Obscure

"A Pretty Decent Budget Survival Horror Game"

I finished this game last night and have to say that it was a decent game, but nothing special. First off, the price of the game is great. $19.99 brand new when it got released years ago is quite a deal for it. So you should be able to find it dirt cheap now.

Xbox fans looking for their survival horror fix should look into this game. It may not be Resident Evil, but it will keep you occupied for a decent amount of time.

Obscure is a survival horror game in a school setting, kind of like the movie "The Faculty". While "The Faculty" had some scary moments, Obscure did not...........at all. In fact, I have been more frightened by episodes of SpongeBob than by Obscure.

Graphics

The graphics in Obscure are pretty dated, and it looks like the developers didn't try too hard in this area. They are decent though, and you can make out the pre-rendered backgrounds fine, and the character models look okay. There is lots of "Darkness" in Obscure, so it covers up a lot of the environments. In Obscure, you almost always have a flashlight with you, which can be used as a weapon (enemies fear the light), taped to your gun for light bursts and shooting at once, or just use them to illuminate the environments. The lighting effects look pretty good, and it looks like more time was spent on the lighting effects than any other aspect of the game graphically.

Sound

I actually liked the sounds in Obscure. There are lots of random screams, roars, and shakes in the environment to keep you on your toes. These elements always make you think that something is coming, even though it may or may not be. The sounds of the shotguns are cool as well. They really ring out into the night. The characters themselves have pretty bad voice acting overall. They are all stereotypical school students, and there is an over-emphasis on their roles. You have Stan, the guy with the backwards hat that calls everyone "Dawg!", Ashley, the stuck up cheerleader, etc...... I really don't want to explain them all.

Story

The story was decent, but had little bearing on the "get the clues, solve the puzzle, formula". It really didn't matter if person X was going to use substance Y and try to take over the world, it's all been done, and much better at that. The story is passable, nothing more.


Gameplay

Gameplay in Obscure is actually not too bad and saves the game big time. You always have 2 people with you, so you must control them both. After a little while, it will become second nature, and you will be able to take on foes with no problem. The enemies do not provide much of a challenge, and there is more than enough health and ammo to slay everything in your path, which I liked. However, there are about 4 different monsters the entire game, which sucks. I got tired of fighting the same thing over and over, but I never got tired of light boosting enemies, which is really cool.

All of the characters in the game play the same, with little differences. They all have a specialty, which are usually pretty stupid and useless. The only one I found useful was Stan's lock picking ability. So I had him most of the game, since it was nice to be able to pick locks on the fly. Then I chose Shannon to accompany him, for a little eye candy along the way. Oh yeah, Kenny the jock is a waste. He's in about a quarter of the game, and his special ability is........"Running!!". That's right a game where running is a "special ability", gotta love that.

Despite the mostly dark backgrounds, you can interact with them to a good degree. Smashing vending machines (for health boosts) and pushing objects around are some examples. You can sometimes use this to make barriers between you and your enemies, which is a good idea, since the enemy AI is far too stupid to walk around a chair.

Another thing to consider is the length of the game. It may be the shortest survival horror game I have ever played, but hey, you get what you pay for, and this budget priced survival horror game seemed to hold my interest throughout.

Conclusion

I enjoyed my time with Obscure, and I think it's worth getting for $10 or cheaper. It's surprisingly solid for a budget game, but I would not pay full price for it. Survival horror games are scarce on the Xbox, so if you are looking for something new, and cheap, then don't hesitate to pick this game up.

My Obscure review score
7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/07, Updated 07/07/09

Game Release: Obscure (US, 04/06/05)