Review by: Neilie Johnson

A few months ago, Telltale Games and Irish animation company Straandlooper introduced us to a new adventure series starring Detective Inspector Hector, an off-beat law enforcement officer whose raunchy insights and paunchy slovenliness made him equal parts Bad Lieutenant and Columbo. The first episode in the series, entitled Hector: Badge of Carnage, We Negotiate with Terrorists demonstrated this ponderous policeman's investigative prowess as well as his penchant for pubs, pizza and porn. It also ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. Episode 2, Senseless Acts of Justice, picks up where Episode 1 left off and gives us more entertaining puzzles, more sophomoric potty humor and more un-politically-correct interactive fun.

When last we saw Hector, he was attempting to help the Clapper's Wreake “TWAT” team talk a hostage-taking sniper down from an office building window. In his inimitable crassness, Hector at the start of Episode 2, manages to bungle the negotiation, get the building blown up, allow the terrorist to escape and end up trapped in the building's rubble. With no one to help him but his birdbrained assistant Lambert, things look grim for Detective Inspector Hector but great for us as we enjoy figuring out how to free Hector from his predicament.

For at least part of this episode, you have access not only to Hector, but to the hapless Lambert. The two of them work in tandem to solve puzzles from their respective locations and along the way, engage in some highly ridiculous verbal exchanges. As in the first episode, what's most fun about the game is exploring its dialog options. Hector's a treasure trove of hilariously suggestive obscenities and the idiotic Lambert himself has a few unforgettable lines: (upon realizing he can't free Hector from the rubble)“My hands are like cocktail sticks with squares of cheese on the ends – I can't knock down a wall with me bare hands!” Talk about inspired writing; hours of fun come not only from hearing characters spout absurdities like these, but by clicking on random objects to hear Hector and Lambert's loony commentary on them.

Together, the two characters are like the classic Laurel and Hardy comedy duo—the tubby, grouchy brains of the operation and the skinny, well-meaning dunderhead. What's that? Who are Laurel and Hardy? OK, let's say Hector and Lambert are like Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton. Not getting that reference either? Well um...the Three Stooges minus Curly? Ugh, nevermind. Let's just say they're the perfect comedy foils for one another and later on, Lambert serves as Hector's (and your) in-game hint system.

Needless to say, once Hector and Lambert free the Inspector from the blown-up building, there's still a terrorist to catch. The investigative trail leads Hector both to the Clapper's Wreake forensics and technology labs as well as to a range of new and comically incongruous locations. From a snooty French restaurant that serves recycled beef to a church converted to a strip club (complete with pole-dancing nuns) to a combination army surplus and beauty supply, Hector encounters some utterly bizarre characters and situations, every one of which is unexpected and entertainingly fresh. The jokes here either teeter precariously on the edge of bad taste or gleefully embrace their outright vulgarity; either way, you'll find yourself laughing out loud at things you'd probably gasp at in mixed company.

This approach will probably alienate the more squeamish gamers out there because let's face it; while the game is chock-full of fun, it's also fraught with innuendos, blue language (granted, of the somewhat obscure UK variety) and seedy denizens. That isn't a criticism, just a warning that what makes the game great to people like me could also make it inappropriate for people not like me and most certainly for younger audiences. Hector is an M-rated cartoon aimed squarely at adults that's filled with adolescent toilet jokes and a rare brand of sly, insinuating humor that would likely go over the heads of most players under 16 anyway.