When I first heard Mike and Jerry over at Penny Arcade were making a game, I had mixed emotions. From the type of game to retaining their style and humor, I had my doubts their web comic could translate to the 3D realm. Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode 1 answers my questions and then some. With some great writing and fun gameplay, this is worth every penny of the game’s $20 price tag.

Let’s jump right into that, shall we? At 1600 Microsoft Points ($20 in the real world), Penny Arcade Adventures is the most expensive Xbox Live Arcade title to date. Right off the bat, this turned many people off to the game. How could an Arcade title cost $20, especially being the first of four episodic games in the series? By providing seven to ten hours of gameplay, that’s how. You get more out of Penny Arcade Adventures than almost every other XBLA title.

Penny Arcade has always had a very unique graphical style from the pen of Mike Krahulik (aka Gabe). The team over at Hothead Games did a terrific job of translating that style into the 3D world for the game. You start off by customizing your own character in true Penny Arcade style. Most of the time, you can do a decent job of making the character look like yourself. But if you happen to not be Caucasian or skinny, you might run into some issues. All in all, it does a good job of allowing you to become part of the Penny Arcade universe. Your character appears in both the standard gameplay as well as the 2D comic strip cut scenes, which is a plus.

There isn’t much to the sound in Penny Arcade Adventures, which somewhat disappointed me. Aside from the narrator, you won’t hear much going on while you’re running through the world. Sound effects are decent, but sometimes get overlooked during combat. There’s no background music, which puzzled me considering you can collect albums as listen to in the Agency screen.

On to what really matters: the gameplay. Penny Arcade Adventures is a meld of traditional turn-based and adventure RPG’s with a bit of real time combat sprinkled in. You’ll spend most of the gaming exploring and collecting items in-between combat sequences. Sometimes during the exploration, the controls get a bit wonky and you have to move yourself around quite a bit to focus on an item for interaction, such as trash cans, mailboxes, wooden crates, etc.

The combat is like many turn-based RPG’s you’ve played before, where you can use items or perform regular and special attacks. However, things have been simplified a bit. Your use of items or attacks is based on timing. When you start each fight, each of the characters’ meters begin charging. First, your item meter (A button) fills, allowing you use elixirs, heal each other, etc. If you wait a bit longer, your basic attack (X button) meter will fill, allowing you to strike fear into the hearts of Fruit Fuckers and Mimes everywhere. Finally, waiting even longer will allow you to unleash a special attack (Y button). Each character’s special attack is performed by some button mashing or timed presses to get the most out your power. It all works out really well and is very intuitive once you get through the first couple battles. Wait long enough for everyone’s special attack meter to fill and unleash a devastating team attack to cripple whatever orange-molesting machines stand in your way.

Playing through the game took me a good seven and a half hours on my first play-through. I’m back at it again to try and unlock all of the concept art and level up everyone to level 15. One of the great things about this episodic series is that your levelled up status will carry over into the future games. With the solid gameplay and hilarious writing, your time with Penny Arcade Adventures will be very enjoyable. If you’re a fan of their unique brand of humor and turn-based RPG’s, grab this one right away. There are a few issues, notably lack of sound and a bit of wonky controls here and there, but it’s not enough to make you think twice about buying Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode 1. Wow, that was a mouthful. That’s what she said.

Overall: 8.5 of 10

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