 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: RPG Developer: Hothead Games Publisher: Microsoft |
When players check out “Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One,” they will notice two thing. First they will notice that the game has an extremely long title, and second, it is one
of a few downloadable adventure role playing games and it is the first to take players out of the dungeon and puts them in the heart of a city. Those who are fans of the Penny Arcade website that makes fun of
videogame culture will love this game, even at a 1600 Microsoft Points, or $20, price tag.
In “Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One,” which from this point forward will be referred to as “Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One,” has players taking on the role of a
new character in the Penny Arcade universe that the player creates. This character can be a guy or girl, have a variety of haircuts, outfits and physiques to give them a unique appearance. There character is rendered
into all of the cut scenes so players are never take out of the action. While players are attempting to stop the apocalypse of Cthulhu, they will be joined by Gabe and Tycho from the Penny Arcade comics. They still offer
the same witty comments that made the website popular. However, their text only talk is often very funny and doesn’t require players to be a fan in order to enjoy the game.
The storyline of the game is nothing spectacular, but it is presented in such a tongue in cheek humor that it really doesn’t matter that this is the same RPG doomsday tale that has been seen time and time again. This
one just happens to include a gang of mimes that is determined to bring the apocalypse to reality. The humor doesn’t always hit the target; there are a lot of jokes that fall short and many more that succeed very well.
However, their banter doesn’t make the references that have made the comics popular to begin with.
“Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One” is a turn based RPG that is sure to impress any gamers with its high level of action. The turn based element is handled well in the game and the action is fast paced. It will
keep players on their toes more than most other similar turn based games. Each playable character has three actions: use an item, basic attack and a special attack. Actions are based on timed initiatives, meaning
that it takes a certain amount of time before that action is ready to be used. The item use button readies the fastest, then the basic attack and then the special attacks. Since each character has different speeds, the
timing of actions varies. Players will have to keep an eye on the action buttons for each character and be aware of when they can attack their enemies. It can be a bit hectic, but it gets a lot easier later in the game.
Though there is a lot of humor in the game overall, there is very little humor in combat, minus the fruit humping robots. The combat is all about action and smacking a clown in the face with a rake until they explode into
confetti and multicolored blood. There is a block move used with the trigger, which requires some precision timing. Players will see the enemy’s health bar flash as they are about to attack, which is the player’s cue to
block. The trouble is that the player’s eye will naturally watch the enemy animation and time the attack. This is where players get in trouble, because timing based off the animations is a little awkward. Combat in
“Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One” is a lot more fun than expected. Players will find that the major flaws in the game from parts outside of the combat action.
Even those fans that have followed the Penny Arcade comics since the beginning, dishing out $20 for a downloadable may be difficult to do. This is one of Xbox Live Arcade’s most expensive games and it is just the first
episode to be released. The game will take players between 6 and 8 hours to complete and does have an actual ending. That is one nice element of the game because players can stop after the first episode if they
want to. Sure players will want to know what it going to happen next in the storyline, but a finished storyline works very well. Once players beat the game, the amount of replay value is very low. Players can’t go back and
explore the game world, and there is no way for players to run through the world fully upgraded.
“Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One,” is certain to catch the attention of fans of the comics and will get some laughs from those who have never heard of Penny Arcade
before. In the game’s credit, the Penny Arcade team doesn’t attempt to make any huge changes to its website in order to market the game. Overall, the game is a smart and fun game that would have been great with a
wider range of enemies and environments and a little more depth to the game play.
of a few downloadable adventure role playing games and it is the first to take players out of the dungeon and puts them in the heart of a city. Those who are fans of the Penny Arcade website that makes fun of
videogame culture will love this game, even at a 1600 Microsoft Points, or $20, price tag.
In “Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One,” which from this point forward will be referred to as “Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One,” has players taking on the role of a
new character in the Penny Arcade universe that the player creates. This character can be a guy or girl, have a variety of haircuts, outfits and physiques to give them a unique appearance. There character is rendered
into all of the cut scenes so players are never take out of the action. While players are attempting to stop the apocalypse of Cthulhu, they will be joined by Gabe and Tycho from the Penny Arcade comics. They still offer
the same witty comments that made the website popular. However, their text only talk is often very funny and doesn’t require players to be a fan in order to enjoy the game.
The storyline of the game is nothing spectacular, but it is presented in such a tongue in cheek humor that it really doesn’t matter that this is the same RPG doomsday tale that has been seen time and time again. This
one just happens to include a gang of mimes that is determined to bring the apocalypse to reality. The humor doesn’t always hit the target; there are a lot of jokes that fall short and many more that succeed very well.
However, their banter doesn’t make the references that have made the comics popular to begin with.
“Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One” is a turn based RPG that is sure to impress any gamers with its high level of action. The turn based element is handled well in the game and the action is fast paced. It will
keep players on their toes more than most other similar turn based games. Each playable character has three actions: use an item, basic attack and a special attack. Actions are based on timed initiatives, meaning
that it takes a certain amount of time before that action is ready to be used. The item use button readies the fastest, then the basic attack and then the special attacks. Since each character has different speeds, the
timing of actions varies. Players will have to keep an eye on the action buttons for each character and be aware of when they can attack their enemies. It can be a bit hectic, but it gets a lot easier later in the game.
Though there is a lot of humor in the game overall, there is very little humor in combat, minus the fruit humping robots. The combat is all about action and smacking a clown in the face with a rake until they explode into
confetti and multicolored blood. There is a block move used with the trigger, which requires some precision timing. Players will see the enemy’s health bar flash as they are about to attack, which is the player’s cue to
block. The trouble is that the player’s eye will naturally watch the enemy animation and time the attack. This is where players get in trouble, because timing based off the animations is a little awkward. Combat in
“Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One” is a lot more fun than expected. Players will find that the major flaws in the game from parts outside of the combat action.
Even those fans that have followed the Penny Arcade comics since the beginning, dishing out $20 for a downloadable may be difficult to do. This is one of Xbox Live Arcade’s most expensive games and it is just the first
episode to be released. The game will take players between 6 and 8 hours to complete and does have an actual ending. That is one nice element of the game because players can stop after the first episode if they
want to. Sure players will want to know what it going to happen next in the storyline, but a finished storyline works very well. Once players beat the game, the amount of replay value is very low. Players can’t go back and
explore the game world, and there is no way for players to run through the world fully upgraded.
“Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One,” is certain to catch the attention of fans of the comics and will get some laughs from those who have never heard of Penny Arcade
before. In the game’s credit, the Penny Arcade team doesn’t attempt to make any huge changes to its website in order to market the game. Overall, the game is a smart and fun game that would have been great with a
wider range of enemies and environments and a little more depth to the game play.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
