General/Summary: "The Thing" is based upon the 1982 science fiction/horror movie by John Carpenter of the same name. Both deal with the discovery of a crashed alien vessel in the Antarctic at a research facility. When contact is lost with the base, two special forces teams are sent to investigate (when will they ever learn? Hasn't anyone noticed that this is how every survival/horro game ever made starts?) The teams quickly become disoriented and seperated at the ruined building in a storm. Through the discovery of messages left by base personel, the teams realize that some type of alien virus has been released, which is capable of infecting and taking control of anything it comes into contact with. It will initially remain dormant in its victim, but will eventually mutate the unlucky person/animal/whatever into a horrifying genetic freak. The player takes the role of the leader of one of the teams sent to investigate the incident and soon becomes enbroiled in a complex plot. This game is without a doubt the scariest, most atmospheric adventure game available for the PC, while at the same time being an incredibly enjoyable action game. There is a perfect balance between exploration/adventure and action, as the player will one minute find themselves searching for the correct switch combination to deactivate a security grid and in the next instant find himself overwhelmed by swarms of aliens. This game, while a little buggy out of the box, is a must have for any survival/horror fan and a definite buy for gamers who enjoy a smart action experience.
Gameplay: Even though it is filled with spectacular firefights, interesting puzzles, and an excellent plot, where this game really shines is in the AI of both friendly and enemy characters. The game utilizes a trust/fear system that dictates how a friendly NPC acts in relation to their trust of the player character and their level of fear. This may seem like a gimick, but the player will soon realize the importance of gaining the trust of their commrades and keeping them calm. For example, if a player is constantly screwing up (read: accidentally shooting their own men), their teammembers may soon question whether the player is infected with the alien virus. They will become suspicious and uncooperative, refusing to follow orders and even threatening or harming the player. Meanwhile, a team member who is completely loyal to the character is willing to lay down his life to protect the player and even kill another commrade if the offender threatens the life of the main character. Fear can cause teammates to freeze, vomit, wet themselves, become paranoid, perform poorly in combat, succumb to the virus, and, in the most extreme cases, plaster the walls with the contents of their skulls. Both fear and trust are measured in levels, and can increase or decrease through actions taken by the player. For example, to increase trust, the player could share weapons and ammo with the doubting teammember, perform corageously in battle, give himself a blood test, or act in any other noble/selfless way. The opposite of these actions will result in a loss of trust for the character. Increases in fear result from seeing banged-up rooms, mutilated bodies, larger and more terrifying versions of The Thing, and the execution of fellow squad members, while decreases in fear levels result from being a good weapon and ammo, the death of an alien, or the execution of an infected team member. The fact that team mates can be infected from injuries or succumb to infection from loss of sanity through fear adds a whole new level of tension to the game, and while some of these events are scripted to move the plot along, most are dynamic and are a result of how well the player is doing to protect his men. The members of your team are all quite skilled at what they specialize in (soldier, engineer, or medic) and are all extremely neccesary in large firefights, of which there are many and occur frequently. The combat can be somewhat frustrating at times, seeing as the auto aiming intentionally misses at the harder levels of difficulty to make the game more tense, but if the player enjoys a challenge and a good scare, this is actually a bonus. Some of the larger aliens are quite hard to kill, as they can regenerate strength and must be torched using either flamethrowers or incindiary grenades. Another cool element is the addition of exposure. When the character steps outside into the -40 degree arctic weather, a blue bar appears on screen and slowly depletes. When it reaches zero, the player has been outside in the cold too long and begins to lose health. This is an excellent addition that adds a great deal of tension as the character frantically tries to deal with the harsh elements and the alien threat.
Graphics: The graphics for this game are stunning. Character models are the most lifelike I have ever seen in a game (Max Payne has nothing on this game), and are expertly animated. Monsters are all grotesque and frightening, each a boiling mass of puss, flesh, and exposed tissue. Lighting effects are excellent, and the effects used in combat are excellent. Flame from torches, flamethrowers, and flame grenades cast light about darkened levels and dance from one surface to another. For an especially cool effect, try lighting a gasoline-covered floor on fire (but be ready to run). Soldiers vomit, monsters spray sticky, goopy crud at the player that cakes on them and slows them, and the blood flows, splatters, and coagulates in sickening detail. It is amazing how good this game looks while still never dropping any frames. A visual masterpiece.
