By CowboyFromHell

 

Introduction

Obscure is a horror title developed by Hydravision and co-published by DreamCatcher and MC2. It features cooperative and 2-player cooperative gameplay.

Story - 7

What haunts the halls at Leafmore High? Five high school students (Kenny, Josh, Shannon, Ashley, & Stan) are the main characters of this horror title. One evening after class, they lock themselves inside the school determined to find out what has happened to their friend Kenny. Along the way they discover the root of what lurks within. This is no ordinary school, it has a dark and lengthy past seeded in biological experimentation. They find that these experiments are the reason that so many disapearances and strange happenings are connected with the school and it's principal.

Gameplay - 7

As far as gameplay is concerned, Obscure feels very much like Resident Evil and Silent Hill in the way of controls and the progression as well. You have your standard array of weapons such as pipes, baseball bats, handguns, shotguns, and even a laser weapon of some sort. The controls are a bit clunky but no worse than what you get with the RE series on the PS1 console. Unfortunately, the familiarity within the controls and overall gameplay give Obscure a somewhat dated feel. This has a very old school feel to say the least, as a matter of fact, this game almost has the feeling that it is a PS1 game. Other than these albeit minor complaints, Obscure is a solid title that is downright fun to play. The atmosphere makes up for alot of the shortcomings as well as the cooperative gameplay. The co-op function reacts very smoothly and the characters will cover you quite well when you are busy picking a lock or solving a puzzle. The coolest thing about the co-op function is that, at any time, a second player can pick up the other controller and join in (and by simply choosing to opt out, the second player can exit just as easily without disturbing the game for player #1.) The puzzles are a simplified version of what you would get with a standard survival horror game, and you also get the standard "find a key and hunt for a corresponding door" puzzle. Monsters are quite average but still fun to shoot the hell out of. I just wish this game were a bit longer--I think I finished the game in about 5 hours on the first try. But considering that Obscure is a low budget game, I am quite satisfied with it overall.

Graphics/Sounds - 8

The graphics in Obscure are very average, but not dated. Nothing will blow you away but you will still find the graphics have a very soft look and the lighting effects are really better than what we see in alot of titles of today that have much larger bugets. The frame rate is very smooth with only a couple of lags in the entire game. The school will remind you of the castle in the first Devil May Cry, with just a touch of the Spencer Mansion in REmake. I thought that the sounds and music were actually one of the better points of Obscure. The sounds were quite distinct and eerie as well as adding atmosphere and emotional color to the overall gameplay. Another high point was the music score. The score was performed by the Children's Choir of the Opera National de Paris and was Conducted by Gael Darchen. There were some very creepy Omen and Exorcist moments to the score's arrangements. Also, the game has music performed by Sum 41 and Span (with unlockable videos after completing the game the first time).

Scare Factor - 7

Well, given that we have all played many survival horror titles in the past, I am afraid that Obscure doesn't provide much in the way of something we haven't seen before. It has it's moments, but given that there isn't much original in the way it is presented, we are just stuck with a few moments of "Crap, I didn't see that coming.". Having said that, I still enjoyed how it all played out and it had just enough horror to keep me playing.

Replay Value - 5

Other than some unlockable costumes and weapons there isn't alot to offer in the way of replay value (unless there is something that I haven't discovered yet). You do also get other modes of play that are centered around increasing difficulty. Upon the first completion of the game you can also unlock videos from Sum 41 and Span as well as a short "making of" segment that shows the game in it's early stages and some story boards.

Overall - 7 (Not An Average)

After it is all said and done, what Obscure offers is a decent game that doesn't really fall short when compared to all of the other crap that is out there. The scare tactics could have been a bit sharper and the game needed to be longer but I would definately recommend this title to anyone that is a fan of the survival horror genre. And given that this game sells for $20 new, it deserves a bit more respect than it has been given. All in all, Obscure will give you a good amount of ass-kicking thrills without breaking your wallet.

 

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