Final Exam

Final Exam, also known as Obscure: Final Exam, and formally known as Obscure 2013, is a platformer, hack and slash horror game from Mighty Rocket Studios.

Final Exam can be played in single player and Co-op mode (LAN and online), and you can choose from four different characters, each with their own skills and abilities. Final Exam is an action-packed beat'em up game offering fabulous combat sequences, combos and score multipliers.

Development
The game's development began around the year 2012, and was to be released in October of that year. However, Hydravision and all its properties, were purchased by Focus Home Interactive. Focus renamed Hydravision to Mighty Rocket Studios. It was then announced in March 2013 that the game was in full development and was to be released in late 2013 as Obscure. In July 2013, the game was renamed to Final Exam in response to negative feedback on being an Obscure game, and was turned into a spinoff.

Platforms
The game was released on November 5th for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. On the Playstation Blog, Francois Potentier, the CEO and Founder of Mighty Rocket Studios replied to a question asking if they game would be released on Playstation Vita, and he stated that he loves the platform and its possible.

On PS3 and 360, the game was released exclusively on their respective networks (PSN and XBL). The PC version however, was released on DVD and Digitally.

Gameplay
Final Exam is a 2.5D Sidescroller, hack and slash, horror game from Mighty Rocket Studios, the sequel studio to Hydravision Entertainment. The game plays like a 3D platformer, and can be played online with up to 4 people.

The game supports drop in and drop out co op, local coop, and leaderboards.

As with the previous Obscure games, each character has a special ability. Joe can handle more damage, Cassy can run faster, Sean has better stats with weapons and Nathan can pick locks and set explosives.

The game has a total of 8, 1 hour each, missions. Many of the missions take place in Fallcreek, the city used in the original 2 Obscure Titles.
 * Missions

It was revealed that you can build cars, weapons and more depending on the mission, which is a first for the series.
 * Weapon and Car building

Co-Op
Set out with a team of three other players to battle through the insane missions and confront the lethal, outlandish creatures pursuing you relentlessly through the eight high-octane chapters.

Split your team up to achieve your objectives as quickly as possible or stick together to improve your chances of survival against the waves of increasingly powerful and aggressive monsters. The strength of the monsters depends on the size of your group: the larger the group, the greater the threat... but this will also allow you to achieve stellar hi-scores!

Play with other players in Co-op mode to unlock new combat options. "Juggle" with the monsters and don’t give them a moment’s respite, cover your team members while they reload the deathly rocket launcher, and protect them as they transport objects that will be vital to achieving your next objective! Final Exam in Co-op mode delivers more explosions, more monsters and, most importantly, more endless fun!

Plot
A group of four buddies visit their old high school for what would have been the mother of all parties, and find themselves trapped in a small town that has been invaded by a pack of monstrous and particularly aggressive creatures.


 * Locations
 * Subway
 * Splashy World
 * Leafmore High

Characters
There are 4 main characters to play in the game:
 * Brutal Joe, the "Jock"
 * Cassy, a very talented street dancer
 * Nathan, the "Geek"
 * Sean, the "Handsome".

Also Mighty Rocket Studio has confirmed that we'll see some familiar characters in the game, 2 of them are Herbert Friedman and Shannon Matthews from the original ObsCure franchise, you can see it from the official Mighty Rocket Studio DEVBLOG page, here.

Select your favorite character from the four available, each with their own skills, stats and preferred weapons. You must complete numerous missions with various objectives during the eight chapters to escape from the hell hole you have landed in as you exterminate the monster rabble who are chasing you!

These monsters will be trying to make life miserable for you in a number of ways: some are stupid, others are fast, some can fly and others are huge, twice your height and ten times your weight... so you must decide on the right tactics to annihilate them! Use the most appropriate weapon and launch a sequence of super combos!

Performing a sequence of attacks will significantly boost your score… but watch out you don’t receive a mean blow during the combo, because if you’re hit, your score multiplier and points bonus will be reset to zero! Achieving top hi-scores will not only earn you the right to boast to your friends and challenge them to do better, but will also allow you to earn more skill points at the end of a level!

Your characters can then level up and you will upgrade their attributes (health, power, etc.), unlock new weapons, new skills and new devastating combos! Achieve the highest score possible to climb up the Final Exam rankings and dare your friends to beat you or, better still, invite them to join your game so together you can seriously whack some monster!

Reception
Initial pre-release feedback of the game was mixed. This was due to the fact that Mighty Rocket Studios was releasing a major change in the genre for Obscure. The negative feedback caused the developer to change the name of the game to Final Exam.

On 25 October 2013, Mighty Rocket Studios released an exclusive limited PC demo of the game on their site. Reception for the demo was very positive, with Retro Gamer Boy being the first to publish their review, saying: "What can we say about Final Exam? We had a lot of fun! The game has great graphics, energizing action and combat, great music, and some pretty neat game design. We cannot wait until November 5th so we can get the full game!"

Upon full release, the game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Matt Beaudette of Hardcore Gamer said of the game, "There are better options available for those simply looking for a cheap side-scroller to play once and forget about. Those who can get invested in learning and mastering a deep combat system, however, will find a lot to like in Final Exam" Smooth Town wrote, "This is a fine starting point for whatever future holds for the ObsCure franchise"; however, they noted the problems with repetitiveness and cheap boss fights.

Trivia

 * The game was renamed 3 times. It was originally called "ObsCure 2013", then it was remade all over to become "ObsCure: Final Exam". The final name that will remain would be "Final Exam".
 * The game was the first to allow online play in the ObsCure Series.
 * The game is the first major revision of the series, as it goes from 3D to 2.5D.
 * The game was originally going to be a reboot; however, it was later turned into a non canon spinoff.
 * The game is the first in the series to not carry an "M" rating, and simply contains a "T" rating.
 * The game is the first in the series to not be offered in disc form on consoles, as they will be digital only.
 * The game is the first non 3D title in the series.
 * The game is the first to contain an entirely new character lineup, rather than previous characters returning.
 * The game is the first title to be released on current gen consoles.
 * The game is the first to be released on an Xbox branded console since the original ObsCure.
 * As stated on the official site, the game is the first corner stone of the studio, to which they hope to eventually "Develop a true ObsCure Sequel".