by Scott - April 21, 2005 Something is happening at Leafmore High School. Your friend Kenny didn�t come home from school last night and so you and three other friends go back to school and stay to try and find him. However, strange noises are coming from the halls. The school is messed up on the inside and suddenly; you realize there is something more going on other than Kenny�s disappearance�

Survival Horror ...Again

Obscure is a game that is just that�obscure. A rather hidden title that came to consoles and the PC, it is reminiscent of the older Resident Evil series with its third person perspective of survival horror. Luckily they improve on that formula by allowing a moving camera that will change position at certain points. While this is prone to horrible camera angles that can put you at a disadvantage during a fight, it is few and far between.

That aside, the story of Obscure is that your friend Kenny has gone missing and it is up to his friends to find him. They decide to search the school after class and in their search they start running into trouble in the form of monsters and zombie-like people. Nothing really new here other than being at a run-down high school.

The cast consists of Ashley, Kenny�s hot girlfriend, Josh, the school�s reporter, Stan, Kenny�s stoner friend, and Shannon, Kenny�s sister. Eventually you�ll get control of Kenny later on. Each of these characters has a special skill that you can use to help you out. For example, Josh can spot clues, Ashley can fire rapidly, Shannon can solve clues, Stan can pick locks, and Kenny can run. You can only control one member at a time with another as your teammate. When playing, you can order your teammate to help you if you�re in trouble, stay put, follow you, or switch weapons. While you can switch between characters, you have go back to a meeting point and if need be, switch out your inventory. It seems tedious and at time it is, considering that you can basically solve puzzles yourself, find clues, or use a lock pick (a reel of wire) to open locks. I guess the high side is that if you die, you got four other bodies to use, although you get bonuses for keeping people alive.

What is the gameplay like for Obscure? Well, I�ve always been fond of fighting zombies and monsters (even though someone stole my Resident Evil 4) and so I thought Obscure would be a nice change of scenery. Unfortunately, this game is more for the console than the computer. Using the keyboard for movement and aiming is clunky, and sadly, there is no mouse support. Everything from the main screen to the game is done through your keyboard. It became awkward to aim and fire and use boost for your flashlight (more on this later) and you start to learn your dexterity.

If you don�t want to fight alone, you can have a buddy tag in on a controller and fight side by side. Unfortunately you�re stuck on one view and it doesn�t change if one of your characters wanders off-screen. Aside from having a friend sitting next to you, there is no real advantage to having a second player.

Fighting the monsters is pretty simple. You get an auto-aim function that will track them as they move. Much like Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil, you hold down your aim button and press fire to fire your gun. Because of experiments, the monsters are surrounded by a dark aura that has a weakness to light. Flashing your flashlight on them and �boosting� it will weaken them and save you ammo. Careful though as your flashlight can overheat and leave you vulnerable. This is a welcome gameplay addition that changes up the way you take down monsters or zombies in this genre.

There are going to be gripes though. First off, the length of the game is pretty short. Seasoned players can hammer this game out within 10 hours. I�m sure the average can be about 15 hours if you put in searching the environment and dying a lot or getting stuck. There is no real replay value on Obscure either, once you beat it, you can unlock some music tracks, and a change of clothing for your characters, but that�s it.

My other gripe is going to be the monsters. There are about five kinds of monster you�ll continually face that don�t change their tactics at all. You�ve got a dog-like bug create that just wanders towards you, a wall walking licker-like creature, a giant blob of a slug mini-boss, something that appears to be a giant elbow with arms, and your basic zombie-like guy that evolves through the game three times into something uglier and stronger. Other than that, they have no real weakness other than light and can be put down with a barrage of shots.

The last problem is the storyline. It advances through cut scenes, letters, and what you experience. However it suffers from being too general and confusing. It isn�t until the near end of the game you start understanding what it going on, but that isn�t how it should be. You find letters and tapes of events and bits and pieces of the story, but they do little to spark interest or understanding.
 

Creepy Visuals

The graphics of Obscure are pretty well done. The feeling of dread and scariness is definitely captured on the screen when you�re wandering around the halls of the school. It�s dark, it�s gloomy, and it is downright frightening. The cut scenes look like a boosted version of the in-game graphics, which look great for character emotions and interaction. In-game is just as nice. While the mouths don�t move on the characters when they are talking in game, their animations are smooth and don�t clip into objects. Parts of the environment are moveable and interactable so you don�t feel like you�re playing on pre-rendered stages. For you gore fans, you�ll see blood and dismemberment as well as horrible mutations and the like.

There were some glitches though. In cut scenes the lip-syncing will be off by a few seconds. Generally this happens every now and then. There are also times where what ever is in your hand will disappear when walking into a room, even though it says you are equipped with it and there is an animation when using it.

Obscure isn�t a Resident Evil 4 or a Doom 3, but it�s use of lighting and shadows make for a great experience for your eyes and be prepared for a few visual scares.

Eerie Sound Effects

The audio of Obscure is just as scary as it�s visuals. You�ll hear people screaming while going through the halls at night in the school, sounds of monsters scratching against walls and the floors. The voice acting is pretty good, with a very creepy principal stealing the show. The antagonists sound like their stereotypes and are just average.

Weapon interaction on the environment and monsters sounds dead-on. You�ll hear wood splinter, glass shatter, bullets hitting bodies, and cries for help. I couldn�t help but turn up the volume on my speakers to freak out my hall mates.

Sum 41 donates one of its popular songs for Obscure while there is some intense orchestra music for situations leading up to events. There are even times where you�ll hear a chorus singing Latin in sad or excited tones. They�ll get your blood going and get you in the mood for some action.
 

Confusing Puzzles

The puzzles in Obscure are going to give you headaches. I say this in the nicest way since I�ve done my fair share of puzzle solving but I think average gamers are going to be playing this game and get frustrated. Trying to figure out what works what and what do with what is generally what a puzzle is. However there are no real clues in Obscure that can possibly tell what one object does. Checking out an object will just give a description and sometimes a general idea of what it is. Other times the clues are around you, but hidden in the darkness. I found myself waiting nearly an hour trying to open this safe and it wasn�t until I started clicking on everything around me. To save you the headache, drop it down the chimney.

Trust me, I like a good puzzle every now and then, but some of them were just ridiculous that made me stare at the screen and shake my head. I guess this is a gameplay feature, but it happens too often that you�ll have to resort to trying everything in the book after busting your noggin for ideas.
 

Duct Tape and a Gun...Finally!

Probably what players have wanted to do since the invention of the flashlight, duct tape, and something you can shoot with. You can combine duct tape with a gun and flashlight to not only is able to see where you are going, but to use on your enemy. Honestly, one of the best ideas ever to incorporate into a game since women in suggestive clothing.

Now if only a certain game which has a flashlight and guns and monsters and zombies can do that.
 

Too Short?

Yes, unfortunately Obscure is too short. The storyline could have been fleshed out more, given more action, and definitely given more extras. Although it has its high points, there are some lows and generally it all equals out to an average game that is keeping the old style Resident Evil gameplay alive. I'd recommend this for gamers who just getting into the genre of survival horror and want something short they can play to get their feet wet.