In the space of only two episodes, this adventure series has established itself as one of the crudest and funniest point and click experiences released for some time and even though the concluding chapter is arguable the strongest entry to date we’re still tinged with a bit of sadness when the credits rolled out.
‘Beyond Reasonable Doom’ kicks off with Hector and Lambert sealed inside a SAW-like torture area by the terrorist who’s been so prolific in Clapper’s Wreake previously. If you’ve played the last episode, lord knows why you’re reading this if you haven’t, then you’ll know who exactly we’re talking about but we’ll keep this review as spoiler-lite as possible.
After a brief, humorous and disgusting escape the majority of the two-hour experience is spent at Clapfest; a carnival to celebrate all things Clappers Wreake with rides, a main-stage, food vendors and a particularly grotesque port-a-loo. The core themes of this series and its particularly British-style of humour hasn’t really changed, but proceedings still feel crazy and unpredictable regularly resulting in spontaneous bouts of laughter.
Seeing as this is a concluding chapter there are also a lot of returning characters who are either celebrating or cursing their involvement with Hector during previous episodes and it’s really nice to get another opportunity screw with their existence once again. Whether that’s returning a recovering alcoholic to his former deviant ways or finding out exactly how the Clocksmith got to the top of the clocktower in the first episode.
The tighter setting means that you aren’t hot-trotting it to various locations over the map, unlike previous episodes. As a result episode 3 doesn’t feel quite as varied, or more suitably overwhelming, but the experience feels much more cohesive and enjoyable as a result. Even the puzzle design feels much simpler and more enjoyable, as we found ourselves having to resort to the derogative hint system much less than last time.
Most importantly though ‘Beyond Reasonable Doom’ gives a suitably amount of pay-off to the blood sweat and tears experienced by many gamers in the previous episodes. The story moves at a very quick pace and the chaotic finale is even sillier and surprisingly dramatic than what you’d expect. Best of all you really start to feel an affection for these characters and for an adventure of this type that’s something that really surprised us.
Many episodic adventure series often fall short when trying to tie up all the loose ends in one concluding chapter, but Hector’s final outing does exactly that, whilst wrapping up in good time so that most players will hunger for more.
Here’s hoping Straandlooper and Telltale Games get out another series involving Hector and Lambert sooner rather than later, as we’re chomping at the bit to play more.
Verdict: 86%
Tags: Hector Badge of Carnage
Diablo III feature plus previews for Crysis 3, Dishonored and War of the Roses. As well as reviews for both The Walking Dead and Sniper Elite V2.
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