Obscure

"Obscurely Cool"

Survival-Horror, one of the greatest genres in videogaming ever. Also one of the worst. After Resident Evil, we got a lot of knock-offs that barely made it anywhere. Dino Crisis was one of the good ones, Silent Hill has even brought one or two good games, but mostly every Survival-Horror videogame goes too far back to the rooting of Resident Evil. Obscure does that, but gives an original twist to it. An original twist that's also a cliche, but still original. If that makes sense.

The game is extra fun to play on co-op mode. I played it for a while on single player, and I didn't like it too well. I'm so use to playing these games alone, but on co-op it's a refreshing, original, twist to the genre. Think about how fun Resident Evil would be on co-op (without online) on a console system. The game is a kind of difficult game. Even on easy mode. Ammo becomes a problem (even on easy sometimes) especially on co-op because you have to share ammo. Health isn't ever really a problem because it's plentiful throughout the game. Some of the monsters are really hard to kill, and can take most of your ammo, which can really get annoying. The controls are pretty much like the controls in nearly every survival-horror game. You run around, find items, use them and then go onto the next area. Some people critize survival-horror for that. I think that's what make survival horror games so much fun. Also, each of the characters have their own special ability by pressing "square." For example, Stan can pick locks easily, and tell you if there are anymore unlockable doors left in the room. Kenny on the other hand, can run faster and be able to get away from enemies easier with his "square" ability.

Okay, your friend goes missing. You all have a big test the next day. So a few of you stay after school to study, look for your friend, and other things. What happens next is what your nightmares are made of. There are monsters every where. How'd they get there? What is really going on?

All those questions will be answered after you get through the game. I'm not a big fan of spoilers. The graphics could be better. The sound of effects really help when you need to locate an enemy. Other then the graphics being a little off, this is a pretty good game.

A downfall for Obscure is the length. The game is pretty short. It's about the length of the original Resident Evil on the PS. You might want to go through it a few more times (since it's so short you could probably beat it three times easily in one day) to unlock the extra costumes and other stuff.

Obscure turns out to be a great title that just didn't get recognized by most gamers out there. A little more advertisement power and this game could've been really popular. Hopefully a sequel will come out soon. The end left you wanting more, and hopefully more will come. I can only hope. Get a friend over and play one of the only survival-horror games that go on co-op. I give it an 8, it was only brought down by the poor graphics (except for a couple parts) and the short play time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/06