Review: Hector: Badge of Carnage: Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom

If raunchy humor is your thing, then you’ll find plenty to enjoy in the Hector: Badge of Carnage series from Telltale Games. I’m not sure I should even begin to run down the list of completely inappropriate jokes that will fly your way from the start of the third and final episode of the series, but rest assured if you’re the type to offend easily, it certainly isn’t for you. Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom is a fitting end to the story, however, and if you’ve been along for the ride the whole time, you’ll likely be satisfied here as well.

As we join Hector and partner Lambert where Episode 2: Senseless Acts of Justice left off, we find the ne’er-do-well excuse for a cop and his brainless cohort trapped in a septic tank, with Lambert chained to a bathtub that Hector must keep from overflowing with septic waste by jogging on the treadmill he’s chained to. If you know anything about Hector, you’ll find that this couldn’t be more appropriate “torture” for the both of them, but it is quite admittedly pulling from the lowest common denominator of humore for a few laughs here. The pair must escape and hop back on the trail of the terrorist they were previously tailing for a swift conclusion to the series.

Having only played through the first two episodes very quickly I was already acclimated to the plot already set in place as well as the rest of the cast of characters, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend starting fresh with this installment, as you’ll quickly get lost. If you’ve been following the story from the beginning you will find more of the usual filthy jokes, crudity, and attitude — this is strictly for adults only. It’s a shame that for all the silliness and lowbrow humor that Hector: Badge of Carnage dishes out, there couldn’t be a gaggle of more intelligent puzzles to solve. Instead, the difficulty rarely ramps up beyond simply traveling back and forth between screens and picking up the item required for the next puzzle. I mean, really — it doesn’t get much easier than that. The humor wasn’t quirky enough to make me want to continue playing as it is, and instances like that didn’t exactly thrill me.

Sharp cartoony visuals and some occasional giggle-worthy one-liners were just about the only redeeming qualities I came to expect from this strange point-and-click adventure, despite the fact that it relies exclusively on it ability to shock and offend. At its best it evokes such classic adventures as we saw in the heyday of point-and-click adventure gaming, but at its worst it’s a drudge to click through all the way to the end. If you’ve been playing from the beginning you’ll find a cohesive adventure to complete, but as I stated earlier do not start from here. In fact, I wouldn’t even suggest finishing here either, but if you came this far you might as well. At least the Robocop references were well-played.

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