Penny Arcade: Episode 1

Overview

Which lets face it is a much easier title to remember then “on the rain slick precipice of darkness episode one” is the first instalment of Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik long awaited video game based on the characters Tycho Brahe (Jerry) and Jonathan Gabriel (“Gabe”)(Mike) from their Penny Arcade webcomic. So just how does this fair up in the long run well lets find out shall we.

While initially I baulked at the 1600MS points (£13.60) cost of the full game which has spurred quite a controversy amongst gamers and fans alike who claim Holkins and Krahulik are cashing in, where previously they have been advocates against games developers over charging gamers. Have they turned to the dark side here well guess that will only be told with time but I do hope not. The reason I’m hoping it won’t be the case is this is one of the first Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) games to feature an episodic quality to it with future releases planned to further the story, and 1600 an episode may well scare off all but the most devoted fanboys.

With the high cost of the full game in mind I like 99% of the people interested in the game went straight to the trial version, which to be fair I only played for about 10 minutes before I invested in the full game. Now I’m not just speaking as a fanboy myself here but this game was a startling yet pleasant surprise to me, having downloaded and tried numerous trials and deleting them again after 5 minutes play I have to admit this does not feel like an XBLA game.

Now don’t misread that as it will have same in depth game play as The Elder scrolls: Oblivion or Grand Theft Auto 4 or the action of Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 but this is up there with the most advanced XBLA games available at the moment. You start the game with a fairly standard character creation screen, allowing you to choose gender/body shape/facial features/hats/glasses which again while not comparable to other games out there is still a very good little system. After settling for your character appearance of choice which for some reason for me is always a red haired woman (thank god there are no dark elves in this is all I can say!), it’s onto the game which is reminiscent of The league of extraordinary gentlemen with a Victorian atmosphere all presented in PA’s comic style, with all the action taking place in a side scrolling manner and the majority of the conversation cut scenes laid out like a comic book with a few full motion videos for the key story scenes. The story seems well thought out and is engaging with the majority of the lead characters present, but be warned for those of a sensitive nature you will be exposed to swearing the calibre of GTA 4’s Niko Bellic though in text form rather then vocally.

The game starts as is quite common with learning the few basic moves involved namely using the Left thumbstick to move around and the A button to interact with objects. After this it’s on with the story and after just a few minutes play the combat system which is a work of art, the system used here is a initiative roll of a virtual D20 dice which determines who gets the initial move in what is a fairly standard real time turn based combat system. You are presented with several options which after using the left stick to select the character you would like to set orders are selected using the A button for items, the X button for normal attacks and the Y button for special attacks (which I will come back to shortly).

Once your particular option is selected you then choose which enemy you wish to attack or which of your team you would like to heal or use item on, which when it arrives at their turn will be carried out. While all this is going on though the enemy is preparing itself and all of the varieties of enemy have more then one attack as well as the option to use items. But rather then sit there and allow yourself to be attacked there is an ability of being able to block any attack, this is done by waiting till you see the attacking parties health bar flash and then pulling the right trigger. If you miss then the attack progresses as normal but depending on just how well you time it you get either a partial block where you still receive some damage, a normal block which cuts damage down to a small amount or for perfect timing you trigger a counter attack where no damage is received but you get a free attack in retaliation. If your feeling brave or just want something more damaging then continuing to block and not attacking fills each characters special ability which is unleashed with the Y button, but bear in mind any form of attack or any items used will cause this ability to empty and start refilling. Finally there are the 3 characters you meet during the progression of the story who join you as support characters each of which can provide when ready an additional attack to aid the player.

Looking at the game as just it’s component parts this is nothing really special but when all combined it becomes a very enjoyable experience and having played for a good few hours and still not completed I imagine it will be one that you can spend some time with. The biggest issue for anyone interested will of course be the price and as of the time of writing this there were no plans to lower it in the immediate future, this does not mean they won’t but it could be a long wait for a game which for me is the only XBLA title worth having for a long time.

• Graphics: 10/10 (for a XBLA title)
• Audio: 9/10 (no voice acting as an only XBLA title)
• Game play: 9/10
• value for money: 5/10 (based on current MS points price)

over all rating 8/10

This review was written based on the Xbox 360 live arcade of Penny Arcade’s: On the rain slick precipice of darkness: episode 1 the opinions expressed within are the views of the reviewer alone. All pictures remain the property of their owners.

Ebony Phoenix

Penny Arcade: Episode 1 Results