Penny Arcade's Gabe posted a status update on Penny Arcade Adventures: The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness. The first episode has been such a smash success that he was inundated with e-mails asking about the next chapter.There's no release date yet for Episode 2 yet, but Gabe said that he's already finished the artwork and moved on to Episode 3. Presumably that means it's all in the software developers' hands now. To tease us, though, Gabe noted that Episode 2 will be shown at PAX this year, and provided the above sample artwork -- the "Hat Spider."Of the creature, he said: "The vicious Hat Spider is a deadly new foe. As ferocious as he is fashionable. Just because you're an eight-legged nightmare doesn't mean you can't accessorize."Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One Demo (Windows)Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One Demo (Mac)Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One Demo (Linux) ...

We've been reporting on news stories for the upcoming 2008 edition of the E For All Expo but today we got news from the veterans of the consumer games show business, the Penny Arcade Expo. PAX 2008 will be held Aug 29-31 in Seattle and today the organizers announced their full list of exhibitors.For a show that started out just a few years ago with about 3,000 attendees, PAX has grown into the biggest US based video/PC game show (thanks in part to the demise of E3's trade show). This year exhibitors will include all three console companies (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft) along with Electronic Arts, Activision, 2K Games, Bethesda Softworks, Blizzard, NCSoft, Gamecock, Midway, Namco Bandai, THQ, Vivendi Games, Ubisoft and many others. Indeed the exhibit hall space for the 2008 edition of PAX has doubled compared to 2007's hall...

Valve has sent word that Hothead Games' Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-slick Precipice of Death, Episode One, is now available for purchase over Steam. One day soon, even you will be available for purchase over Steam.Priced at $19.99, Penny Arcade Adventures stars Gabe and Tycho, the protagonists from the titular online comic. Players who have held out for a Steam release (inevitable, really) will be pleased to learn that Steam Achievements have been added to the game."Many at Valve are huge fans of Penny Arcade - the comics, the site and now the game," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "As such, we're delighted Hothead Games chose to use the Steamworks system of achievements and create a special PC version of On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness for the millions of gamers on Steam."...

We here at Big Download love indie games. From telling you about them, playing them, or offering downloads for them, we are all about helping lesser-known developers get their name out into the world. Each week on Saturday, we'll give you the Indie Wrap-up, a collection of all the indie news stories and features during the previous week.This week was a rather slow one on the indie front, with no major game or news releases. We got our mitts on the new Penny Arcade game, though, and you can see the results of that in this week's features!Features In-Depth - On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode OneKyle Horner plays the new Penny Arcade game and gives the low-down on what you can expect in the intensely funny role-playing game. Big Versus: Penny Arcade Adventures - Episode OneOur very own Xav de Matos takes a look into the differences between the Xbox 360 and PC versions of PAA. His verdict? Either way you're getting a good game. Freeware Friday: Clean AsiaJames Murff showcases another freeware gem. This time, it's a bizarre little freeware shoot-'em-up by cactus called Clean Asia. ...

This has been an exciting week in PC gaming! The release of Mass Effect, more information on the highly anticipated StarCraft II, and Valve has decided to let us back things up via the upcoming Steam Cloud service. (This is, of course, after most of us spent last week playing On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode One.) Going into this weekend we figured it would be a no-brainer as to what most of the Big Download staff would be playing....Steven Wong, our fearless all around bad-mutha and Managing Editor is playing Mass Effect as we expected, but will be adding a side of Age of Conan and possibly some City of Heroes or City of Villains in the mix. Samuel Axon, blogger and caffeine fiend will be kickin' it old-school in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Deus Ex. John Callaham and David Craddock, aside from being our esteemed (and crazy workaholic) leads, will both be spending time playing on Steam. John's planning on spending time in Team Fortress 2, and David's got his sights set on jumping into the Get a Life mod for Half-Life 2. (Well, and he'll be checking out some mods for WarCraft III for an upcoming column, but that's work.) As for me, I have a copy of Mass Effect for my PC, and of course will be continuing my own all-over-the-place MMOG adventures for Massively. How about you all? Will you be jumping into Mass Effect as well, or are you still playing through OtRSPoD? Perhaps you're more interested in fragging the crap out of people in TF2 after a (not very) long week? Tell us, What aRe yoU Playing this weekend? ...

