Editor's note: one of the characters mentioned in this game review is named using strong language, reproduced verbatim.

Ever been away from the internet for several days or even weeks? I hate it. I feel out of touch. There's so much stuff that I keep up with on a daily basis. The one good thing about ending such an extended stint "on the wagon" is when I go to catch up on one of my favorite online comics, Penny Arcade, and find that there are several strips on which I can gorge myself all at once. That is what playing On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness feels like to me.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (Gabe and Tycho shorten that to "RSPD" so I will as well) is funny in the same way Penny Arcade is funny. That is to say, "intermittently". You won't be cackling with laughter every minute, but you'll get some good chuckles and will probably laugh out loud at least once or twice. Penny Arcade didn't coin the phrase "I see what you did there" but I believe they played a big part in bringing it from obscure discussion forum jargon status more into mainstream internet jargon status. It's ironic, because it describes my reaction to quite a bit of Penny Arcade humor. Less belly laugh, more affirming smirk. I think the humor in the game is perhaps even more subdued because the game doesn't introduce much new in the Penny Arcade universe. It doesn't try to reinvent or redefine Penny Arcade, but instead strives to bring it to life. Producer Hothead Games does a very, very, very good job of it. (Reviews on this site do not carry "scores" but if you cannot cope without such things, note that here I used "very" three times. Believe me, that's a lot.)

The story is an off-the-wall amalgamation of Lovecraftian elements and bits of previous Penny Arcade comic strip storylines. You play the game as a new character who joins with Gabe and Tycho in pursuit of a giant evil robot when it smashes his house flat. You have some limited options to customize your character and those customizations carry through when the game shifts from 3D environments to 2D comic strip mode for cut scenes. The only voice work is the narrator whose mysterious identity remains...er...a mystery. Everything else is text in comic strip chat bubbles, which in any other game would be sort of annoying but in this game make sense. No matter how good the voice actor, trying to attach voices to Tycho and Gabe might be jarring for Penny Arcade fans. Instead, Hothead has made the cut scenes feel like you're reading Penny Arcade.

Game play is smooth and fast paced. When not in battle, you run around in well-realized -- but still very comicy -- environments smashing garbage cans and crates to collect combat powerup items. There's quite a lot to discover in this phase of the game as just about everything you see will pop up a message with more Penny Arcade brand wit. There are special collectibles hidden throughout the levels as well, that unlock bonuses like concept art, music tracks and videos.

Combat starts when the three heroes happen upon nefarious mimes, insidious clowns, malevolent hobos, haunted trash cans, evil Fruit Fucker robots or barbershop quartets. While dice aren't really used in the game, a D20 "roll for initiative" appears here as another nod to a Penny Arcade strip. The character that wins this roll will be able to act immediately while all others will have to wait a for their abilities to charge. The heroes have 3 types of abilities which "charge up" in sequence. When any action is taken, all three of the abilities for that character have to charge up again. First "Items" charges. This lets the character use items to buff himself or debuff the enemy or heal himself or the party or damage one or more enemies. Next the basic attack charges up. This is just a standard attack using the characters' weapons of choice. Tycho wields a tommy gun, Gabriel uses his fists and your character smacks bad guys around with the garden rake he was holding when his house was flattened.

Once the normal attack is charged, the special attacks begin to charge up. You don't start out with any of these, but they're unlocked as the characters level up. There are three special attacks for each of the three characters. Each one presents a simple button-mashing challenge to trigger its full effect. For Gabe's special punches, you mash a button rapidly to fill up a meter before time runs out...and then time a final button press based on a gauge. Tycho's firearm specials are triggered by just pressing button as they appear on screen. To unleash the true power of the rake, you must watch a needle spin on a dial and press a button when the needle is pointing at targets. The challenges get tougher for each of the special attacks you unlock. Finally, if two or more characters have their special attack charged, an ultra-powerful team attack is possible. The attack itself varies based on which characters are involved, and it's fun to try and trigger them all just to see them.

This is not a turn-based game. The enemy does not wait around for you to figure out what your next move should be, they take action every time they get a chance. They can buff themselves, heal themselves, or use a variety of clever attacks. Mimes, for instance, can pick up an imaginary boulder and throw it at you. There is no boulder, of course, but it still hurts. (They're very convincing mimes.) Different enemies will have different weaknesses and resistances. You'll see this appear over their heads when the attack they are weak or resistant to is used on them. To some extent it becomes a rock/paper/scissors game once you get to know the enemy types.

I've already mentioned Gabe, Tycho and the Fruit Fucker but a few of Penny Arcade's most beloved characters made it into the game as well. Tycho's niece Anne-Claire plays a key role. She guides the heroes in their investigation and also upgrades their weapons using parts they collect from defeated Fruit Fucker robots. T. Kemper the cat from the comic tags along as well. In fact, the cat, the niece and a pink-painted Fruit Fucker robot named Fuscia all can participate in battles as support characters with attacks that range from powerful (Anne-Claire's flame thrower) to...just gross (the cat...well...grooms itself).

If you are slow to upgrade your weapons or slow to learn enemy weaknesses or just generally slow in the head, the game might prove a bit too challenging. Anyone else one might complain that it's too easy. I wouldn't have objected to it being a tad more challenging, but the difficulty didn't bother me much. The only thing I really have to complain about is having to wait for Episode 2.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is 100% fan service for Penny Arcade aficionados. I count myself among those ranks and so it's no surprise that I really enjoyed this first installment and am eager to see more. Well worth the $20 price tag on the first episode. Someone who is unfamiliar with or just doesn't like Penny Arcade's irreverent, low-brow, in-your-face humor may not find the game to their liking. The game play is indeed smooth, fast paced and fun, but if you don't "get" the comic then you most likely won't "get" the game. You can "get" the game, by the way, for the XBox 360 via Live Arcade or for Windows, Mac, or Linux -- it's about as cross-platform as they come.