About
Reviews (3)
01 December 2006
A gem if released two years ago
Obscure has a refreshing new 2 player concept that was bound to happen in survivor horror games sooner or later, and it turns out to be the only factor which boosted this game to an above average rating. Survival horror fans would definitely not find the plot and graphics surpassing the likes of the Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame and even Alone in the Dark Series. However Obscure is surprising fun when coupled with a few friends who can actively support you by unloading a clip into monsters instead of the usual yelling of directions or to shoot faster.
Plot wise, Obscure is vastly lacking when compared to its predecessors. You're virtually playing in a teen horror movie set in an American high school. Five teenagers trapped in a high school one night and which looking for the janitor for the keys to get out, gets attacked by monsters and tries to survive. (Climbing over the gates never occurs to them) Hardcore survivor horror gamers can probably predict what's going to happen around the next corner as there are quite a number of cliches everywhere in the game.
You get to choose from five playable characters at anytime in the game as there is a feature which allows you to ‘wrap' back to a save room (from some places) where the other characters are waiting, apparently undisturbed by monsters. Each of these characters have a special ability which makes each unique and useful in various way. With certain advantages come disadvantages too, like for example one character is able to heal more health with the same items and give advice when you're stuck at some point in the game but runs at a horrendously slow speed! (Sorry but I'm a speed player)
When playing alone, you can either choose to bring along another character to take advantage of his/her special ability or to just play the game alone. Taking another character means having a crappy AI along for the ride and it's not always a good idea as healing items are shared amongst all your characters and the AI seems to get hurt a lot on hard mode. However at some points in the game, you need to have two characters to further progress the game, thus forcing you to bring along the dreadful AI.
The voice acting can only be graded as average with some muffled and hard to catch sentences. The music was worse. Maybe I've been playing too much of SH. There are also few boss battles and they are way too easy. None needing a whole lot of team work, they can be taken out quite easily even using a single player. Not to mention that it only takes a sitting or two of 3-4 hours to complete this game. In another words, I would prefer the game to be longer.
In conclusion, I would recommend Obscure to any survivor horror fan only if they have friends to bring along for the ride. This game can only shine when a group of friends get together and tackle the game together. It's tremendously fun to see two gamers (used to having the camera on their character all the time) overcome problems of who's going to be the lead character. And to devise their own tactics of double teaming monsters, placing the second player next to the exit for a quick escape and swapping the camera efficiently.
Game-play (one player): 5/10
Game-play (two player): 10/10
Graphics: 6/10
Sound: 5/10
Story: 3/10
Replay Value: 5/10
Overall: 6/10
01 December 2006
A chance for your friends to get back at ya at tennis
"A chance for your friends to get back at ya for trashing them on court!"
I bought this game about two years ago and absolutely loved it. Now after playing this game for two years I still find it fun and enjoyable. Of course being an avid tennis player myself does contribute to my love for this game. Alright, on to the review!
Introduction
There are 16 different internationally ranked players to choose from each with their own style of “Serve and Volley – Patrick Rafter” or “Hard Hitter – Monica Seles” to name a few. You get to create two personal characters and train them up in the world tour to match the likes of top players in the world while steadily rising in the world rankings.
Storyline 6/10
Nothing spectacular here. Just the usual new tennis player on a quest to conquer the world rankings and collecting special rackets to help out in his/her quest. You start out as lowly ranked tennis player in the international scene. You play your first tournament and you immediately realized that you're tremendously weak. So what you do? Train! After that it's all repetitive. Train, win matches, train, win matches… etc
Game play 9/10
Just one word to describe. Great! Being able to hit a 250 kmph serve as well as almost never hitting the ball out of the court would surely appeal to avid tennis players and non-tennis players alike. However it'll take some time to master all the game mechanics to be able to challenge the highest level opponent, of course having maxed out stats helps. To hit a hard shot, you need to hold down the hit button longer as well as to push the forward button and the longer you had your direction set on the d-pad, the greater the angle of the shot will be. Using the slice button will increases the curve of the ball but the shot most often then not will not pack enough power to pass your opponent. At lower levels, a good grasp of ground strokes will be enough to bring you up the ranking. However at higher levels, gamers will need to have knowledge and skill of the many other available shots and techniques to be able to win a game.