Longtime fans of the Penny Arcade webcomic most likely already know what I'm about to say here. You probably know that On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One is an adventure-RPG set in the steampunk/gothic horror world of New Arcadia where similar-yet-different versions of Gabe and Tycho run their own paranormal investigation firm -- of sorts. But did you know that in this game you'll get to battle robotic juicing machines that copulate with fruits, men, women and sometimes small animals? Oh, you did. Well fine, but don't say we didn't warn you when their little metal protrusions puncture your tibia.For those of you who don't know every little detail about the game, let us make you au courant on the subject of OTRSPoD:EO. Yes, we just went acronymical on your ass....

In Big Versus we tackle multiplatform releases that land on PC and console and weigh the pros and cons of the PC version against its console sibling. In each installment we compare games based on included content (such as single and multiplayer features), visuals and everything in between. While our mascot may show an admiration for PC gaming, we're all about telling you the truth in Big Versus.In our first installment of Big Versus we're tackling the recently released episodic title, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode One. In this feature we'll compare both the PC and Xbox Live Arcade releases and pinpoint any differences that could affect your purchase decision.Grab your boot straps, equip your sharpest rake and get ready for attack. This is Big Versus....

Undoubtedly some of our readers are enjoying the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness. For those of you still on the fence of checking out the RPG adventure from Hothead Games we've provided some new media released today in honor of the title's release.Starring Penny Arcade duo Gabe and Tycho, the team attempts to solve mysteries at the Startling Discoveries detective agency that kick starts with a giant robot attack. What's not to like? The full game can be purchased at the Greenhouse web site for $19.95.The Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One release trailer is available after the jump and can also be downloaded in its high-res glory from Big Download today!Download the PC demo of Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One at Big Download now.Download the Mac demo of Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One at Big Download now.Download the Linux demo of Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One at Big Download now....

It's finally here. After what seems like years of waiting the first chapter in the planned episodic RPG-adventure game series Penny Arcade Adventures is finally available for download and purchase. The first episode, titled On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, is available in PC, Mac and even Linux flavors (there's also a version for Xbox 360 owners to download via Xbox Live Arcade if you swing that way).Big Download has all three demos of the Hothead Games developed title for you to download which gives you a taste of the full "M"-rated title. While the game has all of the comic book style art of the Penny Arcade web comic strip it's definately not for the kids as "Tycho" and "Gabe" are involved in a mysterious detective agency who deal with H.P. Lovecraft style horrors. The full game can be purchased at the Greenhouse web site for $19.95.Download the PC demo of Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One at Big Download now.Download the Mac demo of Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One at Big Download now.Download the Linux demo of Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One at Big Download now....

Hothead Games today announced that Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One will be available via the Greenhouse digital distribution for the Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms on May 21.Based on the characters from the wildly popular online comic Penny Arcade, Episode One features heroes Gabe and Tyco in the deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia.On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, which has been rated M for Mature by the ESRB, promises a 10-hour adventure when it releases for $19.99 next Wednesday....

And there was much rejoicing! Yes indeed, the long awaited downloadable RPG-adventure game with the longest title in history, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One, has now gotten the "gone gold" status for the PC, Mac and Linux versions. That means that development is completed and that it should be ready to be released. Unfortunately we still don't have an actual release date for the game; the press release only said it would be out "later this quarter".The "M" rated title, developed by Hothead Games, is the first game based on the Penny Arcade web comic with extensive input from the comic's creators. The comic's characters, Gabe and Tycho, are in the game the owners of a detective agency who have to deal with threats in the game's setting which is a mix of 1920's Lovecraft horror with a comic book art style. The game will be released via the new indie game digital download service Greenhouse with a price of $19.95....