Darkened Skye uses an interesting and unique magic system. As Skye adventures the land, she picks up magic "Skittles" which can be put in different colored combinations to create spells. I’m still not sure whether the skittles are there mainly as a joke or as a blatant paid advertisement. I’m guessing advertisement. The game is quite combat oriented, and although Skye wields only the one staff, she has a variety of easy to perform moves, and can skittle together a number of magic spells to aid her, including fireballs, laser beams, blasts that decertify and slow enemies, and other multi-colored magic’s. If you screw up, and let’s face it you will because some of the fights can be pretty tough, reloading is a breeze. Hit the fast load button and before you’ve had time to wipe the sweat from your forehead the game is loaded and ready to go. Did I mention varied? The levels in this game are as varied as any I’ve seen. The bone yards and graveyard are solemn and spooky. The Chinese level is highly detailed, and even has those weird looking animal statues that you see in Buddhist temples in kung-fu movies (and they talk funny too). The goblin dungeon, a mainstay of all medieval RPGs, is dark and claustrophobic. In contrast, the Sky Pirates level, which is played what seems like hundreds of miles above ground, is absolutely breathtaking in both terms of graphics and size. One slip by poor little Skye and you get to see her fall all the way down to the ground. Not that I’d want Skye to die. She’s a babe. She’s the thinking man’s Lara Croft. She’s also quite funny (like most of the characters in the game), and has a good dose of sexy independence like all good heroines. She does have her weaknesses though, like her longing for her long lost mother that she never knew. This creates a subplot to the main game, which adds a little interest and depth to her character. As well, there are two mysterious characters that pop up at unpredictable and often unfortunate times. There’s the love interest, Dorian, who refuses to reveal his true identity, and the unnamed "evil guy" who looks like Wizard of Oz’s tin man gone bad. It’s hard to find criticisms of this game, but the most obvious one would be its low difficulty level. If you’re looking for a game that will really make you think, then you’re barking up the wrong tree. The majority of the puzzles in Darkened Skye are extremely straightforward, except for one or two which are almost impossible. Expect to become very frustrated more than once during this game.

Conclusion
If you’re looking for an enjoyable game full of fun, good humor, and some fast paced action at the end of a solid oak staff, Darkened Skye is the game for you. Once completed though, it has little replay value, unless you leave it for a few months and come back to it once your brain is partially purged of the memories of the game. The first time through, however, you’re guaranteed to find Darkened Skye an enjoyable experience that’s a pleasure on the eye and not too taxing on the brain. Don’t expect Zelda... hell don’t even expect Starfox Adventures quality. And you’re sure enjoy this game.

~ditto~

The Good
+ Really funny(in a Buff the Vamp Slayer kind of way)
+ Eating Skittles

The Bad
- Bad for your eyes
- Story gets boring and only really pick up at the end

The Stupid
? Some Puzzles are brain cell killing hard.