Obscure (PS2)

Now the game - Its great! General premise - messed up school ala faculty and idiot students who should call the police and go home but decide to play scoobydoo instead. The idea is this game is like a ps2 version of a teen slasher movie: Think silent hill meets the faculty meets resident evil and you get the idea. I wont say too much on the plot - but its very hollywood blockbuster (if a little crazy) and does actually catch you in the game instead of just trailing along surplus to the action.
Graphics are stunning, I mean REALLY stunning, atmosphere drips out of your screen, sound is bonechilling and gameplay is SO addictive!

Now get it bought!

The story involving monsters running amok in a US high school. and and you play one of a band of 5 teenagers who are locked in the school overnight, and determined to solve the mystery. My first impressions were that this was a very smooth and polished looking adventure, rivalling any of the big survival horror titles in terms of graphics. The school is well presented, complete with some exterior grounds and extensive cellars. The characters you play all look realistic and animate well. Lots of dialogue has been recorded for the characters to say in many situations. But the selling point of that game is that you can be any of the five characters you choose, and switch beteween them at any time. I have to say that this works very well, and if you have played Resident Evil Zero on the Gamecube, you''ll find it very similar. You can even plug in a second controller and have a friend independently control your team mate when you are exploring as a pair. Although in practise, it's not much more than a gimmick, as the characters are not all that different and you'll probably stick to pairing up the best fighter (a girl - nice touch) with the one that can open locked doors, and leave the rest behind. It's fun to experiment with two characters in this game, and you'll find times when you really need the pair of you shooting together, and other times when the AI controlled team mate ends up getting in the way or taking far more damage by not avoiding getting hit smartly enough. I eventually realised it was sometimes better to ditch them just outside the door of any particularly tricky monster-filled room, and only invite them in after I had cleared the place out!

There is no menu for items and weapons that you collect, it's all organised on the play screen, which means switching weapons or searching through your items inventory during battle leaves you wide open to a swift death, but I guess that adds a type of realism. Interestingly, if any of your team die, you can go back to the waiting area and select another one...I suppose this means you could still beat the game with all but one of your characters dead, but I didn't fancy risking that! The monsters look good, and can make short work of your team.

However, for all this good stuff, there have to be some drawbacks, and the major one is that this game is amazingly short. My final save clocked up a total progress time of under four hours, which is pretty paltry even by most survival horror standards. It's a shame that the school does not offer up more locations for you to explore, and there aren't really any puzzles as such...if you fight and kill everything, you will always find whatever you need to make further progress. I think you are expected to play more than once, as after your final save you get several new options, and it's hinted at in the closing movie that there may be a further ending that is only revealed after a replay. I might give it another go, but probably only because I want my money's worth, not because I'm desperately keen to do it all again.

Still it's an impressive looking game and fun to play, so overall, I'd call it a success. I only wish the creators had extended the experience somewhat.