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Action packed follow up to the movie!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Don't be fooled by other reviews. This isn't really a survival horror game. It's a squad based action game, with horror elements. Expect lots of shooting and running!

John Carpenter's classic movie The Thing, a remake of the awfully cheesy movie from the 1950's, has a classic premise that John W. Campbell originally wrote in the short story that spawned both movies, "Who Goes There." Finding a shape shifting alien frozen in the ice, and then dealing with it when it wakes up and isn't happy, is a really good setting for a horror story.

The game is a direct sequel to the Carpenter movie, and although it lacks Kurt Russel, it does a great job of re-creating the atmosphere of the film. The isolation of the antarctic research outposts is palpable, and the danger of freezing to death and getting lost in the perpetual darkness add to the tension. Your team mates will get more and more upset by the death that you discover, causing you to take measures from disarming them to killing them outright.

And I haven't even mentioned the monsters. From tiny little things that resemble facehuggers from alien to gigantic boss monsters, you will encounter a wide variety of bloodthirsty killers. Sometimes your teammates may even suddenly mutate into monsters, wreaking havoc on the sanity of the remaining members.

Unlike many survival horror games, this one gives you plenty of ammunition, so there is no need to hold back on shooting the baddies. It does use a stupid tape recorder saving system, so you have to keep on the look out for places to save the game. The story is pretty good, but if you've seen the movie you can pretty much guess the plot of the game.

why I ask? why?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ok, first of all I never finished the game, but that is because it is so frustrating and boring to the point where you can't possibly finish it without having dreadful thoughts of putting a gun in your mouth. Actually, the thoughts I had of putting a gun in my mouth were much more entertaining than this piece of shiz. I mean seriously, at least if I put a gun in my mouth I get to have complete control of the gun and where the bullet ends up. The latter statement brings me to my main point, and that point being, if I can't control the aiming process of my gun then what am I actually doing? Why do the gaming companies feel like they have to cater to people by implementing a lock on aiming system rather than a manual one. It completely takes the fun out of the entire experience. Whats truly amazing about this game is the fact that even with automatic aim implemented it's still a freaking hard game! So lets backtrack, the game is boring, frustrating, and flat out stupid!

not good, but not all bad

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I borrowed this game from my friends three years ago and forgot about it. It has many bad aspects to it, yet i was glued to my T.V. for four hours before I noticed how bad it seemed.

Pros- Good partner AI, I like how there are soldier, medic, and engineer classes (Very Half-Life Opposing Force), Realistic weapons and reloading, good enemy AI and they fight in packs.

Cons- Most allies heads will expload and they will attack you,leaving you with no help at all later, Blood checks do nothing at all(I've check allies blood to see if they are fine, it would say they are fine, then I would walk into another room and they would morph and attack), graphics seem somewhat dated.

So its not totally horrible, but has some bad elements.

The Thing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you're into the survival horror games as I am, you will LOVE this game. It's been out for a few years now and I bought it used at one of the gaming stores locally. I'm a fan of the movie (The Thing is the greatest horror film ever) and the game doesn't disappoint the fans. Hey, you even get Kurt Russell in a voiceover. Play it.

hard game short ending

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 12
Date: December 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

funny battle.
one AI team mate dead on the ground with his head blow off
AI team mate two running a round on fire
30 + small thing running a round
2 big thing running a round
me dead on the ground from crossfire from AI team mate two shotgun

Kind of hit-or-miss, but I liked it

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

"The Thing", as if you didn't know, is a game based on John Carpenter's 1982 film of the same name, and features the same conflict as the movie--alien/monster infestation. Amazingly, this game draws you into the world of these frightened soldiers in a very effective manner so that you actually sense yourself feeling all of the "is he...?" distrustfulness of the characters. The backdrop of the icy and isolated Antarctica in both the film and the game plays very smoothly beneath all of the human turmoil.

If anything, it's the atmosphere of the whole deal that will keep you coming back for more.

