Much in life is not clear. But, one thing I feel certain about is that Pryzm, subtitled Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn, will do very little to impress gamers above the age of 10 hoping for a solid Fantasy-themed action game. Not because it didn't look good. The graphics are solid, and remind me of a more serious Medievil if you remember that old PlayStation game. Some interesting but seen-before lighting effects grace the attacks of both friend and foe, and the levels are nice to look at, with plenty of scenery. The sound is abominable, with voice clips repeating so often you will be forced to either kill the voices or lower the sound, just to preserve sanity. Although enemies in each level are interesting, the lack of large groups of enemies often makes for a very empty experience. There may be something about spare visuals that appeals to gamers looking for a colorful game without hordes of enemies who would necessarily raise the difficulty, but that didn't seem to stop the developers from creating an awkward, difficult game. The world of Pryzm: The Dark Unicorn may look interesting and provide enough eye candy to draw in some gamers, but sustaining an interest in the game while playing may prove to be a challenge for most.

There is a need for more games with a Fantasy theme that aren't limited to RPG-based gameplay. In mentioning Medievil, I also think of Platform titles with characters like Spyro (a dragon) and games pushing Fantasy angles like Drakan, a reprise of Dragon's Lair pure action titles like Reign of Fire and Savage Skies. I'm all for this stuff, but I think some companies lose sight of innovation and dare I say quality, using the Fantasy theme as a crutch. Unicorns haven't had much of an impact on the gaming scene, and trolls have generally just gotten a bad rap. So, to see these two paired in Pryzm: The Dark Unicorn is definitely a new twist. The story strangely manages to be non-violent and violent all at the same time. Pryzm and Karrock inhabit a land infested with plague and although unlikely allies, they band together to help free their world and its inhabitants, to return every creature to a more peaceful state.

Problem is, the creatures infected with the plague have turned into some pretty nasty characters, and will try and stop you as you use the unicorn's healing power to free them. Both Pryzm and Karrock have special magical attacks, and some physical attacks they can bring to bear when magic wears out. Although it is possible to roam around a level knocking down enemies, an enemy who you have turned away from the dark side can still return after entering a plague cloud unleashed by a plague flower. Once all creatures have been turned by you in an area, the defenses of the plague flower come down and you're able to attack it directly. If you can successfully defeat it, the creatures under its spell are free, and what was once an enemy now heals you and replenishes your magic power. And serves as a save checkpoint. Handy, that. Repeat this healing process through every level and you win the game. Oh sorry, you were expecting more than that? Right. So was I. The repetition of an identical process to defeat monsters and heal plague flowers to clear levels makes moving through otherwise new and different areas uninteresting. Boss battles should be a nice bit of variety, but they are too difficult and also too repetitive. I can understand that the targeted audience is young and has a certain desire for predictable, easily learned action, but I'm thinking the baby of creative play was thrown out with the bath water of more adult focused gameplay, resulting in a game that most 10 year-olds will likely put down in sheer boredom after about 30 minutes.

Even after a tutorial and a reasonably well written manual, Pryzm: The Dark Unicorn is not easily grasped. There is a definite tendency to be killed quickly and often, and enemies are either stupid or relentless or both. Some control issues make it tough to navigate easily around enemies, and the struggle to kill all lower enemies and then go after the plague flower before an enemy you successfully turned is converted again starts to wear thin. A navigation system at least helps show where the next plague flower is, but the large environments are put together in a way that sometimes leads you into walls or obstacles, even when the directional indicator says you should be right on top of the flower. The navigation feature itself almost seems like a byproduct of poor level design, but the net result is that you CAN find these flowers. When you actually enter combat with enemies, it's hard to tell how weak they are, except for some visual and audio clues. The strength and endurance Pryzm demonstrates leaves a lot to be desired in this category, and even in the early levels you'll find yourself knocked down too quickly. It just doesn't feel like a well-balanced game once you get into battle.

Controlling Pryzm: The Dark Unicorn is not easy. Think of every experience you've had with a videogame horse, and you're about on target. I'd say that controlling Chocobos felt at least on par with how I found the movement, but of course there is a much wider range of options available for attacks and special moves. Starting off with a nice training section, you'll have the chance to experiment with moves, and learn why you'd want to use one over the other. The honest truth is that picking one move will get you through 80 percent of the game, but it's nice to know the others. Brute force attacks are simply the best thing going, especially when the magical combat left me nothing but a dead, white horse. Sorry, nobody dies, actually. After Pryzm and Karrock's shield is worn down by attacks, they are teleported back to the last checkpoint or to the beginning of the level. Certain attacks wear down enemies, and a 'wind' attack pushes enemies away from Pryzm, which is handy when she's being mobbed. Projectile weapons can be problematic when aiming is an issue, and it always is an issue. Pryzm can charge enemies and bowl them over, which works well in confined spaces. Enemies with strong magic or ranged attacks are incredibly difficult to deal with, and I found myself at least once stashed away in some glitchy area trying to jump out, walk out or something before I lost all my shield energy. Ugly stuff, lemme tell you.

I take a dim view of kid's games that don't deliver. It's not that I believe kids need a champion or something loony like that, but I just don't buy into the need to create dumbed-down games for younger gamers. If anything, the games need to be smarter and really encourage creative gameplay. What Pryzm: The Dark Unicorn seems to encourage is formula button pushing that might as well be a fighting, driving or fishing game. The bit of stimulus we might get from the game in the way of identifying fighting strategies, locating and tackling enemies and defeating bosses is simply marred by technical glitches and a haphazard design. There should be more enjoyment to be had here, and I really like many of the ideas and some of the graphical execution, but Pryzm: The Dark Unicorn is bland at best and annoyingly repetitive at worst. Kids really deserve better.