The Thing

"You can't have too much of a good Thing"

Hello, Hola, Bonjour, Aloha (yes, it also means ''hello'' as well as ''goodbye'') and all that. I know everyone doesn't care, but I feel compelled to tell you this is my first review.. it's just something you have to say.

The Thing is a wonderful survival-horror action game that utilizes both tried-and-true and brand new methods to make it as fun (when you think about it it's fun... but you're probably just going to be scared when you first play it) and original as possible.

A new concept to the gaming world is the Trust/Fear system. Because there is no 100% method to know who's a Thing and who's not, you're going to have to learn to trust your team and make them learn to trust you. If you do a blood test on yourself, give your teammates weapons and ammo, heal them, save their butts in battle, etc. they'll trust you even more and will so their best to be a valuable asset to you. If you take away their weapons and ammo, don't participate in battle, shoot them, or wrongfully murder someone you suspect is a Thing, they'll lose trust in you down to the point where they'll ignore your commands and even consider you an enemy. The fear system is another unique feature in the game. If you equip your teammates well and kill lots of Things, they will have increased courage which means they will perform well. Your teammates can also be afraid.... very afraid. Some of the wimpier ones will puke at the site a dismembered body or might even pee their pants if scared enough by their surroundings. Leading your team away from gory and monster-filled areas will calm them down. Should a teammate become frightened enough, they might flip out and attack you, huddle in a corner and not be provoked out, or simply end their life and leave you with one less man. It is essential to keep everyone ''in the green'' if you want to make it out alive.

Graphics: (8/10) Nothing ground-breaking here. There blizzard effects are nice and the fire is above-par than most other games. There are some jagged edges, clipping problem, and some collision-detection problems (I actually got stuck in a door and was helpless against a Walker.) The characters are also blocky. There are lots of good things, just it's easier to list the flaws since there are no new astounding visuals. Keep in mind that graphics don't make the game, if you don't believe me, look at Missile Command and Centipede.. heck, even some of the old text adventures.

Sound: (9/10) What is amazing is that score is achieved despite the fact there is no music in the game. The voices sound good, even though character's mouths move like the Canadians in South Park (I'm Canadian, and I'd like to say that the top half of my head does not separate from the bottom half when I talk.) The creeping and cries of the Scuttlers are very realistic and make for a scary experience when they're hiding in the shadows. It's a very heart-pounding experience when you slam a door and hear the Scuttlers banging on the door and trying to find ways in through windows and cracks. The bigger monsters can be heard stomping around looking for prey in the room next to you...very scary. I really only have two complaints with the sound: 1. the weapons are not as loud as they should be.
2. The character's curse too often. It's nice to have a game that earns its rating, but throwing in cussing just because they can isn't a good excuse. But I must say, it was very entertaining when the first words I heard my soldier say were ''I'm locked, loaded, and ready to make **** dead.''

Controls: (7/10) The controls sound simple at first i.e. X is shoot, O is pick up items, fix junction boxes, etc. However, navigating the weapons,items,and Squad menu can take a while to getting used to. I often found myself pressing wrong buttons and wasting precious ammo or items. Navigating Blake around is easy though it can get annoying having to stand in exactly the right place to activate something when you're in a rush. 95% of the time the camera is in a great spot to help you to the fullest (one gripe is you can't see Scuttlers attacking you below the knees.) The auto-aim function and being able to peak around corners in 1st person is a definite life-saver.

Gameplay: (9/10) This game is very fun and would receive a 10 if not for some its flaws to bring it down. By no means should some bugs dissuade you from buying this game; it's very enjoyable.

Presentation (Overall score, not an average): (9/10)

Well, that wasted about 30 min. of my life

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/22/02, Updated 09/22/02