Obscure II: The Aftermath

Fallcreek is 'The Happening' place to be

If Silent Hill was the game version of a psychological horror movie then Obscure and its sequel, Obscure II, are simple teen slasher movies. Both share creepy, mist-covered woods and characters with flashlights, but Obscure II doesn't have nearly the detail or atmosphere of even the weakest Silent Hill effort.

What it does have working for it is a tawdry sense of humour. Your first taste of the game, playing as Fallcreek University student Corey Wilde, has you wandering the dorms, listening to sex or beer-related discussions. Stop and read the notice boards if you wish, but the only information you'll find concerns keg parties and mislaid (emphasis on the word laid) girlfriends.

There's evil afoot and monsters around. So the obvious thing to do is play a game of pool.

In the first Obscure, some pupils had to kill their nutjob head teacher Herbert Friedman because he was experimenting on plants and creating dangerous mutations. Some of the kids survived and went to Uni (Shannon, Stan, Kelly) and Obscure II picks up their story with strange black plants sprouting up on campus. The students use them as hallucinogens, unaware that Friedman is back to his old tricks (and still alive...technically).

After a nightmare brought on by some black plant tea, new character Corey and his girlfriend Mei come to their senses to find the University in a mess. Strange black auras block doors and monsters try to attack them in dark rooms (this is nothing new to anyone who's played Resident Evil, so Obscure's cheap scares don't work). Throughout the story, you'll constantly switch control of characters in different locations, i.e. An infected nearby hospital.

How many students do you know that carry around flare guns and crossbows?

Playing alone you'll have an A.I controlled sidekick - usually of the opposite sex - or another player can jump in and play with you. However, your sidekick usually hinders rather than helps you by getting in the way when you're swinging your bat at monsters or getting stuck on the edge of screen in 2 player mode. Since you can hurt your sidekick, you'll end up causing more damage to them than the creatures you're trying to protect them from.