Brandon Wu, fonder of independent game developer Studio Pepwuper, wanted to make a game that could be fun for all ages without being violent so he took some ideas from children’s books, inspirational comic characters and his many trips to London. The result is an episodic adventure game called Megan and the Giant.

In Meagan and the Giant, you sneak around London playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek while trying to rescue her new friend. The story-based game will include cute characters, four creative items to use, 30+ levels in London scenery and humorous dialogue. No real details are given about the story except that Megan meets a mysterious giant who is apparently wanted by the police and needs to be rescued by Megan.

Hey McFly! I’m talking to you. Telltale Games is giving away the first episode of Back to the Future: The Game. Best of all, there’s no catch to be seen on the surface. There’s a possibility that the episode could be so good, it will create a time paradox, the results of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the very fabric of the space time continuum, and destroy the entire universe!

Title: Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice (Episode 1)Price: 1,600 Microsoft Points ($19.95)System(s): Xbox Live (PC, Mac, Linux)Release Date: May 21, 2008Publisher (Developer): Hothead Games (Hothead Games )ESRB Rating: “Mature” for language and sexual humorPros: Signature Penny-Arcade art style and sense of humor, you can make your own Penny-Arcade style avatar and it at least tries to be more than your average arcade-style Xbox Live game.Cons: Super small icons, poorly timed opponents, awkward controls, pace-cutting cuts and crappy camera angles. A bit too pricey.Overall Score: One thumb sideways, one down; 63/100; D; * 1/2 out of five

The game is wrought with the limitations of an Xbox Live game (though it strives to be much more) made for an HD TV: Text is too small to read and be thoroughly soak in the humor, icons are too small to be helpful during combat, the camera angle/perspective is so wonky it’ll make you scream and the combination live-action/tune-based game play is poorly executed. The best game-related thing it has going for it is that…

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Today (May 21, 2008) marks the release of the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness. The episodic gaming series is available for download for Windows, Mac, and Linux from Greenhouse, or via Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360.

The game follows the stars of Penny Arcade, Tycho Brahe and Jonathan Gabriel, who work as paranormal investigators for the Startling Developments detective agency. Set in the fictional 1920s town of New Arcadia, OTRSPOD merges point-and-click adventure sensibilities with the…