The length of the game is very satisfying. It took me about two weeks to beat it, and thankfully, never once did any level feel like a carbon copy of the last. The environments are always changing, and there is always some new way to interact with them. It would have been cool to see some sled dog infections like we did in the film, but the closest you ever get here is running through a gutted-out kennel with several dog corpses lying around.

Getting back to the concept of trust, though, it was a very pivotal plot point in the film, and it is no less of a factor here in the game rendition. You will come across various members of an army squadron stationed all over the continent of Antarctica. Some already know you, some don't. But unless you were pals prior to meeting up, and good pals at that, most characters will refuse to follow you or take any of your orders unless you give them a weapon or give yourself a blood test in front of them to prove that you're not infected with Thing-ness. Even then, it might still be hard to get them to believe you and if they ever once sense that you're not leading them with their best interests in mind, they'll think nothing of turning on you and gunning you down in an instant. It would definitely be wise to tread lightly with your team members!

If your NPCs (non-playable characters) ever get particularly stubborn, the game also gives you the option of "coercion", which is achieved by going into first person mode and pointing a gun at one of your team members' heads for about five seconds. You can get him to do something that he doesn't want to do by using this technique, but don't expect him to believe anything you say after that. I kind of wanted to be forced to use it at some point, but you can easily make it through the entire game without having to do it once. It's a very intriguing idea, but I sort of feel that it's tacked on to add authenticity to the game, because the characters in the movie did it.

There are some pretty big cons in this game, despite its overall coolness. The layout for the weapons and supplies is pretty slick, but it would behoove Blake to not run into his own grenades and flames quite as much. And this isn't because I suck, it just genuinely gets very difficult to avoid hurting yourself in a lot of situations. Sure, it's very realistic that your own weapons are as lethal to you as they are to your enemies, but also pretty perplexing when you notice around 1/3 of the way through the game that your character's health is taken down more by his own weaponry than by a bite to the face from a psychotic alien monster.

The danger of your own weapons is especially aggravating in a game where the weaponry is primarily focused on flame throwers, blow torches, and other various fire-spewing arms. The worst is when you've happened to equip one of your team members with the flame thrower and you run out ahead of him to attack some of the smaller Things, and the only way he can defend himself is to fry not only the creatures, but you as well. Thanks a lot, a - - hole, you're welcome for the weapon.

Despite their stupidity, I still found myself very concerned for the well-being of my squad. I tried to kill all of the Things before they had a chance to bite any of my team, even if it would pose a risk to my own health. But no matter how hard I tried to keep everyone calm and safe, the game automatically infected them and caused them to explode into the Thing after traveling through only a few stages with them. It took me a while to figure out why some guy I had grown to trust had randomly turned into a monster, but I went online and found out that the programming is the reason why. So if you're in a similar frame of mind, don't worry: it's not your fault. There was nothing you could have done for the guy.

The blood tests that the game provides are completely pointless in this regard. Supposedly, you can test your team members to see if they're infected with Thing-ness, but since the game is preset to have them burst out into a monster at some point, it's totally moot and a complete waste to even try testing them. I think another reviewer has already said it, but I'd just like to reiterate that your tests are put to much better use testing yourself to gain the trust of any new soldiers you may encounter.

You will need a ridiculous amount of patience for the last three or four levels, as health supplies tend to be low and the monsters and soldiers you will be shooting at are relentless. I was pretty lenient and forgiving of my dying over and over and over again, but even I got fed up after a while and had to shut off my Playstation. So there's one more thing you have to look forward to.

The ending, while it might not bother others, didn't really live up to my gaming expectations. I come from an era where you'd battle your way through a gauntlet of foes and arrive at the end to receive a fun, satisfying tying up of the story, as opposed to just another cutscene. Tragically, this seems to be the preferred method these days, and a lot of games just don't satisfy by their end as much as they should. In this one, you are given what basically amounts to another cutscene once you've defeated the last boss; the whole thing couldn't have lasted longer than twenty seconds.

On the plus side, by the game's end, some of the original lingering questions from the John Carpenter film are answered. It may not be canon, but it's still kind of fun. If you're a fan of "The Thing", you'll really appreciate this game ending's subtle nod to the movie.

