Obscure
Posted May 1, 2005
Obscure is $20. Yes, $20. In a page out of Visual Concept's book, Dreamcatcher decided to gain a foothold in the market by selling its title for a crazy low price. Fans of survival horror who have already played RE to death, might want to stop reading and go buy this disc on that fact alone.
For the rest of you; Obscure follows the adventures of five high school students trapped inside a school gone wild, and not in the fun way. Creepy things are occurring in a newly discovered basement and the kids are the only ones able to get to the bottom of it.
Gameplay:
Obscure is billed as a coop survival horror game, which makes it different enough from the established franchises in the genre of RE and Silent Hill.
DreamCatcher went with a single screen for both players rather than try and do a split screen. In other games that try this system the results are not so great. Obscure has a pretty good camera system that makes this system work. If players do get 'stuck' off screen, they can switch the camera to focus on themselves, which saves a lot of headaches.
The game is spooky enough, but the story leaves something to be desired. The game starts in a high school's newly discovered hidden basements and is pretty much just downhill from there. The selectable characters are pretty awful stereotypes and the only reason to want to play with different characters is to get different cut scenes and bonuses for beating the game with different characters.
The solo game allows you to choose two characters to start the game. Each of the five characters has their own special abilities, and some are better at certain actions than others. As in the two-player game, having two characters at your control works pretty well in the single player game. You can give your second character a weapon that will be used rather than have them follow you around like an idiot. Utilizing the second character's abilities are also a breeze, which is good considering you need all the tools at your disposal to navigate the high school.
As far as the game itself, Obscure is standard as far as survival horror games go. You go around the school solving puzzles, opening locks, and killing monsters. One twist to the monster side of things is that without a source of light, monsters will not stay dead. This can be pretty frustrating, but is easily adapted to. One downside of the monsters not staying dead is the fact that your team members do. You can actually attach light sources to your weapons, which is very helpful as opposed to shooting things in the dark of course.
The save system differs from the typewriter system of RE by allowing you to save anywhere once you have found a CD within the game. You can all breathe a sigh of relief at not having to search the high school for typewriters. The menu system is also very intuitive. DreamCatcher certainly put some thought into the ease of play for Obscure.
Graphics:
The game looks pretty darn good. The models and textures themselves are not spectacular, but DreamCatcher put it all together in a package that just works. The lighting has a lot to do with it, as it creates an awesome atmosphere that really contributes to the mood of the game.
Audio:
The sound also adds to the atmosphere. The music is very appropriate. There is lots of eerie sound and the audio is utilized well. I was very impressed with the environment they created. One downside is the voice acting. It is not as laughable as some classics like RE1, but won't be winning any awards.
Conclusion:
For $20, you really cannot go wrong. You can beat the game in probably 6-7 hours, but again, $20. The coop mode is a really cool feature and makes for extra fun when both you and your friend pee your pants together. While the story is not all that compelling, the gameplay itself is pretty good and shows a lot of extra touches like the ability to switch the camera, giving your second character a weapon, and the save system. The camera change makes the game very playable in co-op mode. DreamCatcher did an awesome job of creating an atmosphere that makes you fear for your character's neck (even if the characters themselves were pretty uninspiring).
For the rest of you; Obscure follows the adventures of five high school students trapped inside a school gone wild, and not in the fun way. Creepy things are occurring in a newly discovered basement and the kids are the only ones able to get to the bottom of it.
Gameplay:
Obscure is billed as a coop survival horror game, which makes it different enough from the established franchises in the genre of RE and Silent Hill.
DreamCatcher went with a single screen for both players rather than try and do a split screen. In other games that try this system the results are not so great. Obscure has a pretty good camera system that makes this system work. If players do get 'stuck' off screen, they can switch the camera to focus on themselves, which saves a lot of headaches.
The game is spooky enough, but the story leaves something to be desired. The game starts in a high school's newly discovered hidden basements and is pretty much just downhill from there. The selectable characters are pretty awful stereotypes and the only reason to want to play with different characters is to get different cut scenes and bonuses for beating the game with different characters.
The solo game allows you to choose two characters to start the game. Each of the five characters has their own special abilities, and some are better at certain actions than others. As in the two-player game, having two characters at your control works pretty well in the single player game. You can give your second character a weapon that will be used rather than have them follow you around like an idiot. Utilizing the second character's abilities are also a breeze, which is good considering you need all the tools at your disposal to navigate the high school.
As far as the game itself, Obscure is standard as far as survival horror games go. You go around the school solving puzzles, opening locks, and killing monsters. One twist to the monster side of things is that without a source of light, monsters will not stay dead. This can be pretty frustrating, but is easily adapted to. One downside of the monsters not staying dead is the fact that your team members do. You can actually attach light sources to your weapons, which is very helpful as opposed to shooting things in the dark of course.
The save system differs from the typewriter system of RE by allowing you to save anywhere once you have found a CD within the game. You can all breathe a sigh of relief at not having to search the high school for typewriters. The menu system is also very intuitive. DreamCatcher certainly put some thought into the ease of play for Obscure.
Graphics:
The game looks pretty darn good. The models and textures themselves are not spectacular, but DreamCatcher put it all together in a package that just works. The lighting has a lot to do with it, as it creates an awesome atmosphere that really contributes to the mood of the game.
Audio:
The sound also adds to the atmosphere. The music is very appropriate. There is lots of eerie sound and the audio is utilized well. I was very impressed with the environment they created. One downside is the voice acting. It is not as laughable as some classics like RE1, but won't be winning any awards.
Conclusion:
For $20, you really cannot go wrong. You can beat the game in probably 6-7 hours, but again, $20. The coop mode is a really cool feature and makes for extra fun when both you and your friend pee your pants together. While the story is not all that compelling, the gameplay itself is pretty good and shows a lot of extra touches like the ability to switch the camera, giving your second character a weapon, and the save system. The camera change makes the game very playable in co-op mode. DreamCatcher did an awesome job of creating an atmosphere that makes you fear for your character's neck (even if the characters themselves were pretty uninspiring).