Review

Hector: Badge of Carnage Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom

In the third episode of Hector: Badge of Carnage, we start with a wrap up of the events of the previous episodes that tie the happenings together into a package. I haven’t played the first two, but the intro cinematic brings you up to speed fairly well, and delivers you to your starting point nicely. You play as Hector, Inspector of the Clappers Wreake Police Department; an oafish, but strangely likable character half blundering his way through a mystery to save himself, then eventually the good people of Clappers Wreake.

The gameplay is bread and butter point and click adventure fare. Look for items to pick up or interact with, to get to the next event. Click the right things in the right order to proceed. Straightforward problem solving and critical thinking will get you through fairly quickly. The story is imaginative, if crude, but there isn’t a lot to it. The episode is fairly short (less than two hours) and I can’t see any reason to replay it.

I enjoyed the game; there are a few jokes and references in there that are fairly amusing. Being familiar with British culture will make the game funnier, as there are a lot of jabs at various UK celebrities and culture littered through throughout. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help the fact that the action can be found in countless flash games available for free on the web, though the production values are far better with this title. The voice acting and sound effects are great, though it still doesn’t warrant the price tag. This would be a better fit as an under $5 iPhone/android download.