Review: Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1
December 2, 2008
Version: Playstation 3
Penny Arcade Adventures is a new game for the PC, XBox 360, and PS3 based on the wildly popular web comic of the same name. It features the comic’s two protagonists Gabe and Tycho in a 20’s-style detective spoof.
The Good:
- Comic-style graphics really pop
- Some genuinely funny moments
- Priced right
- Combat system
The Bad:
- Music is endlessly looped
- Difficulty is uneven
- No voice acting at all
- Unclear objectives at times
- The humor can be an acquired taste
The first thing you will notice when you power up the game is the game’s utter dedication to paying homage to the comic that birthed it. From the utterly vulgar comedy to the comic-style graphics, the game seems ripped right out of Penny Arcade lore. The main problem with this ideal, however, is that it is an utter turn-off to people unfamiliar with the comic or for those who don’t find it funny or interesting.
The game presents itself as a pseudo-RPG from the get-go. While the game has a battle system that involves waiting for meters to fill, selecting an attack, and selecting a target, it involves a great deal of skill not seen in many RPGs. Each character comes with a special attack that triggers a five- to ten- second minigame that power up their attacks. You can also counter enemy attacks by pressing R2 at the “correct” moment. However, the timing is suspect at best and usually involves guessing when the game thinks point of impact will be, rather than where it actually is.
The graphics, for the most part, are pretty good. The graphics have a cel shaded look that fits well with the light, jaunty mood of the game. The animations are generally good, with just a few standing out as especially sub-par. However, you will see the same animations a lot. The game has an utter lack of enemy types, with each area containing about three unique enemy types and a boss character. After ten or fifteen battles in the area, you will basically be countering every move with little or no effort.
That brings up yet another issue with the game, it’s utter lack of any pacing. The game moves you quickly through some of the more interesting areas, then makes you slog through through endless drudgery of overly-long conversation trees and battles that just last too long. Compounding this fact is the difficulty, which has unexpected mountains and valleys at the most seemingly obscure times. You will be doing perfectly well in an area, only to encounter a new enemy type and be utterly destroyed by over-powered and impossible to block attacks.
The sound is below average as games today go. From the incessantly looping background music to the utter lack of any voice overs at all, the game seems half-finished in the sound department. The only thing that makes this acceptable is support of custom soundtracking, allowing you to play good music while the game only plays the sound effects and drops the music out of the mix.
The story starts with your house being smashed by a giant robot, triggering a cavalcade of events including playing music for a fortune-telling machine and fighting Cthulhu dressed in mime garb. The story is well written, but the pacing issues mentioned above really destroy any sort of interest that the story could have compounded throughout the game.
Another issue found increasingly as the game progresses is the generally unclear mission structure. You will get a hint telling you the general area to look it, but as for who to talk to to start the actual case you are often left high and dry, talking to every character and trying every dialog option until something clicks.
The game includes support for trophies, making it among the first to do so. The trophies are appropriate and well thought out, providing incentives to do things you otherwise might not have the drive to do. The only problem here is the lack of a platinum trophy for completing all of the other trophies, which themselves are occasionally too difficult.
The game is around 8 hours long on the first playthrough, reaching up to 12 if you try to get everything without a guide. For $15, it’s a pretty good deal. Replay value is incredibly reliant on whether or not you enjoy the humor of Penny Arcade, as there’s a fair bit of humor hidden throughout that you might not pick up on the first time through.
Overall, the game provides an interesting diversion for a weekend. If you have 15 bucks burning a hole in your pocket, go ahead and pick it up, but approach it with a little skepticism and be ready to look past its minor flaws to see the rough diamond underneath.
