[quote name='Wolfpup']
So what is Obscure like? I remember it getting pretty good reviews, but I'm more into Resident Evil and Eternal Darkness than Silent Hill.[/QUOTE]
I've played both Obscure 1 and 2, and I thought the first one was a little better. Both of them are like a cheesy teen horror movie, and yes they do share a lot of similarities with The Faculty, but I felt that's what gave it a certain charm. However, I did not see The Faculty before playing the first Obscure, so maybe that is why I found the game to be fun, who knows.
I like the first one better because, you get to choose two out of four (and later five) characters to buddy up and explore the school as they look for their missing friend (In the second one you pretty much get assigned two characters all the time and have no choice in the matter, making the game feel too linear). Each character has a certain special ability. Stanley is a good lock picker, Shannon will be able to give you clues to help solve a room or area's puzzle, Ashley can unleash either a double shot or a bat swing combo attack on enemies, Josh can tell you if there are any items left in a room waiting to be found, and Kenny has a good sprint.
The flash lights aren't just there to try to help you see in the dark either as they have a boost ability that weakens the enemies you encounter, making them vulnerable to kill. But you have to be careful because the bulb will overheat if you boost for too long and then you'll have to wait as it cools off. Not a good thing to have happen when you're ambushed! The overall atmosphere of the game is somewhat tense and scary, but it still felt closer to Resident Evil's action oriented game play than Silent Hill's slower and creepier pace.
What really makes the game fun is that it did the co-op gameplay fairly well, so if you have a friend, playing the game with them rather than the AI controlling the other character makes the game much more enjoyable (or annoying if your friend doesn't know how to play survival horror games very well
). The game can be quite challenging even on Normal as the monsters do a decent amount of damage, but if you need to get the hang of how it plays, just turn it down to Easy and enjoy it. That's what games are for right?