Xbox

ObsCure

Qu'on ne vienne pas me dire qu'Obscure est certes un bon jeu mais que sa durée de vie lui nuit totalement ! Oui, le titre se termine rapidement mais pas plus prestement qu'un Resident Evil. Maintenant si le joueur sera constamment sur des rails, je pense sincèrement que nous avons affaire à un jeu pop-corn, qui se déguste comme un épisode d'une série américaine et qu'il faudra voir en lui non pas une expérience traumatisante mais un moyen de passer du bon temps à l'image de ce que nous proposent les pères spirituels du jeu, le plaisir immédiat prenant le pas sur une exploration longue et sinueuse, le traitement psychologique se faisant griller par le côté actionner et tee-movie du soft. Si vous avez ceci en tête, le jeu d'Hydravision ne vous décevra pas.

If you had told me that a game starring characters named Stan, Kenny, and Mr. Garrison was supposed to be one of the most innovative horror games of 2005, I probably would have thought you were joking. But after playing through Dreamcatcher Interactive's tag-team terror known as Obscure, I'm definitely more inclined to believe it. You see, the players mentioned above aren't digital versions of the raunchy children from Comedy Central's popular South Park series, but rather, essential figures in a spooky supernatural thriller that boasts more interesting ideas than most others in the genre do.

Obscure is an interesting game with a bunch of neat features, most notably the co-op story mode. The subject matter has been done before, but Obscure manages to keep it fresh enough for most gamers to enjoy. I would definitely look into Obscure if you're a fan of teen horror movies, suspenseful horror games.

Teenage kids. Who needs 'em? Always whingeing about being misunderstood, hormonally unbalanced, and incapable of deciding on a vaguely flattering hairstyle. No wonder Slipknot are doing such a roaring trade, and no wonder movie makers delight in finding new and interesting ways to cull them in an endless succession of teen horror movies; they make such willing fodder. Even though the genre became a parody of itself and then eventually went all ironic on us, it still has the capacity to be a winning horror formula. Witnessing a bunch of curious, pesky kids full of bravado gradually losing their cool as they get picked off by some unseen evil is always strangely satisfying. Mwahahahaha. Quite why no one thought to apply the exact same formula to a horror videogame before now is a curious thing.

Obscure stars a group of high school students that will instantly remind you of the cast of horror movies like “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” There’s even a character that looks exactly like Josh Hartnett, star of “The Faculty”; another teen horror romp. After the disappearance a classmate, a ragtag group of friends decide to band together find him/save the day. After school, they all meet up in a classroom when they suddenly find themselves locked in! Even worse than being locked in, the school has been taken over by random monsters! Inside this angst-filled drama, this team of students must work together and overcome their fears should they hope to survive the survival horror.

Does that line (about Jamie Lee Curtis) even make sense to you considering I'm writing a review about a teenage horror game that takes place in an old creepy school? Well if it doesn't then let me explain. Much of my misspent youth was done watching cheesy teenage slasher flicks from the late 70's and early 80's. In fact as I played Obscure, I was instantly reminded of several horror flicks starring Ms. Curtis. Movies like Prom Night and Halloween II.

While the Resident Evil series might have overstayed its welcome, you can give Capcom credit for finally realizing that enough was enough. The developer ditched the franchise's tired survival horror conventions, said good-bye to Raccoon City, and wound up with one of the best games so far this year in Resident Evil 4. This groundbreaking release set a new standard in action horror, mirroring the accomplishment registered by its classic predecessor nine years ago. Some people, however, aren't getting the hint that gaming has moved on.

While there are some ideas that I really enjoy in Obscure (the enemy design is interesting and switching characters works well), there’s just too much wrong here to make the experience something special.

Let's preface this review by stating that Obscure is a French-made survival horror outing, which was originally released last year in Europe, garnered a reasonably favorable reception, and has now finally appeared on US store shelves along with PR bursts beckoning gamers in with the promise of a Sum 41 music track to introduce the game. That's half a star knocked off right there; simply shoehorning "Still Waiting" to tempt the Hot Topic crowd into checking the game out is a complete waste of time and money. Fortunately, we're adding half a star as the game's priced at $29.99; too high to be seen as "bargain basement," but low enough to stop jaded reviewers from comparing it to the incredible advancements in the genre over the last year. Simply put, this isn't anywhere near as entertaining as any of the Resident Evils or Silent Hills, but it's no Blue Stinger, either.

As a high school junior, I was very interested to see how a high school survival-horror game would play out, and I was very disappointed by Obscure. If you've never gotten around to play classic horror games, don't start here. Though Obscure isn't horrible, it's a bad excuse of a game, being a compilation of all the basics.

Following on the heels of Resident Evil 4's release, Hydravision needed something to set Obscure apart from the other games in the genre. I had high hopes for Obscure once I found out that it featured music by Sum 41 and was set in a different type of setting, a high school. However, even Sum 41 couldn't save Obscure, and it seems that the team spent more time developing their website which advertises the game than actually creating a unique game for fans of the genre to enjoy.