By Sean Ewing

Whenever you watch a horror movie, it’s always so easy to ridicule and mock the heroes for their repeatedly poor decisions. Obscure offers the gamer a chance to step in the shoes of the hapless team of teens who get stuck in a school full of monsters. Obscure offers a lot of interesting gameplay options that, while unrefined, can be a lot of fun.

The game starts off in Leafmore High’s gym, where Kenny, the obligatory jock, is shooting baskets. Horror movie buffs will catch a lot of references throughout the game, such as the I Know What You Did Last Summer method of luring Kenny outside. From there, Kenny disappears, and the gamer takes control of a group of four students who stay after school for various reasons, and get caught up in a bizarrely evil plot perpetrated be an equally bizarre villain.

There is Josh, the brainy newspaper editor who can’t take so much damage, Ashley, your typical tough girl who is handy with the weapons, Stan, a stoner who can pick locks, and Shannon, an intelligent girl who’s pretty good with a first aid kit. You can control up to two players at a time (either using the unfortunate AI or a friend), and explore Leafmore, looking for your friend and the source of the monsters.

Each character has a special ability and surprisingly they are all very useful. Shannon gives you tips for puzzles, Josh makes sure you get every item in a room, and so on. The two player mode is really the attraction here, as both players really have to work together and talk out solutions to puzzles or creature encounters.

With a second player, the game feels very fresh and unique. The balance between characters is far better than similar games like Resident Evil: Outbreak. Everyone has a useful attribute or ability, and they all come in handy at some point. You are never forced to pick a certain character, it’s always in your hands how you want to do it, but if a character dies, that’s it. There’s no resurrection or saving them.

The one player is still an engrossing survival horror experience, but sometimes the AI can really set you back. You really have to watch what commands and what weapons you give your partner, as it’s not uncommon to see them wasting valuable shotgun shells on a tiny monster. They also won’t heal without your guidance, which is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it’s great that they won’t waste all of your items, but on the other, it’s quite frustrating to have your partner die at the end of a boss fight simply because they never healed.

Speaking of the boss fights, they are usually very tense and exciting affairs, but there are only about three over the course of the entire game, and you only have to fight two of them. There are also only about four regular enemies you’ll encounter throughout the adventure. A few more, and different looking enemies really would have made things feel fresher and fast paced.

The game does a good job of keeping the player in varied environments, while still remaining in a turn of the century boarding school. Graphically, things look clean, but not fantastic. You won’t see any jaggies or clipping issues, but it doesn’t really ever rise above mediocre.

The control is pretty standard, but the developers have allowed the player to walk with a weapon equipped, allowing you to actually be careful when in dark areas and to stay on guard when you know a monster is close. This is a very nice touch and is surprisingly lacking in most survival horror games.

Obscure doesn’t take too long to run through, but there is a surprising amount of replay value. You can unlock various costumes (which aren’t very exciting), new weapons (which are very exciting) and inexplicably, music videos from Span and Sum 41. There are two endings, but they are both pretty easy to get. The real reason to play through is to have fun with the new weapons and to use different characters.

All in all, Obscure is a decent game. If you are a survival horror fan, you’ll find plenty to enjoy, all the more so if you are a fan of teen slasher/monster movies. The game never really takes itself too seriously, and that is when it’s at its best. For $20 you could do a lot worse, and the co-op mode is a total blast.

Final Grade: B