Darkened Skye
$14.95		(Win98/ME/2000/XP) (Retail Box) (DARKSKYEPR)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Game: Adventure and Fantasy

Blood and Violence

Ratings:

from Four Fat Chicks

In A World Where Magic Sleeps, She Is The Wake-Up Call!!!

The dread lord Necroth rules the world armed with powerful stolen magic. All dissent is crushed.

The only hope of destroying him rests with five ancient prisms bound in an amulet. The amulet remains, but the prisms were lost long ago.

Enter Skye of Lynlora, recruited as Hero #1 in the battle against evil. Armed with her battle-staff, book of spells and wit, Skye must quest through the Troubled Lands to find the prisms. Along the way she will navigate dangerous paths, wake ancient gods and defeat the hordes of wyrmdrakes, demons and other evil minions sent against her.

Heart-stopping third-person action in fantastic environments. Fast-paced magic and melee with an epic story that doesn't get in the way of fragging the bad guys.

Wield magic. Solve ancient mysteries. Answer the hidden questions of her past. Kick monster butt.

Save the world.

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) .

Reviews:

Four Fat Chicks by Skinnie Minnie

"Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don't. If you are newer to action/adventure gaming, or if you merely hanker for a rainbow of lighthearted fun to appear as you gaze up at the darkened third-person action/adventure gaming sky, then fire up that mouse and keyboard and get ready for a yummy treat."

"One of my favorite aspects of Darkened Skye is its humor. This is one delicious little romp that manages to blend a streamlined, lighthearted atmosphere of fun with comedy in a pleasant way. It even makes fun of its own candied roots every now and then! The characters in Darkened Skye don't manage the depth of emotional range that those from games like Anachronox, The Longest Journey, or Shadow of Destiny deliver, but they are humorous in their own right. Skye herself reminds me a little of April Ryan from The Longest Journey in both looks and attitude, except that she is sometimes more sarcastic. There are also some mysterious soothsayer-type characters in the various lands who reveal little about themselves in the early stages of the game, but they seem to know much about Skye and her family and want to help. Skye even develops an early crush on one of them! You will unravel their mysteries through repetitive contact as the game progresses, too. This game has a more fluid and cohesive storyline than many action/adventures I have played, despite its straightforwardness. This really is a "people-person" type of game. It's a little hokey in some spots, but it is more family fare than many games released today, with the possible exception of all of the fighting, which even so is completely devoid of gore. The cutscenes are short but do their part to propel this amusing tale along."

"If you are a somewhat experienced action/adventurer, you won't find the fighting scenes or the jumping-under-fire areas to be too difficult, but the unpredictable attacks can be fun nonetheless. The fight scenes do escalate in frequency and intensity as the story nears its end, but tactical maneuvers can lighten the load and lengthen Skye's life. Some of the enemies can be taken out from afar. At other times, some baddies can be led away from the main group and extinguished separately. Fear not, combat newbies, for you do eventually meet up with some special comrades who will help you in your end battles, and the early worlds really have much more puzzle solving than battling anyway. Darkened Skye starts out in such an easy fashion that you may assume it is targeted only for younger teens and new gamers, but its difficulty does increase somewhat as you progress through the story.

"All in all, this is a sweet confection of a game that could have given more to chew on as regards some of the puzzles, but it was still humorous and fun, with some excitement thrown in besides..."

Just Adventure by Dawn Johnson

"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..."

"...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...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...Throw what you know about puzzles out the window. Take each puzzle on it's own and look for the clues..."

"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..."

Copyright © 1993-2000 CDAccess.com, Inc.
Questions: info@cdaccess.com