Obscure

"*Insert joke about the game being obscure here*"

After 3 attempts to rent this game (We kept forgetting the name... -_-;;), we finally managed to get a hold of it. It definitely did not disappoint.

Premise: 6/10

This is standard survival horror fare by now. After school (at a college), Kenny stays back to shoot some hoops. He goes back to get his bag, but gets a call from a cell phone. While answering this, his bag is stolen. You have to chase down the guy, and you end up in a creepy cellar. With screams and creepy noises emanating from it. Most people would be smart enough to NOT go down there, but, we DO need a game to play. Anyway, Kenny descends the ladder, finds a gun in a locker (Convenient!), and explores the cave place. He finds a messed up kid, and they attempt to leave, but you get ambushed by a crazy monster, and you have to RUN. You run like hell, and hope to get away. You get to the ladder to see the exit close in front of you, leaving Kenny screaming "NOOOOOO!" The screen zooms out, and the title appears. Now Kenny's friends stay back to look for him, and find a lot more than they bargained for...

Graphics: 8/10

Everything looks the way it should. All the effects are nice (especially the black aura of death that surrounds your enemies), and the lights shine perfectly everywhere (when there IS light, anyway), and everything moves smoothly. No complaints here.

Sound: 6/10

Music: Survival horror fare, just the usual ominous tones we've come to expect from games like Silent hill. Although sum 41 was in the intro.

Sound effects: Apart from the usual footsteps, and gunfire, and everything that would normally be heard in the world, there isn't much to comment on. They do occasionally drop a strange sound or clawing noise or other bump in the night. Just to keep you on edge. Works pretty good, actually.

Nothing special here.

Gameplay: 9/10

This game flows just fine. You see a monster, you shoot it/beat it to death. You see a locked door? You pick it/use a key. See your teammate? You work together/hit him in the head with a bat. Works for me. Wounded? Have a refreshing energy drink! Makes the gouges and cuts instantly disappear! Good stuff.
This game has a unique dual partner system, kinda like RE 0. But not quite. This game is two player. Working together to stop a wave of mutants sounds pretty sweet to me. Although I never got to try it (we forgot a second controller), I assume it'd be awesome. Also, the jump scares really got me good. Things bursting outta walls loudly is enough to make ME jump. How about you?
It's also kind of realistic. See the locked door with a glass window? Smash the window and unlock the door from the other side! See the pop machine? Smash it open for a drink! Tape flashlights to things, pick locks, crawl through air vents, burn off locks with acid, breathe, run from things that are bigger than you etc. Good stuff here.

Difficulty: 7/10

The game has a good sense of difficulty, although it seems unfair at times. Having to fight off a hundred monsters with 2 or 3 health powerups isn't really the fun kind of hard, y'know what I mean? It's never really frustrating though. Not too easy, not too hard.

Controls: 7/10

Everything works well. You move where you want to by pushing in that direction (unlike resident evil games), and hold down a button and press another to shoot. However, the menu system is clumsy. You often will end up switching to the wrong item just in time to see yourself get bitten on the leg by a dog. Score.

Replay: 7/10

Not a very long game, but the two player makes it really fun.

Little things that bug me:

- The menu is WAY too bright! You're in a dark room, and then you access it just to be BLINDED by the bright paper backdrop!
- Why are the kids too stupid to stick together?
- All the kids are stereotypes

FACTORZ:

Action Factor: 5/10 (Many enemies at once)
Puzzle Factor: 4/10 (Few puzzles, most are easy)
Strategy Factor: 4/10 (Save your ammo, fool!)
Horror Factor: 8/10 (It's a horror game.)
Racing Factor: 1/10 (Beat the monster to the door before me mauls you)
Multiplayer Factor: 6/10 (Two player survival is good. 4 player would be better.)
Speed Factor: 4/10 (Slow moving)
Groove Factor: 2/10 (Not much music to groove to.)

OVERALL: 8/10

Buy or rent: Rent for a night of awesome. Not a recommended purchase due to its length.

~Taco

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/05