Hector: Ep3 - Beyond Reasonable Doom

Given how quickly this third episode of Hector: Badge of Carnage has arrived on the App Store, you shouldn’t be too surprised to find out that it’s a lot like Ep2 in execution and pacing.

Indeed, you could probably go back to that review to get the main points of interest, as nothing much has changed in terms of gameplay.

It isn’t quite as strong an episode in terms of the humour as the last one out, but Ep3 remains a great original point-and-click adventure game with a fairly disgusting brown streak running through it.

Picking up from the end of the last entry, Hector and Lambert begin the episode trapped in a huge septic tank (where else?) designed as an elaborate trap to drown them in excrement.

Thanks to a combination of brute force (Hector) and being thin (Lambert), the pair escape and stumble upon the grand plan at the root of all the evil goings-on in Clappers Wreake. And a badger from hell.

The rest of the game is a desperate race to stop the villianous plan from going ahead. Not to give too many spoilers away, this involves fishing a spark plug out of a cow’s rectum, wiping a man’s bottom with the Union Jack, and fabricating a contest involving beans stuffed into a ‘vintage’ British car. You know, the usual.

There are several returning characters in this episode for fans to enjoy, including Timmy the Tramp and the Chief. Lambert is also back as a playable character for some sections of the game, but thankfully these parts are brief.

Letter of the law

Ep3 is slightly easier than Ep2. Most of the puzzles come with hints this time around, normally hidden in the dialogue. So when Hector remarks that something “looks like a toilet seat”, you can be pretty darn sure you’ll be needing a toilet seat to solve the problem.

More annoyingly, the corridor-like nature of the connecting scenes at Clappers Wreake festival (funded mainly by Hector in Ep1) can be a real chore to navigate if you do get stuck.

The game eventually gives you a map during the third section, allowing you to quickly leap between locations, but why it doesn’t any earlier is a mystery even Hector won’t be able to solve.

Despite these niggles, Hector: Ep3 is still an enjoyable - and digusting - slice of original adventure gaming. If you’ve not been following the series up to this point, then it’s best you pick up the previous two entries first. If you have, then you'll be pleased to know that the trilogy is worth finishing.

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