19 Oct, 2011
Title: Hector: Badge of Carnage – Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom
Platform: PC/iPhone/Mac/iPad (reviewed on PC)
Developer: Straandlooper, Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
TL;DR: Last in the series for Hector and the Clappers Wreake crew
Family Friendly?: Just like the others, probably not for all.
So, here we again, venturing back to the world of Hector, exploring all new areas and puzzles in the rat-riddled Clappers Wreake, and boy, is it good to be back. Beyond Reasonable Doom is the final instalment in the Badge of Carnage trilogy. Kicking right off from where episode 2 left you (even filling you in on the last game’s antics), Hector once again finds himself in a rather tricky predicament with Lambert in tow. So it’s time to be a detective (well, sort of).
Equally as grim and witty, Episode 3 picks up the same style of humour laid down by the previous instalments. Often the most ridiculous and repulsive situation is the key, so players not accustomed to the style of wit that Hector has to offer may find it hard understand, or even enjoy, the game’s story and style. Previous players of the series (which I hope that you are) will love the jokes and find the third series a brilliant end to Hector’s constantly funny story. What the series has triumphed in doing is creating an undoubtedly rude, yet not overly offensive, series of games. Straandlooper and Telltale have perfected the art of making each joke amusing enough for them never to feel in bad taste.
As you might expect, gameplay isn’t any different from the previous instalments, but there really isn’t any reason why it should be. By now players should be used to plonking themselves in Hector’s shoes and thinking the way he would in order to find solutions. The puzzles here feel slightly more straight-forward than the previous two titles, saving the player from turning to the rude (but equally as useful and humorous) hint screen at regular intervals. Naturally, this makes progression and gameplay a more fluid experience.
Although the difficulty may not quite be as challenging as the previous episodes, Beyond Reasonable Doom never feels like a cake-walk. Difficulty is often hard to judge in such games, especially when an in-game hint system is available at a click with no ramifications; however this third instalment feels quite right. Gone is the Episode One tactic of clicking everything on screen and players are most likely accustoming to taking both Lambert and Hector into consideration, making Episode 3 the easiest of the series. The lack of any superfluous dialogue mean that acquiring hints from the towns-folk feels slightly easier and turning to the hint system gets ever rarer.
There is no denying Hector: Episode 3 is an incredibly suitable end to the pretty awesome series. As point-and-clicks go, the Badge of Carnage series is one of my favourites. The story is enough to keep players entertained throughout the series, with the story coming together in the final part in a satisfyingly conclusive manner. The dark, dreary and disgusting humour is carried out all the way through each three parts, with interesting puzzles and an intriguing story thrown in, cumulating in a trilogy Straandlooper and Telltale can be proud of.
Family Friendly?
If you can’t work out from my ranting on about the humour style then let me sum it up here: It’s not great for kids. Fair enough there isn’t any nudity, overly-vulgar language or gore, but the kinds of jokes you’ll be encountering are certainly aimed at a more mature audience. I honestly think it is better that way, sacrificing the humour here would have made Hector a very different game. Wait until you’re older, children, then feel free to enjoy Clappers Wreake in all its filthy glory!
The good
Everything is tied up nicely Puzzles are slightly more straight forward As funny as ever
The Bad
It’s the last one
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