So all in all, there are many plusses, but the many minuses can really detract from your experience with "The Thing". It's fun, and it's pretty original, so I'd say it's worth a look, at least. Just be aware of the setbacks and then try your damndest to ignore them. I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone would have liked a more "finished" game in the sense that some of the controls and the game dynamics could have been improved before it hit the shelves, but at least this game is challenging, unlike many titles. I had fun with it, anyway. Maybe you will, too.

Exciting, scary, challenging, fun & not for young children

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: March 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

What a game! I bought this game because I really enjoyed the film, and I was not disappointed. This game exceeded all of my expectations.

The missions require you to think, but are not too difficult to solve. In addition to the missions you are handed, you must also manage your crew, which is a great challenge in the sense that the outcome of your mission could be affected depending on how you treat your support staff. This is something that I really haven't experienced in a role-playing game before, and it was a great addition to the game.

Then, of course, there are the encounters with "The Thing," or "Things." Their presence offers a constant threat to your mission and they are by no means easy opponents. A lot of your encounters with them (it) will even cause you to jump because they often show up unexpected!

I also thought the storyline was excellent and well-crafted. The creators of the game obviously put a lot of thought into the plot and it really showed. Excellent stuff.

As great as this game is, there is room for improvement. The biggest gripe that I had with the game is that it didn't seem to automatically save your progress as you complete each mission. In fact the only time when you are allowed to save your progress is midway into your mission. So as a hint, make sure that you save your progress when you are given the opportunity to do so, because there are often long intervals between saving your progress. Another issue is that once you complete a mission, you are not allowed to replay your mission. So if you miss out on an opportunity earlier through your mission, you cannot go back to change it once the mission ends. But those issues are by no means significant towards the overall quality of this game, and are not intended to deter someone from purchasing it. The pros greatly outweigh the cons in my humble opinion.

A word of caution however - there is a lot of scary situations, violence, gore and adult language in this game, so parents take notice of the game's rating. This game is not meant to be played by younger children.

So I'll end this review by saying that it's a great game for people who enjoy adventure/role-playing/horror games. If you're someone who has enjoyed other titles like "Silent Hill" or "Tenchu" then you won't be disappointed with "The Thing." I highly recommend it.

Under Rated game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: November 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game has superb graphics, a huge fun factor, and a crapload of gore and cussing!

People keep complaining that the game is too hard, but isn't that what keeps a gamer on his toes? If a game was too easy (ie-GTA Vice City) we'd just get bored, and end up trading the game in for another more difficult one. This game is difficult for a damned reason, because the creators know it'll take you awhile to beat it.

Quit complaining, it's got awesome graphics, an awesome storyline (which seems to take place AFTER the movie "The Thing"), and enough gore to satisfy any terminal gorehound. This is by far one of the best games for the PS2, and the fact that it's extremely difficult, even on the Easy difficulty setting, only adds to the fun factor.

It's difficult, and keeps you coming back to try again. If you can't pass, that simply means you suck and need a more strategic mindframe.

5/5

Frustrating

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: October 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've only been playing this game two nights and I'm ready to just give up on it. All I do is run around and die. And when I complete an objective and get to the next part, I soon die again and have to start over at the last save point. I don't mind a challenge, but I at least like it to be fun and rewarding.

Put this in your pipe and smoke it!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

One of the best games I've ever played and I've been playing video games for 18 years! I'm a huge horror movie/game fan and I almost crapped in my pants when my buddy changed into the THING the first time. Also it has in my opinion, the best atmosphere in any game PERIOD. I find the other reviews kinda funny, most are split between not liking and loving this game.I love it. The only bad thing is, you have to exit to the main menu to load a game every time you die(this happens a lot). Other reviewers were correct in saying this game is tough, I beat this game in a week, but played hours every night.Very challenging, and if you buy into the atmosphere you will sweat from the tension, when you finally beat a level/boss or the game you just'll sit back and let out a big sigh of relief. Other games I recommend are Painkiller(PC) Doom3(PC) Halo(Xbox) and Manhunt(very violent)(Ps2)

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