Obscure

"Horrorgame? Not reallly. Good game? yeah sure"

First of all, I am a horror game fan so this might not be very helpful if you are not.

Story 6/10

Basically, a strange plant which is being secretly studied in the school is causing mutations. It's your job to, well basically stay alive. There aren't many plot twists. If you watch the cut-scenes you'll find out that there's a cure for the mutations which you will need and ...
Pretty cliché if you ask me...

Graphics 8/10

You won't go 'waaw' but they are pretty good. There aren't any huge rooms or strange environments, but the enemies look pretty scary and the school credible.

Gameplay 8/10

Well based. There are some puzzles , there is some shooting, there is a lot of running. The enemies are killable at the start with sunlight, later in the game with shotguns.
Most of the puzzles are straightforward. Pick up key, use key. You shouldn't have any problems.

You can't see your health on the screen. Nothing new in the horror world, but still pretty annoying. You can press start and look at the pictures of the different characters. The more blood is on them, the more they're hurt.

You're always playing with a partner by your side. the other characters each have a special skill which could come in hand on your quest but isn't necessary to beat the game.

Any time during the game you can switch to the other character which you chose to go with you. The other 3 characters will wait at gathering points.

The reason why I bought this game is the coop mode. The character that you chose to accompany you ,can be controlled by pressing start on controller 2 so you can play the whole game in story mode with a friend.
Do keep in mind that the camera will stay focused on Player 1. If player 2 runs off, an coloured arrow on the side of the screen will point in his/her direction.

controls 8/10

Your characters are always running which can be annoying at first, but you'll get used to it.
most of the controls are the same like other horrorgames. first raise your weapon with R1, then shoot with X,...

The only confusing thing at first is the items menu. You have to hold L2 and move the analog stick to scroll through your items and R2 to scroll through your weapons. then you can press X and a whole list of different actions will pop up. Let go the L/R2 button to equip the weapon or to standby an item so you can use it quickly.

While you try to find an item the game continues, so if you're in battle and need a first-aid and you didn't 'equip' it, you're in trouble.

Length 5/10

Let's face it, all horrorgames are short and so is ObsCure. The first time it might take 4-5 hours, but eventually you'll be able to beat the game under 2 hours.

difficulty 8/10

The game can be pretty hard since the big mutants can kill you in 2 or 3 attacks.
On easy you'll find enough ammo to equip you and your partner with a decent gun and eventually with a shotgun.
I've never played it on normal or hard since I like to be able to shoot, but on hard you'll find hardly any ammo and you'll need lots to kill a mutant.

Replay 7/10

There are some hidden weapons and cutscenes to unlock. Since the game is finishable in one day you might want to play it again. It's quite addictive.

Buy/Rent

Obscure isn't expensive anymore so I'd say :'buy'. I've called it a horror game, but if you look closely most of the environments aren't scary and the mutants look a bit colourful and, well, not so scary.

Overall, I had fun playing it, I had fun replaying it, had even more fun playing it with a friend, but you could do all of that in 1 day.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/06