About two weeks ago I finally tried the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures. On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode 1 was pretty good, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Just a few days after I finished it, the next episode was announced to be gold so it should come out soon (hopefully).
I downloaded the demo as soon as it was released earlier this year (around May, I think) but I never got around to playing it. The demo works quite well, I only have two complains about it. The first is that when it’s over you have to buy the full game on the spot or lose all progress. If you want finish the demo and buy the game the next day you will lose all your progress and have to replay the first area. The second complaint is it shows bits of the cinematic from the game, which means they aren’t nearly as fresh feeling when you get to them in the plot.
The 3D look of the game looks quite good, but I was really impressed by the 2D vector animation in the game. I would have loved to play a game set that way. The game ran very well on my MacBook Pro in full screen and maximum resolution. Can’t complain at all.
The character designs and enemies are all very well designed and relatively unique. The whole really does have the Penny Arcade feel. The game play is rather average, felling like an updated and improved yet simplified Final Fantasy VII (which makes since, this being an RPG). This is one of those games that really is all the better for having the tie-in. The alternate universe (from the comic’s universe) was a great decision, it is quite enjoyable. I especially enjoyed Tycho’s niece and their interactions, some of the games great moments come from that.
I can’t wait to try the next episode.
