Hothead Games has revealed that its webcomic-inspired downloadable RPG Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One will be available for PC and Xbox 360 beginning next Wednesday, May 21.

The downloadable game will sell for $19.95, or 1600 Microsoft Points. The PC, Mac and Linux editions will debut on Greenhouse, while the Xbox 360 version will be released through the console's online Xbox Live Arcade.

Independent developer Hothead Games and gaming webcomic Penny Arcade today announced Greenhouse, a website that will focus on selling downloadable independent games for PC, Mac and Linux.

Hothead and Penny Arcade's RPG Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One will be the first title to release on the platform. No date has been announced for the title's debut, though it will sell for $19.95 and is expected this spring.

According to the company, Greenhouse was "built to supplement other online game delivery platforms," such as Valve's Steam, which provides Penny Arcade comics to its users.

"There are so many great games out there that you don't hear about," explained Penny Arcade business director Robert Khoo. "They're too niche or too risky in terms of game play for the top publishers to be comfortable with distributing. We want the Greenhouse to be an alternative for these developers."

A beta of Greenhouse and its downloading application are currently available at www.playgreenhouse.com.

This week, Chris Remo, Steve Gibson, and Nick Breckon discuss Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, BioShock, and more. Plus, Carlos Bergfeld stops in to deliver his impressions of Far Cry 2, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, and Kane and Lynch from the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle.

In other topics, we've got discussion of the odd Joust movie announcement, Manhunt 2's re-rating and upcoming release, the world of downloadable and retail games, major publishers such as EA and Ubisoft publishing very demanding PC games, and the winners of our BioShock contest. Join us!

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Emerging from the crowded halls of this year's Penny Arcade Expo, the Shack brought along a preview of what Penny Arcade fans will get to enjoy when the inaugural episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness becomes available. Sample its foul flavor.

In essence, Rain-Slick takes nearly all the standard trappings of a Japanese RPG and gives them an obscenity-ridden Penny Arcade fantasy world twist. Cleverly named attacks like "Plank You very Much"--a two-by-four to the face--and geysers of blood make the battles more about being entertained than enjoying the gameplay.

There's a Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Q&A on FiringSquad this morning, asking Hothead Games COO Joel DeYoung about the recently announced episodic game project.