The Thing

"The long hoped for sequel comes not in the form of a movie, but a game"

The Thing... Among horror genius John Carpenter's greatest works. The cult classic film from 1982 has returned. Fans of the film waited long for the sequel, and it has arrived. The Thing video game is one of the best games available for Xbox. It's got an engrossing story, fun gameplay, great graphics (though some of the most gruesome I've ever seen), and an innovative new system of how you interact with your team.

Story: 10/10
This truly is a sequel to The Thing. It answers questions, brings back the feel, and doesn't rip off the original. I'll break down the two plots for you.

In the movie, a scientific expedition in Antarctica when they come across the Thing. It was unfrozen from a block of ice by a group of Norwegian scientists. It begins to infect them, and they become paranoid as hell. They stop trusting each other, and it truly shows humanity without hope. Eventually, MacReady (the lead character) manages to defeat the Thing. Hours later we see him ready to die in the cold when another character, Childs, who had been missing reappears. They face each other, neither knowing if the other's infected, and making the audience wonder too.

Taking place after the movie (I don't know how long after. People say twenty years, but I'm hesitant to believe it. The game was released that long after, and I doubt the Thing couldn't survive that long), you are dropped to investigate the disappearance the research outpost team from the movie, and you discover something's really wrong. Fans of the movie will find MacReady and Childs both dead, and it answers the question of ''Were they possessed?'' One clearly was, as the Thing is still alive, and more powerful than ever. The story is very complex and has twists and turns every level.

Gameplay: 9/10
Pure fun. There's a certain paranoia surrounding everything you do. That's helped with the addition of team mates. You can tell them what to do (in basic commands, nothing huge that you need a course in to learn), equip them, unequip them, hold them at gunpoint, execute them, etc. And you have to deal with their trust and fear. The more they trust you, the more they'll do for you. Hold them at gunpoint, do suspicious things, or shoot them and they'll stop trusting you. Need to execute someone? Unless your team trusts you 100%, it'd be wise to bring the victim to another room. And certain things can affect fear. If they get too afraid, they'll have heart attacks or commit suicide. You can remedy this fear by getting rid of the cause or giving them a shot of adrenaline.
And let's not forget combat. Some Things are small enough to be killed by bullets. Bigger ones have to be torched when they're weak enough. It's fun, but it can be frustrating once you have to pull out that flamethrower. It'll take a while before you can completely master the range of the fire weapons. Large firefights can be great fun when done right. In one level, hundreds of Scuttlers (small Things) are jumping through the windows. Happiness is blasting them with a shotgun as they approach, trying to keep them off. It's one of the greatest gaming experiences I've ever had.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics in this game are great. The characters and cutscenes could use more detail (they could have really used some sweet Final Fantasy style video for this), but the good overcomes the bad. Everything about the game sets up the atmosphere. The snowstorms, the destroyed buildings, the massacred bodies... Speaking of, they are disturbingly detailed. In the first level you find one so detailed you see it's intestines hanging out of a hole in it's stomach. In another level you come across a blood covered (literally) bathroom with a headless corpse, it's head in a nearby urinal. It's clear they did as much to make this game's atmosphere scary as hell as they could.

Sound: 10/10
You've probably heard this, but they did a great job. The shrieks of the Thing aren't even half of it. Featuring the original movie theme music, a voice recording straight from the movie, an awesome Saliva song, and superb voice acting (featuring more four-lettered words than you can shake a stick at), this game's sound is truly top-notch. Which is good, since you'll need to pay attention. Noises will scare your team. What they say will reflect on what they think of you and the situation.

Play Control: 8/10
You want this to play like Halo. You really do, and it feels like it should. Alas, it doesn't. You move and look with the left thumbstick, and strafing is handled with the right. It's easy once you get the hang of it. Though it can be frustrating in big firefights where you need to defeat many large Things with a flamethrower and, in chasing the ones who flee, you accidentally torch yourself. Give me a shotgun and a ton of Scuttlers.

Replayability: 8/10
There's nothing new, nothing special to unlock when you're done. No secrets, no extra characters, no extra modes, no cheats. There is no reason whatsoever to play through again. Yet, I'd still do it. I find it fun to go through different ways, having more borderline relationships with NPCs. Looking for hidden things like movie references. Or just going through to shoot stuff. I think this game is enjoyable more than once.

Buy/Rent: Buy
This is a really good game. You could rent it and do everything, but it's worth owning. Play it again. Besides, you can get it for $20 cheaper on half.com. Why not just buy it and get it over with?

Overall: 9/10
I think this game deserves a 9. It's not perfect, but damn close

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/02, Updated 10/27/02