The Penny Arcade video game — Penny Arcade Adventures Epsiode One: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness — was released this week and I felt it was my duty to purchase said game. Until I hear otherwise I’m going to assume this is the first videogame to be based on a webcomic (as opposed to a webcomic based on a videogame, a la Sam & Max).
I played it for a couple of hours last night and really enjoyed it. If you like Jerry’s writing and Mike’s art then you’ll more than likely get a huge kick out of experiencing them in this new interactive environment. The game itself is a retro-but-updated version of those older point and click adventure games that used to dominate the PC. And while I have no idea if the game is a good value for $20 it is chock full of content with very funny bits tucked into all kinds of objects in the environment. The game has two modes – the 3d interactive environment part and then the 2d choose your words mode where you interact with characters (which cleverly invokes the comic origins of Penny Arcade).
I’ve read that the "fighting" system emulates Final Fantasy but since I’ve skipped the whole FF thing I wouldn’t know. The fighting is okay and for someone who isn’t at all into twitch-anything like myself I liked that it wasn’t incredibly difficult to master. I also appreciated the ridiculousness of the "fighting moves" you see from various characters.
For other reviews check out metacritic and joystiq. Joystiq also has an interview with Jerry Holkins.
Comments are closed.