Review: Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1 (PC, Xbox 360)

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May 22nd, 2008 posted by Link in PC, Reviews, Xbox 360

A long time ago, Street Fighter was turned into a movie that spawned a video game adaption. Penny Arcade’s game proves that game comic adaptations at least aren’t a bad idea like the previously mentioned nightmare of a brawler. While it’s far from perfect, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 1 is full of laughs, fun gameplay, and wonderful visuals by Xbox Live Arcade standards, but suffers many of the same problems as other modern RPGs.

If you’re a fan of the comic, you’ll probably love the game, but for different reasons than you love the comic. Case in point: Penny Arcade the comic is centered around discussing video games and poking fun at game culture. Penny Arcade the video game is centered around an alternate universe starring Gabe and Tycho from the comic, but has very few references to games or game culture. The plot was written from the ground-up as something that could be enjoyed by people who have never heard of the comic, and I think it did a fine job. The reason Penny Arcade fans will fall in love is the game’s incredible sense of humor. It’s always funny because it’s so amazingly clever.

The game’s plot centers around the peril of a character created by the player. While hanging out and listening to a narrator describe your dull life at the cul-de-sac on Desperation St., a giant, perversely citrus-obsessed robot crushes your house and storms off into the distance. While chasing the robot, you run into Jonathan Gabriel and Tycho Brahe of the “Startling Developments Detective Agency” trying to figure out the robot’s origins. The three brave denizens of New Arcadia then set off on an adventure to bring the robots to justice.

It took me a little over six hours to complete the game including a few times where I made stupid mistakes and had to backtrack a bit. There weren’t any particularly difficult battles or parts where I was confused and didn’t know what to do - for better or for worse, the game holds you by the hand all the way through until the end, giving you clues and guiding your path to each objective. That said, I wouldn’t let the game’s lack of challenge be something to turn you away from playing it.

The plot, the dialog, and the graphics carry the game. Hothead did a decent job in putting it all together, but without the Penny Arcade influences, this game would have been just another sub-par RPG. There are very few NPCs scattered across each of the three different locations you can visit, and they all say one of a few preset phrases. Each of the locales are inspired, but there aren’t enough of them. The music isn’t bad on its own, but it all sounds very similar and I think a few different stylizations could have made it blend really well. It mostly consists of orchestrated, ominous-sounding arrangements with a lot of timpani. They’re a detective agency, some smooth jazz tracks or something really could have mixed it up a bit and added a lot more flavor between the different areas. Just because the game has a dark theme doesn’t mean that every aspect should be dark as well. Customization is nearly non-existent, from character creation to the lack of an ability to change weapons, armor, or other equipment. There’s no magic system, only items. There aren’t enough different types of enemies - you’re limited to hobos, mimes, and fruit-fuckers with a few variations thrown in. However, all of these enemies work extremely well in the context of the game and provide tons of laughs: where else can you fight a mime whose attacks consist of things like “Pretend I’m Throwing A Boulder At You” or trap said mimes using items such as the “Invisible Box?” Although some of these issues were certainly legitimate design choices, most of them won’t go unnoticed and they take away from what is otherwise a well-rounded RPG.

If you’re trying to decide between the PC or the Xbox 360 versions, there are a few differences between the two. The PC version controls like a point-and-click adventure and uses the keyboard’s space bar for certain functions during battles. It controls reasonably well and anyone who has played something like Sam & Max will catch on really fast. The Xbox 360 version controls more traditionally, using the joystick to move characters around so that you walk up to various objects to examine them. Battles use different buttons for different attack types and the triggers for blocking. I played the PC demo first and then bought it for Xbox 360 because of the added bonus of unlocking achievements, but it’s purely a personal preference. The PC version has better graphics because of its hi-res textures, if that’s your thing.

Were it not for the interesting battle system and wonderful dialog, I would have a hard time recommending Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness to anyone. $20 for a six hour game may seem like a lot to some people, but considering most $50 or $60 games can be completed in under 15 hours, it’s not a bad deal. This isn’t a game for people who get high exclusively on Gears of War style action or the quick thrills of Halo. As with any game that offers a free demo, I’d try that first to see if you enjoy the game’s style. If you like it, buy without hesitation, as it continues to get better and more involved all the way up until the end.