Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipe of Darkness is the first installment of what developer Hothead Games promises to be a four-part series surrounding the world of the popular webcomic, Penny Arcade. The creators of Penny Arcade, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, took a major risk in jumping their strip from relative cult success to mainstream Xbox Live Arcade media. Has the risk payed off for us gamers? Hit the jump to find out!

Let me begin this review quite bluntly; Penny Arcade Adventures is a very good game. The game takes place in a 1920’s suburban-esque neighborhood which to the eye looks pleasant and comfortable but, as we are told by a nameless narrator, actually inhabits the very apex of evil. The game begins by asking the player to create a character (who is then referred to as your gamertag throughout the entire game). The character creation options are somewhat limited, and are focused around garb that one would think to be typical of the 1920s. Once your character is created (mine had a big bushy brown moustache complete with a bright purple top hat), the story begins, and you are thrown into the Penny Arcade universe. Eventually you meet up with Tycho Brahe and Jonathon Gabriel, the two artifact-hunting, baddie-slaying sleuths of Penny Arcade fame, as you try to get revenge on the gigantic robot that demolished your house.

Penny Arcade Adventures is wonderfully written and gut-bustingly hilarious; you will frequently find yourself laughing maniacally at the names of enemies (the little robots are named Fruit Fuckers) and many of the things that random NPC’s say. The characters, themselves, are somewhat bland, as many of their motives for saying what they say or doing what they do are not based on anything else other than creating comedy. However, because of how funny the game is, this small flaw is overlookable. Regardless, the characters are still very interesting. Additionally, the art in the game is fantastic, the cutscenes are gorgeous, and the game has a great 1920’s aesthetic feel to it.

The game flaunts a unique RPG turn-based battle system which is instantly reminiscent of the Paper Mario games, only with a slightly more mature subcontext. It plays similar to Final Fantasy VII, in that each character must wait a certain amount of time before being able to move. Additionally, your enemies’ attacks can be blocked or even parried by hitting the right trigger at a precise moment. Gameplay is fast and often times gets extremely hectic as you’re always trying to make moves as quick as possible to defeat your foes. The battles themselves are somewhat difficult in the beginning, but after each battle, every character in your party regains full health which may make the game a little too easy for some.

However, while playing through Penny Arcade Adventures, I encountered a couple of major flaws. There are only four separate areas to travel to throughout the game (one being only one room), and these four areas can get quite montonous at times. I wish that the game had featured more areas to explore so that you could truly get lost in the Penny Arcade universe. Additionally, the game suffers from a bit of back track. There is no item shop in Penny Arcade Adventures, and the only way to obtain items that are crucial to winning battles (healing items most importantly) is to go through each level, whacking garbage cans and boxes for random goodies. Furthermore, many of the missions that you must complete within the game require that you back track through an area that you have already completed, and since there are only 4 separate areas in the game, this can get quite menacing.

Another major issue that some are undoubtedly going to have is the price of the game. Currently, Penny Arcade Adventures is retailing for $20, or 1600 MS Points, on the Xbox Live Marketplace. This is the most expensive title now available on the Marketplace, and some will see paying $20 for an arcade game as being too much. However, Penny Arcade Adventures doesn’t feel like an arcade game, but much more like a retail game. There is so much packed into the $20 adventure (around 9 or so hours to complete) that you’ll feel that you’ve gotten more than your money’s worth.

Despite many of the flaws that can be found in Penny Arcade Adventures, it really is a great game. The story is interesting and engaging, the battles are fun and intuitive, and the writing is just downright hilarious. While it may be far from being a bargain, if you’re into RPGs Penny Arcade Adventures is most definitely worth it.

I can’t wait to see what Hothead Games has in store for us in the next installment!