SEATTLE -- Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 2 is no mere iteration on the original. There are some significant improvements.
In fact, it seems as if most of the things that disappointed me about the first episode are being worked on. They're making the battles more difficult, and even adding additional difficulty modes if you want a tougher challenge. And the developers promise more item-based, point-and-click style puzzles to break up the action. Combine that with even more of the carefully-written humor and clever RPG battles that made the first game fun, and Episode 2 could be a significant step up.
First, let's get the big burning question out of the way. If you want to carry over your custom-made character from episode 1, you can. If you've maxed out your characters' levels, they'll start episode 2 at level 15. If you choose not to carry your characters over, the default characters will start at level 13.
You may want to create a brand-new character even if you already have one, because the character-creation tool has been upgraded for this episode. For example, a variety of different styles of eyeglasses have been added, including a monocle.
One of the things that helped keep players on their toes during Penny Arcade Adventures' turn-based battles were the timing-based mini-games that happened every time you wanted to do a special attack. These were pretty easy -- it was tough to get anything less than a perfect score, if you knew how to press the keys on your keyboard. This time around, there are new mini-games that are much harder. For example, Gabe's requires you to press the arrow keys in rhythm, almost as if you were playing Beatmania. But the arrows speed up during the game, so it's harder to hit them all.
Other things about the battles have been tweaked to make them more difficult. For example, there's now a separate item for reviving your fallen comrades -- you can't just use the healing Bandage to get them up from a KO, anymore.
And if the main game just isn't hard enough for you, you can crank it up to Insane mode once you've played through it one time. There are treasure chests scattered about that you won't be able to open until you're in Insane mode, for extra replay value.
The game is still laugh-out-loud funny, so don't worry about that going away. Everyone's got brand-new attacks, so even the names of those will likely keep you amused (see A License to Till, above).
Episode 2 will be out in late fall. Hopefully they'll be able to release the PlayStation 3 version alongside the Xbox 360 and PC builds this time around, instead of making Sony owners wait. It does seem on track to outdo the first game in every way.
Images: Hothead Games
