Reviewed: Ooctober 1, 2011
Reviewed by: Grant Chen

Publisher
Telltale Games

Developer
Straandlooper

Released:September 23, 2011
Genre: Adventure
Players: 1

8
7
7
6
8.0

System Requirements:

  • Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7
  • 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent
  • 3 GB RAM
  • ATI or NVidia card w/ 512 MB RAM
  • Direct X 9.0c
  • Audio card required

    		•  Hector: Badge of Carnage Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom is the final installment of the comedy adventure series published by Telltale Games, in which Detective Inspector Hector concludes his vulgar and hilarious adventure in Clappers Wreake, the crime capital of Great Britain and quite possibly worst city in the world. The comedy is cynical and frequently disgusting, but don’t make the mistake of assuming that the crude comedy means it’s poorly-written. Hector: Badge of Carnage contains some of the wittiest exchanges I’ve seen in recent memory. If crude comedy won’t drive you completely away from the game, it’s certainly something you should play.

    In the first episode, Hector faced a crazed gunman who had taken hostages, demanding that improvements be made to the city of Clappers Wreake, a city probably long beyond salvation. After carrying out the criminal’s demands and moving to rescue the hostages, Hector then ran around the city on a chase to apprehend the culprit. Now, Hector must bring this case to a close once and for all.

    The titular character is as cynical and spiteful as ever, assisted by his upbeat but completely moronic partner. If you don’t care for scatological humor, be prepared. This game has loads of it. However, it’s all executed very well, instead of relying entirely on shock value to carry a joke. Clappers Wreake comes to life as an urban cesspool with sleaze on every surface, corrupt and beyond salvation to the point of parody.

    Graphics-wise, the game is full of standard 2D animation. Don’t expect fancy polygons. The sprites aren’t, unfortunately, terribly detailed, but they all have a definite style to them that brings them to life. The animations aren’t anything to write home about, but they get the job done. Unlike the first episode, it does a better job about hiding any glaring animation flaws. It’s not a pretty game to look at, but it’s way above the quality of any typical Flash game you might find.

    Sound is also slightly spotty. The actors are good, but there’s a slight scratchiness to the way the voices actually sound, and some characters are recorded at a different quality than others. The characters are also all English, or from around that area and the accents really stand out. There’s nothing terribly special about the audio, but it’s all generally done well enough.

    Still, in spite of those flaws, Hector continues to be an enjoyable experience, and the issues with the animation and sound are ultimately minor considering the game’s budget price and excellent writing. Overall, I strongly recommend Hector: Badge of Carnage to anyone who doesn’t mind their comedy getting a little bit filthy.