the ghost, pick any name, play whack-a-mole and get a cube.
Exit the hut and go further back to the lake.
Get cube from under car. Open rear door, get gun. Open trunk, get crowbar.
Return to the opening screen. Go right.
Grab shovel and cube. Talk to ghost, then return to opening screen.
Go forward to the building (the museum).
Talk the the guard. Enter the museum.
Get the cube on the left. Enter the cinema.
Get the cube and dog. Go right of stage. Descend. See machine.
Put the red rocket thingy from the left onto the gray block on the right, just like the other one. (Remember, the triangle cursor is what you click with).
Put the horizontal lower right track on the table next to it. The machine is symmetrical, so just finish it. Hit the big red button. let things run.
Click the diamond. Get the code. Click the little black square. Click again, on the brown top. Get the ladder.
Go up (top of screen). Return to museum entrance and go right, into the museum.
Get the cube from bookshelf. Go right.
Click the white sheet to statue's right. It moves up, get key. Click the sign on the floor to statue's left. Click the list at the bottom right, it will get circled. Close it, open the notebook and click on third proof.
Go to cinema, use the key on the left door. Go down.
Click flashlight, click anywhere, click the battery cover. Get battery, give to dog by clicking his lamp.
Give compass to the people there. Get the remote control. Use the remote control on the left door. Enter.
Get screwdriver. Use shovel on the rocks. Get cube. Enter the portal.
Get helmet and goggles from statue. Click shoes. Open notebook, click first proof.
Go out the door. Go to the three huts area.
Enter the left hut. Get cube. Put red circle on tip of cannon.
Click on small picture on wall. Use screwdriver on the screws.
Click on cannon. Click on safe. Play the game. Take the red circle back. Exit hut, enter lower right hut. Grab stuff from safe.
Go to manor main hall.
Enter upper right door, get clothes on suit of armor. Get cube.
Upper middle door, click second purple square on wall. Get whatever.
Main hall, lower right door next to stairs. Put pistol in statue's hand. Click it. Get engine and cube.
Put ladder under other cube and get it. Leave (upper right corner).
Click several times on double doors on the right. Get dark screen with white square and a circle. Use circle to find your way around, and use arrow keys (you may have to click anywhere in the dark area first) to move the white square, which is you.
Go up and right to the red room. Get sandwich from fridge.
Go back the way you came, go down to the brown room. Open cupboard and get the wand/lightsaber/teleporter.
Go to the beginning, then enter center corridor and turn right (down). Go to the end and turn left (right of the screen). Take the first left (up) and enter the big brown room. Grab purple thing (dryer).
Retreat, go to the small brown room. Turn off the switch. Exit, go right.
Hit the ice wall, use the pink dryer on it. Continue to green room. Use wand/lightsaber/teleporter on snake. Take blue flask and key.
Return to the big brown room, go past it and turn right. Enter the purple room. Give sandwich to blue monster.
Use key on door. Click door. Click on weird sculpture. Click on keyhole on the stand. You will be in main hall.
Go to graveyard. Click headstone, get watch.
Go to museum back room. Put clothes on statue. Put watch on statue's left hand (your right). Put the "whatever" (des loupiettes or something) you got from the purple square in castle wall, on statue's chest. Put the metal bits on the left lower wall.
Put sculpture from labyrinth on right pedestal.
Click couple of times on the helmet until you can pick it up. Put it on statue.
Put the cubes on foreground pedestal.
Click cubes, statue, and labyrinth sculpture and get the things that fall out.
Go to lake. Click it a few times until you go under. Talk to fish, give him the engine, play the game. Avoid the shark, don't hit the cave sides, and avoid the shooters. This is annoying.
So you got the red flask.
Return to museum entrance, use crowbar on the far left door. Click it a couple times, go inside. Get stuff from under table. Exit.
Go to museum back room. Put stuff from under table on left wall (the empty one). Click it again to get another tube.
Put red circle on lower left wall. Click it to get the last tube.
Go to graveyeard, click on ghost, take green bottle. Return to museum back room.
Open notebook, click second proof.
Click the white thing on statue's right to put it back in place. Use green bottle on it until a painting appears. Go to ghost in graveyard.
Talk to him until you get the tape. return to museum entrance. Go left, put tape in machine. Click image a couple of times. When done, open notebook and cross out last proof. Click bottom of the right page.
Return to ghost in graveyard. Click on him, take the blue bottle.
The end.
Posted by: Froggie | July 12, 2006 8:08 PM