![]() Given that part of the tension of survival horror classics like Resident Evil depend on the fact that the player is not only confronted by nightmarish situations but, additionally, is compounded by the fact that ammunition and medical kits are limited within the confines of the game. Not only is the tension of the group dying one by one a clear echo of the slasher genre, but it also creates a rather interesting (and, perhaps, legitimately innovative) tension within the survival horror game genre. Over the course of the game, a number of these characters get knocked off in cut scenes, cut down one at a time à la the classic slasher picture. The cast of college-age kids is actually fairly large with each serving some archetypal role (the jock, the slut, the bad boy, etc.). The game constantly forces the player (or players in co-op) to adopt new roles. While I initially thought that the co-op mode or the more basic single player approach that requires you to control two characters at once was little more than a novelty, and, perhaps, Obscure‘s effort towards at least some innovation within the survival horror genre, this aspect actually seems to be more of a nod to the slasher film more than anything else. What does work, though, in terms of its homage to the genre is its multi-player aspect. The potential for satire is there, though, only if the resulting episodes are amusing or clever. Obscure‘s writers nod to the conventions of the genre as a kind of morality play seemingly while laughing a bit in their sleeves. It is explained over the course of the story that mutations caused by the flower are indeed best transmitted through drug use and sexual contact. In this sense, though, the game’s narrative is clearly at least somewhat self aware. Clearly, anyone of college age is only interested in attending a university to get drunk, stoned, and laid. Set at a college in which a genetically altered flower is causing hideous mutations in the campus population, it presumes a fairly straightforward approach to its cultural setting. The game is chock full of frat boy mentality. This may be its greatest weakness or its greatest strength largely depending on the type of media that you enjoy. However, Obscure simply is what it is - a B-grade horror experience. Think Scream, or more recently, Planet Terror. Surely, viewers watch these flicks with the hope of seeing bare breasts or an excessively gory execution scene?įor me, the only campy slasher or monster movies that I have ever enjoyed are those that play with the convention of the formula itself, satirizing salaciousness and reveling in it with the self-knowledge that what the viewer wants is a grisly, silly, and simplistically moralistic tale. I had always assumed that pure salaciousness drove its consumption. Personally, I have never really understood the appeal of this formulaic genre of films. If you are the type that lingers over direct-to-video slasher flicks in the video store, this may be the game for you. This is survival horror at its most adequate. ![]()
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