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Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness -- Episode One (Xbox 360)

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness -- Episode One review

Game: Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness -- Episode One
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Hothead Games

Reader review by Muk1000

June 07, 2008

For nearly ten years, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik have entertained the gaming world with Penny Arcade, the most successful webcomic ever to grace the Internet. Since their comic’s humble beginning, they’ve grown to sell a whole line of merchandise, started their own gaming charity, and host a massive annual gaming convention. And on May 21st, they finally got their own game.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is the first in a series of episodic adventure/RPG games developed by HotHead Games. While the comic Penny Arcade takes place in the present, the game takes place in the city of New Arcadia in 1922, where diabolical machines and dark magic permeate every crevice. One morning, as your character is raking leaves in front of their house on suburban Desperation Street, a giant, rampaging robot crushes his or her house, leaving nothing but smoldering wreckage. As your character stares in horror, two men run after the robot: Jonathan Gabriel and Tycho Brahe. After meeting up with them, your character decides to assist them in their investigation, and is quickly pulled into a whirlwind of insanity.

The game begins by letting you create your character. The options are fairly limited, but there is enough to create someone distinct, whether it’s meant to be you or someone of your own creation. This character will work alongside Gabe and Tycho throughout the game, and will also appear in the 2D cutscenes, which does a great deal to draw you into the world. The graphics are particularly impressive in these 2D cutscenes, where Krahulik’s signature art style really shines, but it manages to retain its charm in 3D, which is what you’ll be seeing the most of as you play the game. Objects are distinct and easy to recognize, and the smooth animations are particularly impressive. The game world is broken into four areas, although only two of these are large. All four areas have been given a great deal of attention and polish, though, so it’s hardly an issue.

The game is penned by writer Holkins, whose verbose style of writing is sure to please fans of the comic, as well as those who prefer their words to be polysyllabic. The characters are written as they are in the comic; Gabe is an impulsive, impatient, and easily angered brawler. Tycho is a smart, scholarly marksman with a degree in “Apocolyptica”. Other Penny Arcade characters also make appearances, and although the setting may be different, their mannerisms are not, which is sure to be a treat for fans. The original characters in the game are also unique and varied, making for many hilarious situations and interactions. In addition to dialogue, the game boasts hundreds of descriptions, from enemy bios to details on the ice cream cone lying on the ground. They’re all designed to make you laugh, and they provide great motivation to inspect every sign, poster, and trash can.

Throughout the game you’ll fight amorous robots, violent hobos, evil mimes, and a variety of other strange enemies. The game’s combat is unique; each of your three characters has stats such as attack, defense, speed, and hit points, but instead of a traditional turn system, they have three circles that fill up during the battle. The first is for items, the second is a standard attack, and the third is a special attack. In other words, you can use items first, then after that you can use a standard attack, and then finally the special attacks become available. What this means is that you’ll have to make quick decisions in battle; should Gabe use a healing item on Tycho, and let Tycho store up power for his special attack? Can your wounded character afford to wait while his attack charges, or should you heal before finishing off your enemies? And while all this is going on, your enemies will take their turns as well. Each of their attacks can be blocked to some degree by quickly hitting the right trigger as they attack. So not only do you have to manage your three characters simultaneously, you have to react to your enemies’ attacks quickly. It can get a bit hectic at times, but it’s a lot more interesting than many RPG battle systems.

If it sounds overwhelming, have no fear. The game is actually not that difficult. Once you get used to timing your blocks and managing your team, very few fights will give you much trouble. In addition, helpful items are scattered all over the place, and your health is fully restored after each battle. At times you may find yourself wanting a bit more of a challenge, but the fast-paced action and entertaining battles help make up for it. The animations are great as well; mime attacks in particular are extremely well done, given that they attack you with weapons that aren’t actually there. As a final touch, you have a few support characters that can assist you on command, although they take quite some time to charge after each use.

Throughout the game you’ll gain abilities, allies, levels, and weapon upgrades in traditional RPG style, but outside the battles, the game is more reminiscent of classic adventure games, where you’ll talk to characters, choose what you say in conversations, collect items, and use said items to progress through the story. The story is fascinating; epic and engrossing, yet at the same time silly and bizarre. Holkins has managed to craft a coherent, detailed world without sacrificing Penny Arcade’s unique humor and wit. By the end of the game, you’ll barely be aware of the fact that, to anyone who has not been playing the game, it’s absolutely ridiculous. And, as all good episodic games should, it wraps up its own story while still leaving a larger mystery to solve in the coming installments.

The game is not without its flaws, though. Although the sound effects are excellent, the game’s music is a bit lacking. It always seems a bit on the quiet side, and many of the battle themes could stand to be a little more exciting. Some text and smaller details can be difficult to see, at least on a standard definition television, although the only time this will make a big difference is in battles. After some practice I adjusted to the view, but it would occasionally made it difficult to see how much my attacks were charged. The game’s achievements are a nice mix of challenges and milestones, none of which are particularly difficult. However, to those who want to get them all, I’d advise you to be careful. Just before the final boss, the game says that you won’t be able to go back after this point and asks if you’d like to save. This gave me the impression that you could reload from this point after you beat the final boss. What it really means is that once you beat the final boss, you can’t use that file to explore the overworld anymore. So if you don’t want to play through the game again, don’t fight the final boss until you have all the achievements you want.

Clocking in at around five hours, several more if you try to find everything, PAA:OtRSPoD,E1 might seem a bit expensive at 1600 Microsoft Points, which translates to 20 of our United States dollars. However, the game is packed with enough charm, wit, and quality that it’s more than worth it, especially if you’re already a Penny Arcade fan. If you’re not, at least give the demo a try; it gives you a good idea of the game’s style, although be advised the battles in that part of the game are essentially tutorials. RPG and Adventure fans are sure to find something to enjoy, and if the unique, often crass comedy of Penny Arcade is your style, this game is sure to please. After making fun of bad games for nearly a decade, Gabe and Tycho have their own game, and thankfully, there’s very little for them to complain about.

Rating: 8/10

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