Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"...aside from the annoying two-step process to kill a 'Thing,' and the 'save game points' making back- tracking a must, this is still one of the better 'interactive thrillers' ever offered prior to Halloween."

---from the review

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Sidebar :

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Macho One-Liners, anyone? I think the one thing the grand finale lacks is the macho one-liner. You know what I mean; "Hasta La Vista, Baby!" and the like have made such moments classic in thriller/horror/action film history. In this game, you defeat the final, very formidable foe, and there's no Kurt Russel there to utter his classic movie line, "Yeah, well @#$% you, too!" However, yes, the epilogue should be seen by fans of the film as even superior to the original film's conclusion. The macho one-liner would've been a nice added touch, though.

Use fire for Defense, as well as offense. Here's a free tip; use the narrow walkways in your favor, instead of against you. Some times, just before the end of a mission, you encounter one or more final "Things." Why bother defeating them? Just ward them off with a wall of fire torched onto the ground with your flamethrower, and make haste to the door! This helped me on many occasions.

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In a scientific outpost near the icy North Pole, an alien craft has been discovered. This craft held a biological form that feeds on its prey by slowly assimilating it from the inside-out, totally unbeknownst to its victim. The end result appears to be the exact same person, until you get close enough, and then you're its next target! So was the premise behind one of John Carpenter's most under-appreciated thrillers, The Thing, in 1982. Now, 20 years later, a rescue squad is sent to discover why communications with the research lab have ceased. In an ingenious spin on one of the best horror sequels of all time, Aliens, you soon realize that the threat discovered here has multiplied to the hundreds. It's up to you to make sure this menace doesn't escape to civilization. So begins The Thing, an "interactive sequel" for PCs, X-Box, and PS-2.

Much like last year's Project Eden, this game allows single-players to control four teammates at once. Unlike Eden, however, you are only in full control of the team leader, with AI controlling the remaining teammates: an electronics expert, a medic, and a soldier. You give your team simple commands (stay, follow, repair the nearby console, heal me), and what's even better, you can hand them larger weaponry you find, to make survival even easier.

The AI of these characters is surprisingly effective, right down to getting scared, needing healing, and running out of ammo. Go into a room, and you may see what's left of one of the lab's prior inhabitants. Suddenly, one of your teammates freaks out. Small freak-outs can be a simple as them pausing to throw up, though bigger panic attacks can include panic attacks, shooting their gun in all directions, and/or shooting themselves in hysteria. You can help calm them down, by either escorting them outside so they can cool off (literally), or handing them a bigger gun, giving them more confidence in their own safety. The latter is also a good way to reduce suspicion that you're one of "them"; more on that next!

Here's where the bigger thrills begin: the thing can be anyone...besides "you," of course! "Blood test vials" scattered about can test anyone you find suspicious (you'll likely jump a yard the first time the vial breaks with an alien screech!),  though be warned; infestation can occur after any close-range attack --and it takes a while even then, for full infestation to occur-- so watch your back! These thrills are also, remember, in the middle of the arctic; you must stay in sheltered areas, or risk getting frozen to death after more than a minute outdoors. It sounds intense, and, fortunately for thriller fans, it is.

Graphics are nothing to buy a new 3D accelerator for, since this is mostly a game set in the artic darkness, not a colorful land of wizards and fairies. On the other hand, a fully matured "Thing" can only be killed by fire, and given how much a flamethrower is required in this game, fire FX are spectacular. Speaking of realism, fuel barrels explode and electronic doors take time to be fixed by your electronics expert, so keep this in mind when a Thing is nearby.

Flaws? Just a few. For one, larger Things need to be weakened with bullets, then set on fire, yet no one weapon can do both. You're left shuffling through your arsenal for a firearm, then your flamethrower, right when nearby Thing isready to kick your backside before you kick his. I also didn't like a game this intense requiring save game "recorders" to save your game in finite rooms of the game map, though admittedly, these recorders can be used over and over, and require minimal backtracking if you wish to use them repeatedly (a good idea). Last of all, this game has minimal sound effects aside from the exclamations of your team or the screeches of the things you attack, which I feel is a slight mistake. Mood music is always a good plus.

However, aside from the annoying two-step process to kill a "Thing," and the "save game points" making backtracking a must, this is still one of the better interactive thrillers ever offered prior to Halloween. Fans of the movie will think of it as an "interactive sequel," and a very good one; right down to the amusing final scene, which is best enjoyed if you saw the original film. Admittedly, this game isn't for everyone, though then again neither was the movie. Fans of the film should more than likely become fans of the game as well.