Author: Rick Marshall

Ever since it was announced in 2006, details have been hard to come by regarding Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1: On The Rain-Slick Precipice Of Darkness, the videogame based on the über-popular Penny Arcade webcomic. That’s starting to change, however, as the anticipated release of Episode 1 nears.

The crew over at Wired were recently offered the opportunity for a semi-review of the game (they weren’t allowed to actually play it – they just watched the designers), and the their description of the gameplay, graphics and overall outlook on the game will certainly whet the appetites of eager videogame and/or webcomic fans.

According to Wired‘s semi-review, the game "blends old-school point-and-click adventure gameplay with RPG combat." The dialogue and art were praised by the reviewer, and some hints were provided about PA characters appearing in the game and, in some cases, the roles they’ll play.

Early in the tutorial, you’ll come across the first of the game’s three support characters, who act like summoned monsters in Final Fantasy. Their gauges build up slowly and over time, and you can call them out when they’re ready to deal a big attack to all enemies. The first support character is Thomas Kemper, the PA gang’s erstwhile cat. ("The cat appraises you, and finds you wanting," reads the text when you first encounter him.) His special move is to walk out and lick his cathole, causing one point of damage to all enemies. This is absolutely useless, but very rarely he will do something better, although I’ve been asked not to spoil what that is.

The reviewer ventures a guess that Episode 1 will hit shelves sometime this spring (judging by its level of completion at the time of the review), with installments released at four-month intervals.

If you’re the type that needs to see it for yourself to believe it, you can also view some footage of Episode 1 over at Game Trailers.