Graphics 8/10
The graphics are great when compared to its predecessors. The crowd does not look like cardboard people as they did in older games. Individual players like the Williams sisters for example look very much the same as their real life counterparts. Everything from their hair to their body size and even their play style all fits together well.
Sound/Music 7/10
There is nothing special about the sounds and music in this game. All the sounds are what you would expect to find in a normal tennis game with sounds of players running and ball hitting. It could be better if there are some short phrases added to the players when they hit a winner or miss a ball. The music fits the mood of the game well but it tends to get very repetitive and irritating at time, especially when you just lost a long rally by a lob!
Overall 8/10
Overall if you are not a tennis fan, or do not have friends who are fans, I would not recommend this game as a keeper. Otherwise buy it and keep it! Oh and get a multi-tap at the same time. You and your friends you definitely not regret this investment.
01 December 2006
"Not my cup of tea, and I doubt it’s yours!"
When I started playing this game, my first thoughts were “where are my guns and weapons?” This game is most definitely NOT for everyone. Syberia II is a game without any fighting or killing (the definition of fun for some people) and involves controlling a character on an adventure to fulfill a friend's dream. The highly underrated ‘Shadow of Destiny' is another title which comes to mind, another game with puzzles galore and no combat. Albeit fans of ‘Shadow of Destiny' would most probably not like Syberia II.
Storyline 4/10
Nothing interesting and unique here. The story continues from where Syberia left off. You're playing Kate Walker –a lawyer from New York- who is helping her friend, Hans Voralberg, on his quest to find the last of the mammoths which were only known to exist on a mythical island known as Syberia. It would be a good story for a book but here in todays' gaming world of surrealism and fantasy, this plot is only mediocre.
Game Play 3/10
The game play of Syberia II is pretty basic. There isn't any fighting whatsoever, so all you're doing is just running around trying to advance the story. You walk with the left analog stick and run while pressing the square button. You start by trying to get the train you are riding in prepared for the journey ahead. I thought this task would be simple at first but I was wrong. Many of the puzzles require a lot of running (sometimes walking) to and fro between point A, B and C. Don't get me wrong, the puzzles are not difficult to solve but rather tedious and tiring at times. Granted, the graphics are stunning and very realistic but one tends to get bored when it's seen too often. It seems like the creators does this on purpose to flaunt the games' extraordinary graphics.
Graphics 9/10
Finally, something that is positive about Syberia II. Its graphics are simply ineffable. The environment is filled with pre-rendered backgrounds which are refined to an amazingly high level of sharpness and realism. The constant falling snow also adds a subtle sense of serenity, its effects stupendous! However all of these in-game graphics pale in comparison with the movie scenes. The only thing that I have to complain about is its lack of scenes. Even the ending was surprising short and vastly disappointing.
Sound 9/10
The background music used fits the game perfectly. It's soft and slow genre slips nicely into the surroundings of nature and its icy terrain. Subtle addition to the environment like birds chirping, the sound of the gushing river nearby all adds tremendous audio effect to the already unmatched graphical environment, making this game an orgasm for the eyes.The voice acting was marvelous. The accent of each character was perfect, each providing much more personality to every character in the game. Yes, even down to the minor roles! Of course there aren't many interactive characters throughout the game.
The Final Verdict 4/10
As much as graphics and sound are part of a factor which makes a good game, there are not many people who would appreciate a game which appeals to the eyes and not the brains. The puzzles are too easy and some just rely too much on trial and error, some people take might that as an insult to their intelligence. Fans of this famous story aside, I would not recommend this game to any other soul. Just in case anyone is interested, rent it, play it and return it.