Sound: The voice acting is excellent and really takes away any excuse for bad voice acting in future action games, and the music (when it's there) fills the air with dread and excitement. Screams of pain fill the air in combat, while mosters roar, click, screech, slash, and gurgle in frighteningly realistic samples. Allies shout taunts at monsters ranging from, "Come on out so I can kill you!" to "I'm ready to blow s*** up," to (my favorite) a defianant laugh and "Yeah! Take it, b****!" There have been a few sound glitches, but a patch that was released on the day the game came out already fixed this.
Bottom line: get this game. It is the most fun I've had in a long time on the PC, and I gladly recommend it to the legions of hungry action gamers out there.
Gameplay: Even though it is filled with spectacular firefights, interesting puzzles, and an excellent plot, where this game really shines is in the AI of both friendly and enemy characters. The game utilizes a trust/fear system that dictates how a friendly NPC acts in relation to their trust of the player character and their level of fear. This may seem like a gimick, but the player will soon realize the importance of gaining the trust of their commrades and keeping them calm. For example, if a player is constantly screwing up (read: accidentally shooting their own men), their teammembers may soon question whether the player is infected with the alien virus. They will become suspicious and uncooperative, refusing to follow orders and even threatening or harming the player. Meanwhile, a team member who is completely loyal to the character is willing to lay down his life to protect the player and even kill another commrade if the offender threatens the life of the main character. Fear can cause teammates to freeze, vomit, wet themselves, become paranoid, perform poorly in combat, succumb to the virus, and, in the most extreme cases, plaster the walls with the contents of their skulls. Both fear and trust are measured in levels, and can increase or decrease through actions taken by the player. For example, to increase trust, the player could share weapons and ammo with the doubting teammember, perform corageously in battle, give himself a blood test, or act in any other noble/selfless way. The opposite of these actions will result in a loss of trust for the character. Increases in fear result from seeing banged-up rooms, mutilated bodies, larger and more terrifying versions of The Thing, and the execution of fellow squad members, while decreases in fear levels result from being a good weapon and ammo, the death of an alien, or the execution of an infected team member. The fact that team mates can be infected from injuries or succumb to infection from loss of sanity through fear adds a whole new level of tension to the game, and while some of these events are scripted to move the plot along, most are dynamic and are a result of how well the player is doing to protect his men. The members of your team are all quite skilled at what they specialize in (soldier, engineer, or medic) and are all extremely neccesary in large firefights, of which there are many and occur frequently. The combat can be somewhat frustrating at times, seeing as the auto aiming intentionally misses at the harder levels of difficulty to make the game more tense, but if the player enjoys a challenge and a good scare, this is actually a bonus. Some of the larger aliens are quite hard to kill, as they can regenerate strength and must be torched using either flamethrowers or incindiary grenades. Another cool element is the addition of exposure. When the character steps outside into the -40 degree arctic weather, a blue bar appears on screen and slowly depletes. When it reaches zero, the player has been outside in the cold too long and begins to lose health. This is an excellent addition that adds a great deal of tension as the character frantically tries to deal with the harsh elements and the alien threat.
Graphics: The graphics for this game are stunning. Character models are the most lifelike I have ever seen in a game (Max Payne has nothing on this game), and are expertly animated. Monsters are all grotesque and frightening, each a boiling mass of puss, flesh, and exposed tissue. Lighting effects are excellent, and the effects used in combat are excellent. Flame from torches, flamethrowers, and flame grenades cast light about darkened levels and dance from one surface to another. For an especially cool effect, try lighting a gasoline-covered floor on fire (but be ready to run). Soldiers vomit, monsters spray sticky, goopy crud at the player that cakes on them and slows them, and the blood flows, splatters, and coagulates in sickening detail. It is amazing how good this game looks while still never dropping any frames. A visual masterpiece.
Sound: The voice acting is excellent and really takes away any excuse for bad voice acting in future action games, and the music (when it's there) fills the air with dread and excitement. Screams of pain fill the air in combat, while mosters roar, click, screech, slash, and gurgle in frighteningly realistic samples. Allies shout taunts at monsters ranging from, "Come on out so I can kill you!" to "I'm ready to blow s*** up," to (my favorite) a defianant laugh and "Yeah! Take it, b****!" There have been a few sound glitches, but a patch that was released on the day the game came out already fixed this.
Bottom line: get this game. It is the most fun I've had in a long time on the PC, and I gladly recommend it to the legions of hungry action gamers out there.
