Review Thread (spoilers) - Hector Episode 1: We Negotiate with Terrorists

Well played through it and my first thought is that this is obnoxious but not in a funny way.

The humor,story, and Hector himself almost made me stop playing the puzzles are ridiculously easy, and you telltale fans might be saying so was BTTF....

Yes but BTTF had a good story and funny humor to compensate for the lack of difficult puzzles.

This game is just pure annoyance and should have stayed on the app store.

Comments

  • edited April 2011
    While game was not that hard, there was one ending part what became harder to solve because bad mouse detection of what I want to select
    (Guy in the toilet)
    .

    Now I gotta say that humor was nice and somewhat mature. Puzzles while being usually easy to figure out have some not so typical solutions than implied.
  • edited April 2011
    How long did you take to finish it?
  • edited April 2011
    _djs_ wrote: »
    How long did you take to finish it?

    About four hours, give or take some minutes.
  • edited April 2011
    Well, that's what 17+ rating is for. Personaly I love it and think there's too few games with that kind of rauchy humor.
    Great game!
  • edited April 2011
    I didn't really like it either, the humor often falls flat, and yes, the puzzles were way too easy.

    I'm a sucker for anything "mature", but that time it was just puerile and all the gross things were just here for shock value and just to say "hey guys! it's a 17+ game!". The game felt like it was written by 16/17 years old who think condoms and piss are inherently funny...
  • edited April 2011
    Paintbrush wrote: »
    Well, that's what 17+ rating is for. Personaly I love it and think there's too few games with that kind of rauchy humor.
    Great game!


    Yeah but as the poster below you said, it seems to be there only for the shock factor and it does not work at all.
  • edited April 2011
    I thought it was funny, but I have been saying for some time the game is easy and short.
  • edited April 2011
    The smutty humour cracks me up and it almost feels like an early 90s Sierra or LucasArts. I still haven't completed it but am enjoying it. Games like this are so rare these days.
  • edited April 2011
    I think there's a bit of a culture gap with a lot of the gags. Only a specific subset of people are gonna see the idea of a tramp having a hosue made out of Big Issue mags funny
  • edited April 2011
    I'm sure that some of the game went over my head, but overall I thought it was pretty funny. I especially cracked up at seeing
    the heroin addict on display in the porn shop
    . As for gameplay, it wasn't terribly challenging, but there were a few stumpers in there, and I enjoyed myself. A++, would play again.
  • edited April 2011
    I agree it's an easy game, still i think it's funny.

    Let me explain a bit; the developers of Hector sometimes taken the assumption "gross == funny" which simply isn't true, but keep in mind that it's also wrong the "false-puritan" approach based on the opposite expression ("funny == !gross") that many use in search of a low PEGI rating.

    What developers did seems to be a demonstration that sometimes "gross" is "funny", while sometimes not. (As a disclaimer: i speak of game situation not of entire games)
  • edited April 2011
    I found the game to be mildly amusing, but like others have said, the puzzles were not very difficult at all.

    One major problem I encountered is that the game is designed to be played in a linear fashion. If you don't go in the right order then things get weird. For example, I started out with the park, and while investigating things Hector suddenly says that
    the crazy old man in the clock tower could use the statue's staff to fix the clock
    . So not only did that just give me the answer to a puzzle I haven't even encountered yet, it also spoiled part of the plot. Another example is with the guy outside the clock tower; in his dialog options
    you can choose the secret code without even knowing it, and he'll sell you a purse
    . After I did that I went inside the tower and then found the clue showing me how to do the thing I already did. I encountered that sort of thing maybe a dozen times, and it really detracted from the whole experience.

    The sound was also really iffy, with uneven volume levels, tinny sounding dialogue, and other issues.
  • edited April 2011
    Was I the only one to like the fat hooker's body?
  • edited April 2011
    tbm1986 wrote: »
    Was I the only one to like the fat hooker's body?

    Nope ppl loved her body they just had issues with her breath
  • edited April 2011
    coolsome wrote: »
    Nope ppl loved her body they just had issues with her breath

    fair enough
  • edited April 2011
    Only took me 2 hrs 15 to beat it.
    * The police station stuff was fun but the rest of the game was just pretty boring. Could do with more absurd item combinations instead of just collecting things then using them directly.
    * I had no idea that the
    clock tower was missing the X
    , I just figured at that stage it was the only place that could use an obviously useful item.
    * The ending wasn't at all satisfying. I know this is supposed to be episodic, but Sam and Max at least gave you a feeling of completion after each episode...

