The Thing

"One good game that could have been better"

One of the many new games to come out finally did. As I saw the advertisement for it, I was excited to play it. It didn’t fall short of what I expected nor did it exceed it. I liked some of the ideas in the game but it all became too repetitive and annoying.

Basic Story: 9/10
In the frozen wastelands of Antarctica, a mysterious shape-shifting alien life form has wiped out an American scientific outpost. You control the leader of a military rescue team sent to investigate the carnage. Trapped by elements and infected by a horrific enemy, you must keep your squad together. Control their fear, gain their trust and you might just survive.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay is presented well. It represents the idea of what an action/adventure game should be like. As the squad leader you must control your squad’s trust and fear. Your squad members will shoot you if they don’t trust you enough. They will look around in a panic if they’re scared to death. Various environment elements can scare your squad members such as sound they hear or monsters they see.

Fun Factor: 7/10
This game is fun at first but it gets boring later on because of all the various running around. It’s fun to mess around to see what your squad members will do if you do various things like shoot somebody in the head.

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics are fantastic. I like how each environment is greatly detailed. The only reason as to why it didn’t get a perfect score is because of the problem with voice syncing. I don’t know if it’s just my game though.

Sound: 8/10
The sound’s what this game is all about. You have to pay attention to your squad members’ little mumbles. They will tell you how they are feeling and what you can do to help them out. The sound also warns you about the monsters in the area.

Replayability: 7/10
This game can be played just to mess around. Once you beat the game you may not want to play it again.

Overall: 8/10
The Thing is a good game, but it can be better. I don’t like the fact that you cannot jump. I believe that an action/adventure game should have a button for jumping. I didn’t like the fact that the mouths did not sync up with what the sound had. One of the best things about the game is the sort of new idea of trust and fear. The graphics are truly great but you would be a fool to think that graphics is everything.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/09/02, Updated 09/09/02