Xbox

The Thing

This is a game that is scary, intense, fun and totally enjoyable. The Thing is a qualified hit, and anyone who doesn’t mind the level of violence, gore and blood will find this an addicting experience.

In the end, The Thing's unique blend of action, puzzle-solving, and team management works very well. The mix of gameplay elements really helps to keep the game interesting the whole way through, since at just about every turn the game asks you to do something that you haven't done before. Most of the puzzles are logically constructed, though a few require repetitive actions, like taking out a seemingly endless horde of creatures. Those can be a drag, but the bland sequences are few and far between. The game even offers confrontations with boss creatures that force you to think and fire at the same time. Even more of these would have been great, since the few that are in the game are extremely exciting.

I love a scary movie and I love a scary game even more because I am in direct control of the action. The Thing is perhaps one of the scariest games I have played in a long time, perhaps ever. The innovative concept of putting you in command of a multifaceted team was a brilliant addition that carries this game well beyond any other title in the survival horror genre.

Being an exclusive single-player adventure, The Thing has nothing to extend its rather short lifespan. You can go through it in hours and it's not much longer than two or three feature films. In the final analysis, it's hard to blame the developers for that. The Thing works so well because the plot, design and setup all execute in complete harmony. Pull one of those aspects out into a random mission generator or a gauntlet-style deathmatch and it would actually detract from the package holistically.

At first The Thing plays like any other action-adventure survival-horror game. As Captain Blake, you walk around in a third-person perspective, talk to NPCs, and interact with specific objects in the environment. In addition to yourself, players will be in charge of a small party with each member having a specific skill. Members range from your basic combat soldier to the more specialized engineer. How you interact with these various NPCs will determine how successful you are in the game.

The Thing takes some time to get into, and it may be a little frustrating for some gamers. But I'm quite sure that once its given a chance, The Thing won't disappoint. The deeper you play, the more satisfying and challenging it becomes, and the more it draws you in.

Au final The Thing constitue une excellente surprise. Son ambiance et son gameplay original en font un titre qui devrait passionner les joueurs d'un bout à l'autre de l'aventure proposée. La gestion du stress et de la peur de vos co-équipiers est particulièrement bien pensée et vient considérablement enrichir le titre. Un soft a découvrir en tous les cas que l'on soit déjà un mordu du film ou que l'on souhaite tout simplement vivre une expérience nouvelle en matière de jeux d'action et d'aventure.

The Thing delivers all the fear and loathing of the Hollywood horror classic that inspired it. With The Thing, Computer Artworks has captured the look and mood of John Carpenter's classic shocker, right down to the grotesque creature designs and the creepy, minimalist score, bringing gamers back to the good old days when the horror film genre still had some teeth left in it. Taking place mere days after the conclusion of the film, the game forces you and your squad-mates to brave freezing temperatures and a veritable flood of murderous, shapeshifting aliens as you investigate a scientific research station to uncover the fate of MacReady and his crew.