Latest Previews
Too Human - Hands OnRaven Squad - First LookQuantum Of Solace - First LookNinjatown - Hands OnCall Of Duty: World At War - First LookUser Reviews
There are currently 0 User Reviews for The ThingWrite your own review for this game today and you will receive 100 Gamer Points.
Click here to register
The Thing Preview
Chris Leyton
00/12/0000
20 years after the original film comes a true sequel to John Carpenters classic...
John Carpenterâs The Thing had all the right ingredients for a survival/horror videogame; suspense, action, horror and guns, what more could you ask for. However rather then going down the simple path of recreating the movie, UK based Computer Artworks have gone back to the drawing board and created their own adventure that takes place where the film left off.
Players take the role of Captain Blake, in charge of a military rescue team sent to the wastelands of the Antarctic to investigate the disappearance of the scientific expedition seen in the film. At this point it would be very easy to dismiss this as yet another survival/horror clone, however from what weâve seen so far that talented team at Computer Artworks have more then a few tricks up their sleeve to make you take notice.
Unlike other games in this genre you wonât be facing the game on your own. Whilst you control a single member, he is in fact part of a larger squad comprising of up to four different members, a soldier, a medic and an engineer. Soldiers are your attack force for whenever you confront The Thing, Engineers can open locked doors, turn on power sources/computers and save your game, whilst the medics heal wounded members and play a large part in building trust and lowering fear amongst your team. Each of these is controlled through a sophisticated AI routine, which allows them all to get on with their jobs with minimum interaction from you.
More importantly it also handles such areas as fear and paranoia, as fans of the original 1982 film will know, The Thing has the power to shape-shift and so your team members will begin to doubt whether you are who you really are! So if your team thinks youâre The Thing theyâll try to kill you, to stop this youâve got to win back their trust by giving them health and ammunition.
Originally the game has a fear/trust meter that allowed the player to see who was about to flip out, whilst this is still in the current build, more emphasis has been placed on audio/visual clues that each member will give, so if someone starts blabbering like a madman it might be a good time to give them a blood check.
Whilst the game will be firmly placed in the survival/horror genre, the game is more action orientated then most other games in this field. Combat gets extremely heated and frantic, which helps to build up the suspense during quieter moments. A unique control method allows you to hold an item whilst fielding a weapon, the trade-off is a loss in accuracy, however this allows you to do such things as keep a torch on when straying down darkened areas.
Visually thereâs not a lot to touch The Thing at the moment, which has perfectly captured the dark, chilling and moody atmosphere of the film. The game features extremely clean, detailed and more importantly (for a PS2 title) varied textures. Special attention has been paid to the lighting and particle effects to recreate the mood, and handle little effects such as warm breathe on cold air. Most of the action takes place within the confines of the base, however occasionally youâll have to stray outside when an Endurance meter tracks how long you can be exposed to the elements.
