Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom
Score: 92% ESRB: Not Rated Publisher: Telltale Games Developer: Straandlooper Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Adventure
Graphics & Sound: Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom brings the crazy trilogy that started with We Negotiate with Terrorists to a conclusion, and in a truly Hector fashion, you can expect a lot of crude humor and low-brow content... which is, of course, is one of the things that makes the Hector series so distinct. The game starts off in one of the dirtiest locations in the series so far, and that's saying something. From the episode's septic tank beginnings to a country farmland and the Clappers Wreake fair grounds where "Clapfest" is being held, Beyond Reasonable Doom shows us even more areas of the strange town where Hector works. While this episode won't quite take you to as wide a variety as the last one, there are still plenty of locations to visit, and they all fit that same grungy and slightly-off style that was developed for the first game in the series. Audio is just as good as past games. Both the voiceacting and the sound effects are dead on and very fitting for the universe. Besides the main characters of Hector and Lambert, my favorite voice this time around is the leprechaun that only Lambert seems to be able to see. The rambling and overly-Irish voice is just comical in its own right. This, coupled with the crazy set of dialogue given to the character, just makes the scene that much better.
Gameplay: Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom picks up after Hector has discovered just who the terrorist is, and he and Lambert have been thrown into a dark and dirty hole in the ground. Your initial task is to get free of the septic tank, and after that, you still need to get back to town. In their attempt to leave the countryside, the duo discovers some experiments being done on wild animals and a strange gas that seems to turn them into monstrous killing machines. It isn't long before our heroes realize the terrorist's plot is to unleash this gas on the townspeople of Clappers Wreake. The only problem is, no one is willing to listen to them, and with the big festival, Clapfest, starting, no one wants to think about anything as bad as what Hector and Lambert have to say. Beyond Reasonable Doom does a good job of completing the trilogy as it not only wraps up the existing storyline, but also pulls in many elements from the previous two episodes. While we have already figured out who is behind all of the trouble, it isn't until we work our way through this episode that we get a feel for the full scope of the evil-doer's plans and that he has gotten Hector to do some of his dirty work for him.
Difficulty: Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom has a few tougher-than-expected puzzles in its arsenal, but nothing ever seems unreachable. While I was able to easily make steady progress in the game without too many problems, when I did come across one of the harder ones, I found the issue was typically something that I had forgotten to pick up. That's not to say that there weren't some truly puzzling obstacles in the game, but I found those were typically a result of me not thinking like the characters enough. For instance, instead of trying to solve a bunch of crazy riddles, a handy bear trap might get you what you need. As a result, Hector: Episode 3 seems to have found a good balance in its difficulty settings, at least for experienced adventure gamers. Those not as familiar with the style will have a noticeably harder time since having a good idea of the basic adventure mechanics can get you through those easier sections of the game much faster.
Game Mechanics: Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom dives a bit more into the two-character gameplay introduced in the second episode. This time around, you will have to switch between Hector and Lambert even more in order to get past the many puzzles this game offers. This is especially true in the first part of the game when Lambert is able to snake his way out of the grimy tank and Hector is stuck in the hole. Not long after that, Hector is locked inside a lab room with Lambert at a strange array of controls. The two also split up in order to try and find all of the pieces necessary to fix their escape vehicle that will take them back to the city. The game moves on a bit after this point and there isn't quite as much back-and-forth between the two characters, but it is still a big enough part of the game that it helps to make the Hector series stand out above a lot of other adventure titles. Beyond Reasonable Doom does a great job of wrapping up the three-part story and as such, it makes the entire trilogy worth playing through. As you might expect, jumping into the game in the final act is a bad idea. While you could just pick up and play this game, you will lose a lot of the story and character development, and considering the odd nature of some of the puzzles, it is fairly necessary to get in the minds of Hector and Lambert in order to solve many of the puzzles. Not only is this episode recommended, but the entire collection would make pretty much any adventure gamer happy ... provided you don't mind vulgar and low-brow humor.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
Minimum System Requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7, 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent Processor, 3 GB RAM, ATI or Nvidia card w/ 512 MB RAM Video Card, Direct X 9.0c, Audio card required   Test System: Windows 7 Ultimate, Intel i7 X980 3.33GHz, 12 GB RAM, Radeon HD 5870 Graphics Card, DirectX 9.0c
Related Links: Hector: Bad of Carnage Official Home Page Game Vortex’s Review of Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 1: We Negotiate with Terrorists Game Vortex’s Review of Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 2: Senseless Acts of Justice
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