The game is Obscure II: The Aftermath, which came out across the systems, and honestly I did not expect much from this game and maybe that is why I loved it so much. First off, this is obviously a sequel to a little known game for Playstation called Obscure. This is also just as little known because most of the major stores do not carry it. I could not find it at Best Buy or Toys R’ Us. Finally, I found it at a Game Stop and they did not have it on display. I had to go to the counter and ask for it and they had it in an unlabeled black box under lock and key. After finally finding it and playing it, I was pleasantly surprised and happy that my long search was fruitful (especially since it was only $30, too). Basically it is that a bunch of high school student stoners come across a new drug that was insidiously introduced by their secretly evil scientist principal. When the drug is smoked too much or snorted a couple of times, it turns you into a grotesque monster. The objective of the game, escape your high school from fellow students turned monsters and defeat your evil principal. Anyone remember “The Faculty”? Now that you know the backplot, and that is all you really need to know and is explained in the instruction booklet and opening cinema, you can go forward with the gaming experience. Obscure II takes place with the survivors of the first game having moved on to a local state college when a new drug is again introduced and has the same startling effects on the student population. For characters, you have your blonde bimbo, your jock, your loner, your drop-out, your smart Asian girl, your Goth girl, and your smart ass. That fits with the theme I suppose. B-Horror movie. 
Now that you know the main plot, let me get into the gameplay. Nice feature that you always have a partner with you at all times among the 7 switchable characters that have different abilities from lock-picking to able to move heavy boxes. Switching between these characters to complete puzzles is integral and can get tiresome at times when you have to run back to save points in certain levels to switch the two characters you have at that moment. The bosses are solid, but stereotypical, especially if you play this the entire time thinking this is a B-Horror movie. You got your chainsaw guy, your unfathomable plant monster, and your mutant monster. There isn’t a real variety to the regular monsters either, you have your big, hulking monster, your standard average human size monster, little bug monsters, and a few flying monsters so nothing special there. There is a cavalcade of weapons available from stun guns to crossbows to hockey sticks. You can unlock better weapons as the game progresses by finding keys and unlocking safes that look like hazmat containment bins that make disposing the monsters much easier. The camera can be a pain in the neck at times and makes it difficult locking on a monster, even with the Wii pointer (which put out the best version of the game). The camera reminds me of older Resident Evil games, much like entire sections of this game. The thing that stands out in terms of gameplay is in Co-Op. If you have a girlfriend or boyfriend, sit them down and play this game with them. The Co-Op involved puzzles are great and require real team work and the shared thrills are nice, much like watching a B-horror movie. Can you play the game by yourself? Yes. Is it harder doing so? At times. Some puzzles make you want to pull your hair out when you have to quickly switch between characters while fighting off hordes of monsters instead of having one do the puzzle while the other beats back the monsters. The AI when playing by yourself is impressive, but still not as good as playing with another person at those particular moments.
The point that this game shines in, is the music. A completely original score that haunts you long after the game has finished. Olivier Deriviere did an amazing job with this, getting actual choirs to do vocals and I just loved it. Kudos for the soundtrack. Sound effects were also great. Voice acting…so-so. I don’t know if it was cheesy and overdone because this game tries so hard to be a B-Movie, so I can’t tear it apart too much, but…it was definitely cheesy and overdone. The dialog was startling accurate with the sexual innuendo that just drips from the mouths of today’s college youth though.
Rankings based on a score of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
Graphics: 8.0: Very dark, but typical for a horror-survival game. The character models were smooth and the monsters were made grotesque and it was visibly strong enough to disgust you. Nothing spectacular though. No amazing creatures or gore that was accurate and stuck with you. Doesn’t take full advantage of the Wii’s or XBOX 360’s graphics card so that it could be ported to PS2 and that disappoints.
Audio: 8.0: Amazing original soundtrack that haunts you even after you finish playing. Well, timed sound effects in the background keep you just jumpy enough. Voice acting was cheesy and overdone, still don’t know if on purpose.
Plot/Plot Development: 6.5: Makes me think of Resident Evil meeting “The Faculty”. Classic B-Movie horror goodness that gives you your survival-horror fix and at the same time ask, where is Resident Evil 5?
Gameplay: 6.0: Reminds me of the original Resident Evils. Bad camera gets frustrating fast and even with the Wii pointer it’s difficult to lock onto targets and not teammates. Having to run back and switch characters to get the right skill set available gets tiresome after a while as well. Only saving grace with that is at least you do not have to re-clear out a room of monsters once you dispose of them all. Lots of weapons are nice and the boss battles are somewhat memorable.
Replay Value: 5.0: Not a lot to replay this game for. Maybe if you beat the game by yourself and you want to show someone else the Co-op mode, but aside from that, there aren’t enough unlockables to really make it worth your while. All there is, is some concept art, music, and one movie showing what some of the characters have done between the two games.
Overall: 7.5 (Not an average): I really enjoyed this game. Did it have problems? Yes. Was it fun though? Yes and that is more important to me. If you are a fan of Resident Evil, especially the older ones, a fan of the first Obscure(the handful of you out there), or really just need a new horror-survival fix before Resident Evil 5 comes out…whenever…this is the game for you, if you can find it. And since its only $30, what do you have to lose?
-Ray Carsillo
