Obscure: The Aftermath – PS2 – Review

In a college town at a fraternity party, young men
and women are getting wasted on whatever they can find. The irony of their
actions is that by the end of the night, “wasted” will be the only word that
can describe their fate. Strange mutations, brought on by a flower these
hardworking students have been brewing like tea, is capable of unleashing
a power so vicious it’ll make their heads spin – and not in the way they had
hoped.

Obscure: The Aftermath, the sequel to one of
the few popular horror games not titled Resident Evil or Silent Hill, has once
again taken its inspiration from the Capcom and Konami hits. The story is all
its own, with eerie scenarios, an immersive soundtrack, and a fair amount of
spooky sound effects.

Radiohead to Big Ugly Monster: “But I’m a
creep!”

No Radiohead, you’re not. But these guys, with
their fluid-spewing bodies, tentacle shapes and blood-soaked skin, most
certainly are. They don’t know any better. It’s tough being a monster in the
city – you get picked on in school, and there’s no way they’ll ever let you go
to college. So you bust your way in, making life a living hell for our heroes.
Actually, heroes isn’t quite the best classification. These guys and
gals are fighting to save their friends and themselves. They had no intention
of taking on the enemy to prevent a bigger war from unraveling. That’s just
icing on the gruesome cake.

High-end visuals are an essential part of every
survival/horror game. How can you convey a spooky scenario realistically if
the graphics are weak? If you can detach yourself from the new generation, The
Aftermath is a pretty good looking game. It’s not on par with Silent Hill 2, 3
or 4 – those games took the lead in moody and realistic lighting, textures,
and backdrops. But that doesn’t mean this game isn’t high-end.

Every interior is stacked with real-world
touches. When the world is calm, your dorm room is layered with multiple
floors to explore, different aesthetics and layouts for most of the rooms, and
a couple of objects to interact with (plus several you can’t touch). When evil
approaches and the world goes crazy, the environment is replaced by bloody and
deteriorated environments, the kind you’d find in the original Silent Hill for
PSone, but with much more detail. Of course, with all this beauty, you’re
bound to eventually wonder what this game would have looked like on
PlayStation 3.

Let’s Go Kill and Collect Something

The gameplay side of Obscure: The Aftermath
tends to follow one narrow path. First you’ll have to find a way through the
environment, which may involve the moving of boxes or other objects to climb
on, the destruction or removal of barricades, and so on. Along the way you’ll
encounter a monster or two – take them out because running won’t do much good.
Next up: collect an item. This may be as simple as a key to unlock a door, or
a ripped piece of paper with a secret lock combination.

Whoa, more monsters! Fire!

Once those are taken care of, you’ll probably
come to another obstacle or puzzle situation. The game has spread its
scenarios across six students, two of which can be controlled simultaneously.
One is under your command at all times, the other follows you under the
control of AI. You can switch between those two characters by tapping the R2
button.

The whole point of having multiple characters
is to add variety. But each guy pretends to be tough, and each girl is afraid
at one time or other. Personalities aside, you’ll have to use each of them to
finish the game. As bad luck would have it, Corey is the only person that can
jump high enough to grab a ledge. Mei is the only one with a hacking device
that can manipulate electronic locks (triggering puzzles where you’ll have to
unscramble the names of famous people, such as “Picasso” and “Freud”). Amy has
the magical ability to unearth hidden messages. The list goes on from there,
with supporting characters appearing at different times to advance the story.

While I appreciate the variety, I didn’t care
for the result. In some instances, all the characters were accessible from one
central location. You can’t walk away with more than two, which means you may
have to come back if you picked the wrong team.

Monster encounters are a step up from the first
game, as are the camera angles, which are dramatic when free-roaming and
fairly well structured when controlled by the player. Unlike Resident Evil,
which purposely limits the ammo you receive, Obscure seems to provide
additional ammo whenever it’s needed most. You will have to beat some
monsters with a hockey stick or baseball bat. But if a hefty monster is on the
way, chances are a bullet clip is in the area. As your arsenal expands, so
will the types of ammo you receive, and the frequency at which it’s delivered.

These elements are quite a mix. Obscure knows
how to be intense and exciting. But it doesn’t always know how to keep that
feeling intact. In many cases, the game jumps ship and forces a character
change just when something cool has happened. Obscure has a nice idea going
with the shadow monsters, who block your path and cannot be eliminated without
a bright beam of light. At the same time, you may be laughing – not jumping
out of your seat – when the whiny voice actors recite one of their cheesy
lines. Yes, movies have done worse, especially those with zombies. But while
some games are 100% Grade A cheese, there are real, believable moments in
Obscure. There just aren’t enough of them.

Creepy and Intriguing

…But not quite scary. Survival/horror games
have had the same effect as horror films: traditional pop-out-and-say-boo
techniques can’t frighten those who have already seen it. I used to feel on
edge while playing Silent Hill. It was the only game I’ve ever played where I
had to take breaks – not because I was bored, but because the game was just
too bothersome to finish in one sitting. That kind of magic only happens once,
hence the evolution of Resident Evil and new horror styles like Dead Rising.

All this taken into account, you probably won’t
jump out of your skin playing Obscure. If the fright-factor is the only reason
you play these games, The Aftermath may not cut it. But if you love the
elements of horror as a whole – the idea of something bigger and more powerful
than mankind threatening your world – this game will surely satisfy that
craving.

Review Scoring Details for Obscure: The Aftermath