Obscure

"Above Average Game In The Style Of A Teen Slasher Movie."

Ever since the 'Alone In The Dark' inspired Resident Evil first hit the PSone over five years ago the survival horror genre has become highly popular amongst game developers.

Until now however there hasn't been one in the style of the typical American teen slasher movie such as Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer. The plot of Obscure involves the typical nonsense of five students trapped in a spooky building (in this case a deserted school) attempting to uncover the truth behind a friend disappearance (surely a job that the police should be handling).

Despite this original setting, for a game at least, Obscure pretty much follows the template set out by virtually every other horror game you can think of. It has the Resident Evil style fixed camera angles, shortage of ammo and even the find key A for door A etc style of progression.

At most points in the game you will have two characters at your disposal, which you must choose at certain junctions from up to five, in order to utilise the different skill of each (lockpicking, item finding etc). The second character can be controlled by the CPU with the player issuing commands in the vain of squad based shooters. However if have have another pad and a liked minded friend handy you can control one character each in Co-Op mode, a first in this genre. If you wish to get the most out of this game I would recommend the latter of the two options as, as good as the AI of your companion is it never quite feels the same as working with another human controlled character.

Graphically the game, while not up the with Resident Evil Zero on the Gamecube, is more than adequate with the characters moving and acting realistically and subtle lighting effects really adding to the atmosphere. The game does contain some truly spooky moments meaning that this is a good if rather short-lived and unmemorable experience.

Gameplay -8 (6 if playing alone)
Graphics -7 (Good if not spectacular)
Lifespan -5 (Can be completed within 6 hours play but hard mode should
bring you back at least once more)

Overall - 7 - Adds very little that has not been seen before, but is an enjoyable experience while it lasts for fans of Resident Evil or Silent Hill series.

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