Beware of the $19.99 videogame! That's what went through my head as I stood in front of a shelf at the local Gamestop. There were about 25 games, some new and some former $50 titles that hit the bargain bin shortly after release. Problem is, many magazines and websites award these games slightly above average scores and I can never get a solid impression of what's good. Therefore, sometimes a gamble pays off and other times I go home with Chicago Enforcer. Thankfully, DreamCatcher and Hydravision's survival horror adventure game Obscure is a cubic zirconia in the rough. It's by no means perfect, but this monster mash provides plenty of quality thrills at a bargain basement price.

Ah yes, high school. The clubs. The sports. The mutant freaks that live underground. Obscure brings back a lot of memories, most of which are good ones. In the tradition of such films as The Faculty and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's a high school (Leafmore High, to be specific) horror romp where you, playing as a group of five students (you can switch on the fly unless they're dead) must explore their alma mater's hallowed halls and blast apart the monsters that dwell within. There are guns, flashlights, and baseball bats, but instead of developing a game that falls in line right behind the better titles on the market, Obscure's creators went out of their way to innovate, and it's these unique features that make the game shine.

For starters, and most importantly, you can play the game with a friend. Obscure features a cool co-op mode where you can team up and blast apart the game's evil creatures. Aside from some camera trouble (it's easy to get stuck if you walk too far away from your partner, though he or she can immediately put the camera onto them so they can catch up) it works surprisingly well. You can still opt for a solo adventure if you'd rather go it alone, but joining forces with someone else makes the game a lot more enjoyable.

What I also like about Obscure is its lack of menus. Whenever you want to change/combine weapons or use items you need to do it in game, a big change from what you're probably used to, but trust me, it works extremely well. Since you can't hide behind a menu screen, you're constantly exposed to the game world, and with all of the monsters lumbering about it'll make you think twice about equipping a weapon that only has one bullet left in it. I'm not a fan of the steps required to combine items (it's not as easy as it should've been), but that's a minor gripe.

In addition to the aforementioned pluses, the game succeeds because of a few other slick features. You can save whenever you want as long as you have a special disc, you can attach a flashlight to your weapons with tape, and the developers did a nice job pumping Obscure full of spooky sounds.

If you're looking for RE 4 quality graphics, you won't find that here, but Obscure's environments are creepy, nowhere near as terrifying as anything seen in a Silent Hill, but the abandoned gymnasium, dark and littered hallways, and germ infested bathrooms (I guess there are germs) are somewhat frightening. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the monsters. Not only are they poorly designed, but there are very few types, meaning you're going to run into the same freaks over and over again, and quite frankly, none of them are scary. It's possible that the developers didn't intend them to be, but if so that's Obscure's main problem: it gives off mixed signals.

So here's my main beef with this game. While it was an awesome idea to develop an adventure title with a teen horror flick influence, the writers didn't flesh out the story or its characters enough. They certainly have most of the stereotypical players (the jock, the goofy guy, the shy yet sexy book worm, the strong-willed female, the reporter nerd) but the actors don't deliver their lines with gusto, primarily because the story is boring. It starts off corny, but instead of going the hysterical B-movie Killer Klowns from Outer Space route it becomes too serious, and it was at that point (because the writers didn't take advantage of this game's potential) when I started comparing it to the competition. When put next to RE 4, Silent Hill 3, and Fatal Frame 2, Obscure just doesn't belong. By the end of the experience I was happy that I completed it because there's a bigger emphasis on shooting than stupid puzzle solving, but I didn't care how the story ended.

Complaints aside, I enjoyed Obscure. It's not the longest of adventures (you can beat it in less than nine hours), but only the cheapest people would expect a $20 game to last for several days. Just know that if you want to be somewhat scared, have money to burn, and can't tell the bargain basement gems from the crap, Obscure is one of the better cheap games out there.