Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rainslick Precipice Of Darkness: Episode 2 (2008)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1 | Developer: Hothead Games

Part 2 begins hilariously similar to the 1st as the PA protagonists, Gabe and Tycho, accidentally wreck the new abode of the player character that had just been rebuilt. The player character is pretty chill about it this time around and is recruited to continue the search for the creator of the ongoing miniature robot menace as well as the giant robot responsible for his house's first destruction which has still evaded sweet vengeance. The same aesthetics and atmosphere are intact with slightly less an air of mystery and a bit more horror, though still mostly rooted in the original comic's sense of humor.

Nothing much has changed, only minor details like Tycho switching out a machine gun for a shotgun and the player character using a hoe as a weapon rather than his original rake. There are new enemies and new special attacks, but it all works the same way with an active time battle system that can be enhanced with good blocking by pressing the spacebar with correct timing. The battles are, like the first game, all substantial as they all have the potential to be dangerous unlike other RPGs. Learning correct blocking and the enemies' weaknesses is key to advancing. The learning curve might be a little steeper this time around as the latter half of the game pretty much requires learning the ins and outs of the battle system. In the first episode, a player could probably squeak by to the final boss having not mastered most of the battle system, but this time around the enemies can wreck you in seconds later on without some semblance of gained skill.

While it is more of the same, that doesn't always have to be a bad thing. The new enemies and continued absurdist steampunk narrative were still engaging. The same problem still applies in that only existing fans of Penny Arcade will get the most out of it or just a connoisseur of RPGs looking for something a little different. Casual players will get little out of the distinct humor if not even a little turned off by it. I think having some experience with it made me enjoy this one perhaps a little bit more.

Buyer's Guide:
Available for digital download on PC, Mac, XBLA and PSN.

4 cock fighting robot monkeys out of 5

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1 (2008)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1 | Developer: Hothead Games

It was probably inevitable that long-running webcomic Penny Arcade would become a game itself. Here the PA protagonists Gabe and Tycho join with the player character in a roaring 20's, steampunk setting as they chase a towering robot that has crushed the player's house. The player joins their detective agency to get revenge and then find out the mysterious conspiracy behind the sudden swarm of smaller robots, murderous mimes, homicidal hobos and other strange enemies.

Gameplay consists of exploring settings like a suburban street and a boardwalk that is very reminiscent of old point and click adventure games using the mouse to move and click on things to interact or just to open a text box describing the clicked item. Combat is an active time battle system with context sensitive button presses used to block and use special attacks. Blocking is done by hitting the space bar at the right time as the enemy attacks (their health bar will flash). A perfectly timed block will result in no damage and an automatic counterattack, but timing is difficult. Otherwise it will result in a regular block that reduces damage, a partial block that lets more damage through or a missed block that lets all damage through and any status effects that the attack may inflict.

Special attacks take longer to charge, but do more damage. Killing an enemy with a perfectly executed special attack results in an Overkill that gives permanent bonuses to stats. Specials can also be stacked between the characters for double and triple attacks for more damage. Unlike most RPG's with throwaway battles for grinding, every battle here has the potential to be deadly, so blocking and item use for healing, buffing and distracting enemies is essential as are the support characters that can be summoned to help. Knowing weaknesses helps too like hobos are drunk and therefore resistant to Gabe's punches but are susceptible to Tycho's bullets.

The art-style is very in-sync with the comic art-style particularly the cut-scenes and dialogue screens and the steampunk setting is welcome, but a lot of the game may not gel with players that aren't already fans of the comic. It is very tongue-in-cheek and the humor might not come across to casual players. They may not understand Tycho's love for deep wordplay (resulting in the mouthful title) and why the robots are fruit rapists. There is a bit of a learning curve in the beginning too as players are walked through about 3 fights and then left to their own devices pretty quick. But the game is solid. Great combat, vibrant art and good humor.

Buyer's Guide:

Available for digital distribution on PC, Mac, XBLA and PSN.

3½ Killer cat hairballs out of 5