Game Overview
Published by: Simon & Schuster Interactive
I smell sex and candy
Yes, we know. A game based on Skittles -- how fun could that be? Well, we've taken a first-hand look at Skittles: Darkened Sky (working title), and it's not what you'd expect. It isn't another kiddie M&M's game, and it's not a silly puzzle game either. It's a third-person action game aimed at the 14-24 year old market starring a hot chick that beats the hell out of bad guys… with Skittles. Sex, violence, and candy. Get it?
![Skittles: Darkened Sky First Look [ Gee, is that a monster? @ 800 x 600 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/1-s.jpg) Gee, is that a monster?
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![Skittles: Darkened Sky First Look [ Bing me a beer! @ 800 x 600 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/2-s.jpg) Bing me a beer!
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Gameplay
In Skittles, you'll take the role of Sky, a smartass super-vixen in the vein of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You need to save the world from a bad guy using… Skittles. No, you won't be throwing the hard candies at enemies, or hope they'll die of gingivitis. Skittles power your spells -- green Skittles for green spells, red Skittles for red spells, etc. Sky is also proficient in melee combat, using a staff to beat her enemies about the head a la Heretic II.
Most of the puzzles in Darkened Sky are action-oriented (read: you kill stuff). There will be a few push the block or find the key puzzles, but S&S is trying to stay away from gaming cliché's as much as possible. One puzzle we looked at involved orienting three concentric circles so the patterns on each lined up a certain way.
The Setting
So where do you base a game on candy? A candy factory? That's about as edgy as a slanted doorway. S&S is taking a different approach with the Skittles game - they're basing it on the commercials. You know, the ones with the "I'm gonna eat you" gargoyles glaring at people who are miraculously saved by raining Skittles. Five settings, from the aforementioned gothic setting to the Asian monk-on-a-mountain setting plus three other Skittles commercials make up the game. Each setting will have five to eight levels.