    I had a few bugs:
    * When I picked up the spray can, the animation played twice and my mouse disappeared until I moved to another screen
    * Only a small section of each dialogue option is actually clickable. Possibly has something to do with my higher-than-default resolution.
    * The game lets my mouse cursor go off to other monitors, which can lead to accidentally switching away from the game. Quite annoying in fullscreen mode.
  • edited April 2011
    I loved the dark British humour, a lot of the lines in this game had me laugh out funny. Found it quite refreshing after Sam & Max 3 which for me has jumped the shark and wasn't all that funny. Nice addition to the TT lineup - looking forward to the rest!
  • edited April 2011
    There is a review of Hector over at IndieGameReviewer.com
  • edited May 2011
    Like it. Fun game. It's short but the puzzles were fine. While still a bit on the easy side i think the difficulty is much more than in any other TellTale Game. There are no obvious hints and it requieres a good bit of exploration.
    The main problem with the difficulty in Hector, is like some have said, the linear display of puzzles.
    But overall, very good game.

    edit: Oh, and the addition of subtitles in the cutscenes is something it should be checked if possible for the next chapters.
  • edited May 2011
    Voideka wrote: »
    One major problem I encountered is that the game is designed to be played in a linear fashion. If you don't go in the right order then things get weird. For example, I started out with the park, and while investigating things Hector suddenly says that
    the crazy old man in the clock tower could use the statue's staff to fix the clock
    . So not only did that just give me the answer to a puzzle I haven't even encountered yet, it also spoiled part of the plot. Another example is with the guy outside the clock tower; in his dialog options
    you can choose the secret code without even knowing it, and he'll sell you a purse
    . After I did that I went inside the tower and then found the clue showing me how to do the thing I already did. I encountered that sort of thing maybe a dozen times, and it really detracted from the whole experience.

    Yeah, I pretty much did things exactly the way you did. And
    when examining the handbag, Hector hinted that the handbag was no use to him if it wasn't red, before I had any idea why on earth I'd need a red handbag
    . Kind of ruins things a bit. :|
  • TeaTea
    edited May 2011
    I couldn't finish it. I have to say I was really disappointed.

    I can totally get behind the crude humour idea, but this? Not only was it disgusting but it was also predictable and was, overall, trying too hard.

    Let me reiterate: I am totally fine with adult humour. I am a man, and we men like manly things. But this was trying so hard it was just childish. So it wasn't very manly, it was, in fact, laden with oestrogen.

    The very point in which I knew the humour had failed was
    finding the condom in the mattress with Hector proudly announcing "oh yeah it's me own size". The puzzle involving the condom was also pretty disgusting
    .

    I will also say again that I have not finished the game and I totally accept the "it gets better" argument, so please let me know if it does.

    Also, again: I didn't find it disgusting because of my aversion to adult humour, as I have none. I found it disgusting because it was trying too hard. Aversion, no. Over the top, yes.
  • edited May 2011
    I think it's you who is trying too hard. I get it if you don't like this kind of crude humor, but saying it is "laden with oestrogen" it's absurdly funny. I assume you never play a Larry game either.

    You don't have to give so many excuses for don't liking it, or reassure your manhood, we get it. In fact i think nobody is surprised by your reaction, im sure they were expecting things like that.
    The whole condom puzzle is cleverly put at the begining to act as a filter, and in the most grose setting. People who r ok with it go on, the others just quit right at the start without losing too much time in a game they don't dig.

    And you didn't get the condom joke quite right. He is not "proudly announcing" the size. He is surprised by the size (giving you the idea it's not his) so he quickly tries to revert the situation. I would not say "proudly" but embarassing.
  • TeaTea
    edited May 2011
    Ignatius wrote: »
    I get it if you don't like this kind of crude humor

    I thought I made it clear that I did. But nevermind.
  • edited May 2011
    Absolutely loved it. I'm not so uptight when it comes to humor as I enjoy the mindlessly raunchy along with more clever humor like in xkcd, so that certainly helps. Sometimes you need to adjust your mind to take the tongue in cheek, well, tongue in cheek. And regardless of how you may feel about it overall, there really isn't anything else quite like it coming out these days which is a shame. So I am certainly pleased to have this series. And as mentioned by others, it really took me back to the old days of the absurd and bizarre adventure games I played growing up as a child. Just...grimier. Love ya Hector, and I can't wait to see you again later this year.
  • edited June 2011
    Some of the humor was a little over the top for me, but thumbs up to the Doctor Who references.
  • edited June 2011
    Wow, this game was bad. The engine is annoying, the puzzles are stupid, and the jokes are only rarely funny. There's crude humor, and then there's HA HA LOOK SEX! SEX!!! SEX IS FUNNY, RIGHT? I'm glad I only payed $2.50 for it, and I'm not sure I got my money's worth at that price. If this were developed by Telltale, I'd be really disappointed. As it is, though, I just know that Straandlooper has a long way to go.
  • edited July 2011
    I reviewed it here: http://joegamesaga.com/v/2011/07/1310938206

    @Ffleming Remember, you've another two episodes in the series. There's a lot of British humour in the game- watch the UK version of Life on Mars and then play the game
  • edited July 2011
    I was expecting a little more from this episode. In hindsight, I think I overhyped it and set myself up for a let down. The puzzles were certainly imaginative to say the least but I didn't find myself overly challenged with any of them. I finished the episode fairly quickly and I was left feeling unsatisfied.

    Coming from someone who likes adult humor as much as the next person, I found the crude jokes to be a little over the top and I agree with the notion that it appeared to be 'trying too hard'.

    Was it the worst game I've played? No.
    Would I pay more than $2.50 for it? No.
    Was it a good time-killer? Yes.
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