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Penny Arcade Releases Episodic PC Game
CyDharttha writes "Greenhouse Interactive on Wednesday released a RPG titled 'On the Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One.' The title is available on Linux, Mac, and Windows platforms, as well as XBox Live Arcade. A quick look at the game shows it promises the same great humor frequently displayed at Penny Arcade, and with the help of Hothead Games, intriguing graphics, sound, dialog and game play. Demo and purchase is available online now."
I, for one, welcome our new steampunk, FruitFucker overlords
XenoPhage
Technological Musings
Despite their past ambivalence to the OS and its partisans.
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
I'm a fan, so I purchased it immediately. However, there's at least one terribly frustrating thing that I'm pretty shocked is there: a rather long, unskippable intro movie that plays every time you start the game. The graphics look great, and so far the writing and humor have been up to my high expectations, but this one thing makes it feel like Jerry and Mike never actually played the retail version before launch. I can't believe they wouldn't have had that fixed. I hope they release a patch to correct this.
Slightly too mouse-driven for my taste, but the demo was great fun. Lots of little asides to spread that PA humor around, good atmosphere, and (so far) pretty solid gameplay. I had probably better wait until after work to buy the full copy, though...
I played for about an hour last night. It's supposed to have a duration of about 6 hours (it's episodic, remember). The graphics, sound, writing, voices are all terrific; professional, polished, flawless. The humor falls in line with what you'd expect - hilarious and sometimes subtle. (On Desperation Street make sure you look at each house and the contents of their mailbox.)
Not a single graphics glitch or sound glitch was experienced. Game moves and loads quickly, looks good, has an extremely easy interface to learn.
I have fundamental issues with the authorization that's required for the license - see Bioware/Mass Effect - but at least it's only one time, and it doesn't appear to be tied to your hardware. (A post on the official forums said someone could use their license key on their laptop and their desktop, different operating systems, with no problem.)
The only problem that's annoyed me thus far is the pathfinding. It could use some work -- especially when an item falls into the path of the character.
Still, for $20.00 for 6 hours of laughing my ass off... well worth the cash.
My reality check bounced.
I played through the demo last night, and was reasonably well entertained. The artwork is very well stylized in a way that reminds you of the comic, and I think it works pretty well. The art style works really well with the type of mood that they're trying to create in the game, and the narration worked well too.
Combat in the game is a strange mix of turn-based and sort of real-time clicking, it was different from anything I've played before but I don't have that much experience with those sorts of games. The demo didn't have enough combat for me to become comfortable with the combat system, so I can't give a complete opinion, but it seems like it works well enough.
If you've read penny arcade over the years, the notion of a character that you created (and which most likely you identify as yourself for the purpose of the game) interacting with characters that you've been watching for years is pretty neat.
I'll probably buy the game after next week when I'm done with a crunch at work. It's certainly worth at least downloading the demo. I don't think it's the type of game that will appeal to everyone just because of the gameplay, but for what it is it appears to be carefully crafted and generally high quality. Certainly not a cheap cash-in of their PA brand or anything like that.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
If you're going for the Linux version, be sure to test out the demo. I had to run it through aoss to make it work.
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I'm a big fan of PA, and aside from the page hits, and occasional ad click, I really haven't had much of a chance to support them. I'm not big enough of a gamer to roll out wearing shirts with D20 or WoW references on them. I probably would have bought this game even if it were merely mediocre, but it's actually very entertaining. I just bought the full version, and won't be able to play it until I get home, but there were several laugh out loud moments in the demo, which is seems very promising to me.
I'm also very, very pleased with their decision to fully support Linux. There were a few hiccups to start off, but after changing some basic settings in the in-game menu the game ran smoothly. Their forums offer support for every OS and the HotHead staff, for the time being, seem to be on the ball with answering support questions. I give PA two thumbs up and three cheers for their efforts. I will definitely be purchasing the next installments, no questions asked.
If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.
I downloaded the game on XBLA and am thoroughly impressed. This is the quality level thaat XBLA needs more of!
Laborare Est Orare
Here are the torrents for the Windows and Linux versions of the demo.
If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
I haven't followed PA consistently, so I don't have much of an opinion on their content. An online comic I think that would translate well to a game is Girl Genius (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/index.php). Heck, I think that whole universe would translate well to a MMO, though the female characters wouldn't be able to see the ground or run without toppling over.
If this process is easily mass produced, I could see past and current comic books becoming games.
The tutorial help mentions it only fleetingly, but the enemy's lifebar flashes right at the moment you need to block. If you hit the block button quickly enough after that (I'd guess 1/10th of a second leeway), you'll get a counterattack.
I also found it a little easier to start by holding the button partially down, then complete the press on cue. But that was on the 360 using the triggers; it might not work as well on a keyboard.
PC version reviews:
GameRankings.com:
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/935227.asp?q=precipice
Metacritic:
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/pennyarcadeadventuresepisode1?q=precipice
Property is theft.