If you planned on playing Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 2 this holiday break, you may want to wait. Many users are reporting a gltich which renders their save files completely useless. Selecting a corrupted save file will freeze gamers on a permanent "Loading" screen.
The problem has since been identified, and will be patched soon. However, due to the holidays, SCE QA is taking a little break. That means this patch won't be available until the new year, in January. Right now, it's unclear if a patch will fix any current save files. Considering the Penny Arcade Adventures aren't too long, starting over shouldn't be too bad -- but we're sure players would rather not.
Are you prepared for a massive torrent of content? This may be the longest list we've had to type up and, though there's plenty of stuff you keep you busy til next week, there is one glaring omission in the list. Where's Lumines Supernova? Nevermind, we're sure it will be with us soon. In the meantime we've got Crash Commando and Penny Arcade 2 to keep us entertained, not to mention the demos, PS1 games and massive amount of downloadable content. Here's the full release list:
Playable Content
SuperSonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars price drop (now $9.99)
Crash Commando ($9.99)
Penny Arcade Adventures episode 2 ($14.99)
Metal Gear Online demo (free)
Sonic Unleashed demo (free)
Castlevania Chronicles PS1 game ($5.99)
Rayman 2: The Great Escape PS1 game ($5.99)
Add-on Content
LittleBigPlanet "Santa Hat and Beard" costume (free)
LittleBigPlanet "Festive Pack" ($2.99)
High Velocity Bowling "Darryl" character ($0.99)
High Velocity Bowling "Gage" character ($0.99)
High Velocity Bowling "Beatrice Holiday Costume" (free)
High Velocity Bowling "Carl Holiday Costume" (free)
Hot Shots Golf: Out Of Bounds costume pack 3 ($2.99)
The PlayStation Store update will be pretty significant today, it seems. Not only will Crash Commando come out today, the next episode of the Penny Arcade Adventures will be available. Episode Two adds multiple difficulty settings and will offer Trophy support.
Check it out on the PlayStation Store for $14.99 later today.
The next episode of the Penny Arcade Adventures returns on the PlayStation Network. Considering you killed a god in the first episode, what more will you do in this new journey?
Trophy hunters looking for an RPG fix will be able to get it this Thursday, when Penny Arcade Adventures' first episode goes live on the PlayStation Network. The PS3 version will also support custom soundtracks, score ranking and a new low price of $15 (the XBLA original cost $20). Other regions will get PAA "shortly thereafter."
Now available on the PlayStation Network, Penny Arcade Adventures brings episodic RPG gameplay to the popular online comic strip. Most Trophies are pretty easy, but watch out for that Gold Trophy!
Another "gone gold" announcement today, this time for Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 2. The second part of the On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness series is now in the can and ready to release onto the PSN store "this fall." Actually, the press release states that the PSN version will probably launch shortly after the Mac, Linux, Windows and 360 versions. Hopefully that's a matter of days later, not weeks (to coincide with the Thursday PSN releases, we suspect). The pricing for the game will be $14.95.
Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 1 will no doubt release before then, too. If you've already played it on another system, it might be worth picking it up for the trophies, and for the ability to transfer your character data over between episodes. If you've not played the game yet, it's an 3D turn based RPG with a Penny Arcade art and writing style. If that sounds good to you, rejoice in the fact that you have two episodes to look forward to this Autumn.
Gallery: Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1 (PS3)
After debuting on PC, XBLA and Mac earlier this year, many wondered why Penny Arcade Adventures was not coming out on PS3. Thankfully, developer Hothead Games has listened to your input and has announced a PS3 version will release on PSN later this year. "We keep getting emails asking why our Penny Arcade game is not on PSN," said Hothead's CEO, Vlad Ceraldi. "We have always said we wanted to have our games on as many platforms as possible to give choice to gamers. All good things take time and we are very excited to be debuting our first PS3 title and look forward to bringing more games to this platform in the future."
On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an RPG adventure game set in a 1920s pulp-horror universe, featuring many characters from the popular Penny Arcade webcomic series. The PS3 version of the game will be priced similarly to the release on XBLA and PC. See the very first images of the PS3 version in our new gallery.
Gallery: Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1 (PS3)
And so begins Penny Arcade's latest strip, which extols the merits of Bioshock. While many bashed the game as "just another FPS" when it failed to release on PS3 last year, the recently announced port should be met with some excitement and anticipation ... just not too much, please. Tycho explains properly: "at the very least, Playstation 3 stalwarts can stop hating it for no good Goddamned reason."
The first downloadable Penny Arcade adventure is coming soon to Xbox Live Arcade, Mac, Linux and PC. Why is it not coming out on PSN? Simple: the Torque Game Engine isn't compatible with the PS3, at least not yet. It was always intended to bring the game over to PS3, explained a representative from Hot Head Games. However, the engine's lack of support for Sony's console made it impossible to make it multiplatform.
The Torque Game Engine is commonly used for Xbox Live Arcade games because it is a low-cost solution for developers that can't invest in other options, such as the Unreal Engine. Downloadable titles need to keep their costs low, especially when developed by independent teams. For now, it seems as though Penny Arcade Adventures won't find a home on the PS3.
Did you catch today's Penny Arcade strip? Well, hope you did -- it's a fun one, just for Ratchet & Clank fans. Check it out.
Of course, as is usual for the Penny Arcade duo, they have a blog entry detailing their experiences with the game. "The new Ratchet & Clank is a marvel, further proof that Insomniac is the surest thing that platform has going for it. You'll travel to lush, hitch-free worlds where the brutal load times found in other Playstation titles are nowhere to be found. It's something everyone with the system will be playing, and it's executed at a level that should generate jealousy in the non-owner."
We'd have to agree. Check out PS3 Fanboy's review of the game next Tuesday (right before it "officially" ships to stores!).
