Today’s Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday release brings the much anticipated first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness. Taking place in the 1920’s fictional city of New Arcadia, gamers are able to create their own custom character, and tag along with Penny Arcade’s Gabe and Tycho as they traverse through a variety of role playing exploits. PA fans will feel right at home with the title, as it carries same breed of humor and artistic style that we all know and love.

There has been some debate over the game’s price, which marks a new record for an XBLA release at $20. While this may at first seem like an unfair offer, remember that PA Adventures is not necessarily an “arcade” game despite being placed on the same virtual shelf as Geometry Wars and Undertow. The game carries high production values, and a 7-10 hour experience worthy as a piece of a whole retail game you would have to go to an old fashioned “store” for. Hopefully Penny Arcade Adventures will inspire more development of episodic content that goes beyond coin op classics and side scrolling shooters, in order to evolve the arcade into a full blown online game store.