So what does a sarcastic
gargoyle with a bad sense of humor, a handsome flirt who disappears
every time there’s trouble, and the obligatory wise old knows everything
cross between a turtle and a frog have in common? No, it’s not bad
breath. Sorry, it’s not their talent manager either. All three are
helping a warrior hero adventure goddess…who can’t swim.

Yes
it’s been called the “Skittles Game.” Elite gamers have
snorted and looked down their nose at such rubbish. To think an action
adventure game is based on candy is so unprofessional! Who cares?
The game is a downright blast. This reviewer hadn’t had so much fun
playing an action adventure game since Leisure Suit Larry became
passe. Darkened Skye is in a class all it’s own.

Now don’t get me wrong,
there ARE issues with the game. Serious issues. Such as crashing repeatedly,
graphic screw ups, and quick saving right as you are about to die
so you have to start the level over and over and over… ok the
last one was my fault. The first two were not. It became extremely
irritating to go into a battle only to watch the screen minimize to
my short cut bar. It almost seems that the sneaky little monsters
know when it is about to happen too, because by the time you quick
click on it to maximize again, it’s just in time to watch our dear
heroine die. And the graphics? There are three places in the game
where you just kind of swing Skye around until she gets out of the
area. If you are lucky she will find the door. If not, then you will
just wander around until you get mad enough to shut off the game and
restart. Only to find out it is the game, not your computer.

As
far as technological requirements, the game can be touchy. There is
a list of incompatible hardware as well as use at your risk hardware.
My recommendation is to use the recommended hardware if you got it.
If not, use the default settings for the game. Crashes far less that
way, however you will have to minimize your graphics depth during
boss fights. Yes it was frustrating. In my personal opinion, the designers
should have spent more time with the beta. NOTE TO DESIGNERS: Send
a beta copy of your next game to me! With that being said, the rest
of the game is fantastic.

The script for the game
is spontaneous, lively, quick witted and just plain fun. You never
know exactly what is going to be said or how. The notes Skye leaves
for herself are just as entertaining to read. Half of the pleasure
in playing this game was the interaction of characters and dialogue.
And if you get really mixed up in what you are supposed to be doing,
the notes from Skye can be a little sarcastic. Did I say “little”?
She can be downright flippant!

The other half was the
battles. This game is extremely free style. There really is no wrong
or right way to take out the bad guys. You can experiment with spells,
or good, old fashioned, thwacks on the head with your staff. And then
there is the glitches. But this isn’t a walk through, you are gonna
have to find the cheats yourself. Let me just say for every fight,
there is a possible hundred combinations to play around with. This
does not mean, by any means, the battles are easy, however. The further
into the game you get, the more your swearing vocabulary grows. Quick
save is your best friend, and your worst enemy. Try not to do what
I did. It can only be humorous say, two or three times to watch your
character step off a cliff and die repeatedly because you hit quick
save instead of reload. Of course my roommate found it infinitely
more so than I did.

The
logic puzzles are not always as they seem. Throw what you know about
puzzles out the window. Take each puzzle on it’s own and look for
the clues. I won’t ruin the game here by explaining further, but I
will say they are amusing once you figure out what the deal is, much
like a tired old pun said in a pub can leave you in stitches. Of course,
the developers wanted to give the gamers optimal experience; hence
several of the puzzles must be solved on the run. Also, just because
a bad dude couldn’t do something earlier in the game, doesn’t necessarily
mean they don’t change the rules. The player really can’t get too
comfortable with “it worked before.”

While the game is extremely
challenging, the developers have covered all bases. While each level
has a finite amount of health to find, you can add more to your hurting
heroine by killing bad guys, or finding a good hole to hide in while
it replenishes. Of course, as Skye will mention, it works better if
you don’t get hit.

I will say it was challenging
to play Darkened Skye without area maps. But, after fiddling
around with the game I realized I had become a lazy gamer. I had to
rely on my razor sharp directional instincts, my internal compass,
and my unfailing photographic memory…OK I got lost. Allot. And
ended up going over the same paths again and again. A map would have
been nice, guys. Not necessarily a requirement, but landscaping for
us directionally challenged reviewers would have been helpful. Especially
once you hit the forests. Here the freestyle of movement works against
you, because you could truly be running around in a circle for a very,
very long time. Other than that, if it is low enough for you to jump
on it, climb it, or fly to it, you can use it. Very few things in
the game are not useable, such as rips in reality. They are a definite
no no. Also, just because you got up…doesn’t mean you are getting
down the same way.

Darkened Skye is
not made to be taken seriously. Instead, it is made to be enjoyed.
Personally I am keeping my copy of the game. Every once in a while
I get the urge to hear the sassy lass shoot off with another zinger.
I may replay the whole thing again soon. Of course, if there were
a potential for another game like this coming from the developers,
I would dearly love to have a copy for reviewing. Or I just may have
to send this warrior hero adventure goddess who can’t swim after you,
staff a swinging and skittles a blazing.

Grade for gameplay:
A
Overall grade due to tech issues: C+

System Requirements:

Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP
DirectX® 8.0 or higher (included on Disk)
Pentium® II – 350 MHz (Pentium® III – 500 MHZ Recommended)
64 MB RAM (128 MB RAM Recommended)
8 MB Video Card (16
MB Recommended)
Install requires
400 MB of HD Space (600 MB for full install)
Mouse
Gamepad (optional)
Joystick (optional)