The Thing (Xbox): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

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Game Information

Platform: Xbox
BBFC Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over. Not for sale to persons under age 15. By placing an order for this product, you declare that you are 15 years of age or over.
Media: Video Game

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Product Features

Action/survival horror game based on the John Carpenter movie
A new chapter of isolation and paranoia set after the events of the movie
Set within the film's Antarctic base and other familiar locations
Varied pace blends action, puzzles, horror and human interaction
Puzzles can be solved in multiple ways
Trust/fear interface--influence other characters' psychological states

Product Description

Manufacturer's Description

The Thing picks up where the 1982 film left off centering on the military investigation of enigmatic deaths of an American scientific team in the frozen wastelands of the Antarctic. Within these inhospitable surroundings your team encounters a strange shape-shifting alien life-form that assumes the appearance of people that it kills.

Capitalizing on the fear and intense paranoia portrayed in the film, The Thing will deliver a new gaming experience blending player controlled, squad-based action and horror elements for the first time. Through the use of an innovative Trust Fear NPC management system, the player must monitor and influence his fellow NPC squad members psychological state throughout the game. Using all your team members is critical if you hope to accomplish objectives, let alone survive. Now if you only knew which ones were still human...

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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Thing, 30 Jun 2003

By	Bilal Brown - See all my reviews

What a game! The main aim of the game is to prevent disaster and the spreading of a shape-shifting alien that hunts down humans. All the alien can think of is to kill and spread such a Virus.

Throughout the game you are faced with aliens of all descriptions. The screams and their movements are realistic and exciting. As soon as they see you they charge towards you in effort to destroy you, until you pull out your flamethrower. Place a fire upon the ground and the aliens will avoid the fire and find an alternative route to get you. Set them on fire and you'll see them scattering around trying to Extinguish the flames.

It is not just aliens you are faced with, but humans. A certain organisation wants to prevent you on your quest for justice but unfortunately their AI is not up to scratch. Throw a grenade and they will not respond. Sometimes they will walk right up to you in a zombie fashion without responding as though they are waiting to be shot. BUT when they attack they attack with fury reducing half your health in seconds. Apart from that the action leaves you at the edge of your seat.

The AI of your allies is superb. The way they respond and react to enemy attacks are life like and the way certain members of your team panic at the sight of blood and cut up bodies really add to life like circumstances. Strategic thinking is required to gain confidence from your fellow allies. Give them weapons and ammo, cure them after battle, and help them out, increases their trust in you. But watch your back. Throughout the game certain members of your teammates may become infected and turn into The Thing.

The boss attacks are fun, but fairly easy. If you are good enough, you may kill a boss first time round. I killed the final boss on the second try. They are well designed and imaginative.

Saves are placed in well-organised locations and are generous enough, not leaving you in a heart-breaking situation if you are killed.

GRAPHICS: 8/10
Wonderful graphics. Animation is spot on.

SOUNDS: 9/10
Creepy music. Life like sounds from the aliens and surroundings.

GAMEPLAY: 8/10
Wonderful game. Each scene will encourage you to see the next. But one problem, IT IS TOO SHORT.

The Good Points:

� Excellent graphics.
� Excellent sounds from aliens, humans and surroundings.
� Wonderful story line.
� Very good cut scenes.
� Excellent new interface with your allies.
� Trust from your ally's works perfectly well.
� Creative bosses.

The Bad Points:

� The game is too short.
� Enemy human AI is rubbish.
� Ending is total rubbish.

FINAL RESULT:
8/10

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and enjoyable, 18 Jan 2003

By	M. Finn - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this game at Xmas along with Splinter Cell. Splinter Cell has frankly been a chore to play compared to The Thing; sessions on The Thing that I'd planned to be half an hour often ended three hours later. It took me about 3 weeks to complete and admittedly could have been longer.
One of its strongest features is atmosphere. Sound effects and music cues are sparse which makes for an uncluttered audio experience which really benefits the raising of tension when you do hear something. Nice little fleeting cut scenes smoothly crank it up further.
Graphics are fine without being spectacular, the monsters are pretty good. Sometimes the NPCs or things overlap their surroundings but it's only a minor quibble.
Controls are no more difficult than other games of its type and with a little early patience are easy to master (I think I used an alternative control setup which suited me fine).
I enjoyed the sections where it was possible to build a squad and I was disappointed that this became less and less a part of the game as things progressed. The save option comes up whenever you discover a data recorder which is great when you've found one but there are a few sections at the beginning of levels where it seems like an age between saves. I seemed to spend much of the last half of the game creeping about with a throbbing controller (critical low health) and frequent prayers for health, a medic or a data recorder.
Overall a pretty well balanced game, exciting, challenging and well designed. It isn't for kids though. Fans of the film should enjoy spotting all the little nods to that classic either by the dialogue or the surroundings. I'd certainly buy any sequels though I'd hope for more of a focus on the squad aspects of the game.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I really hoped it would be., 23 Jan 2003

By	M. Paddon (England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If I had to list my favour horror films then The Thing would certainly be my top 10, and so with that in mind I was eager to get into playing the computer game.
I wish I could say that I was inspired, but unfortunately that is really not the case. The graphics are rough and certainly not up to what the X-Box is capable of, though this may be in part due to the fact it is ported onto many consoles.
It's not just the graphics that are weak, as sound is also poor overall. While the makers have intended to follow the movies quiet, but frightening atmosphere, it doesn't translate well to the game and leaves in feeling a little bland environment wise.
Ok, so a game doesn't have to look and sound great to be a good game, as long as game-play is good. However, while some of the ideas involved in the game-play are good, the awkward control system can leave you feeling frustrated at times when fighting some of the monsters.
The only saving grace I found in the game was the fact you get to use other team members in quite an innovative way. You can get other team members to join you during different parts of the game, and depending on the situation they can react to you in different ways. Paranoia is part of the game, and if your team members get to suspicions or scared of you they may well turn on you. Then adding to the mix that they may well already have been taken over by "The Thing" it can add quite a bit of tension to the game.

Anyway, in my opinion what few things in this game that are good are overruled by the weak graphics and sound, and irritatingly quirky controls. It may well be that some of these things would be cancelled by buying it on the PC, but I wouldn't count on it.