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Thing, The

7.2 based on 21 reviews Read critic reviews How did we calculate this? based on 8 votes Read user comments Rate this game

• Cheat Code Central

Dropped into the frozen wastelands of Antarctica, you're the leader of a military rescue team sent to investigate the mysterious deaths of an American scientific expedition. In the punishing wind and cold, your team encounters a strange, shape-shifting alien life form that assumes the appearances of the people it kills. This monster is difficult to see, hard to kill, and seemingly impossible to evade. And when you see it, it's often too late. [Universal Interactive]

PUBLISHER:	Universal Interactive
DEVELOPER:	Computer Artworks
GENRE(S):	Action, Adventure, Survival Horror
PLAYERS:	1
ESRB RATING:	M (Mature)
RELEASE DATE:	September 3, 2002

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Maxim Online

Incredibly atmospheric (it makes great use of flickering lights, icy landscapes, and foreboding corridors) without skimping on the screams, The Thing is a terrifying battle to the finish.

89

GameZone

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.

86

Armchair Empire

A good game that isn’t ground-breaking; however, it does add some interesting considerations with the Trust and Fear of your squad-mates and it creates a terrific atmosphere.

85

Media and Games Online Network

By far the most unique and interesting portion of The Thing is the controls and gameplay.

85

GameSpy

The screeching of the monsters when they're getting shot and killed is piercing to the ears. Coupled with believable voice acting and excellent moody music, The Thing will be music to your ears.

85

Electric Playground

There really aren't a lot of flaws that I can point out in this game, but I do wish that Blake had the ability to jump.

85

Game Over Online

Works so well because the plot, design and setup all execute in complete harmony.

84

GameSpot

While the game has been recently released on the PS2 and PC, the Xbox version is the best of the three, combining sharp graphics similar to those found in the PC version with the superior console-style control found in the PlayStation 2 version.

83

Game Informer

This version shutters more during gameplay - especially when you turn the game camera. [Nov 2002, p.144]

83

IGN

Well-paced, designed with an excellent variety of levels, and it pulls off one the most innovative and best squad-based play on a console to date.

80

Official Xbox Magazine

Those who can stomach its brand of horror will be amply rewarded. [Nov 2002, p.143]

80

G4 TV

Like a truly interactive horror movie, The Thing unfolds at a suspenseful pace...One of the most unique and compelling story-driven games to hit console systems in some time.

80

GamePro

The Thing definitely provides, and the care the developers have taken to keep the tone similar to the film is icing on the cake.

80

GamerWeb Xbox

The right mixture of intrigue, fright, and gore make for the best survival/horror game currently out for the Xbox.

80

Gamestyle

Given the importance of the flamethrower, the fire effects are splendid and are consistent with excellent lighting throughout.

75

Entertainment Weekly

This contrived implementation of a great concept is disappointing, but at least the surrounding game delivers some taught cinematic moments that would make Carpenter proud. [6 Sept 2002]

70

TotalGames.net

The trouble is that The Thing just doesn’t scare us and that, you’d think, is a vital part of any horror game.

70

Xbox Nation Magazine

It packs a good measure of original gameplay concepts; it just suffers a few missteps that keep it from ranking in the upper echelon of Xbox titles. [Winter 2002, p.95]

69

Xbox World Australia

If you’re a fan of the film then you may get a kick out of The Thing and it is fun to play after watching the movie again. Just don’t expect the games biggest selling point to be anything more than a worthless gimmick.

50

EuroGamer

The voiceovers are also crushingly generic, featuring the kind of stereotypical scripts that gamers ought to be well and truly sick of by now.

40

Play Magazine

Its focus is clunky, and the disparate connection to your teammates sabotages the elements that game does get right. [Aug 2002, p.71]

The average user rating for this game is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Joseph W. gave it an 8:
Great game, but could have been so much more, I don't believe they took full advantage of the trust and who can you trust thing. Also I didn't like most of the bosses I fought, it was a tad cheesy when they tried to mix strategy type gameplay in an action game. Who the hell thought that it would be fun? To fight the thing bosses as in using intelligence than using action?

Nick V. gave it a 7:
Going into this game i feared the worst. a licensed game, team play and that look that says trouble. but give it a chance and the thing will be there. first thing that showed me that was the incredibly realistic voice acting and an amazing faithfulness to the movie. however its not all peaches and cream. the difficulty cant make up its mind, one minutes its cakewalk easy the next it hair pulling hard and with such an emphasis on team play there isnt much of it. it dosent help that when your not with a team your either fighting enoying crackshot humans or extremly frustating boss battles(which odly dont have any medpacks to pick up after they die.) however if you have the patience the thing will definetly give you a good time!

James H. gave it a 7:
Based on the idea behind the sci-fi, horror film of the same name, The Thing picks up the plot some 20 years after the end of the film. The designers have attempted to re-create the same kind of edgy, are they The Thing or aren't they?, tension by developing a kind of trust/fear team system. You can gain trust by killing monsters or performing a blood test on yourself, however your team mates will cease to help you or even fight you if they lose trust in you (i.e dont give them a gun/ammo or shoot them). Whilst this is a really nice idea in principle it actually fails to re-create the tension of the film as almost everyone you meet will turn into the thing once they have fulfilled their use in the game. This takes the tension away in my opinion and the lack of any meaningful NPC interaction means that you are never really surprised or shocked when a team-mate 'changes'. That all said, this is still an enjoyable game with a story arc not dissimilar to Half Life. In spite of a few quibbles, this game held my interest all the way through. It has limited replay value though so you may want to consider renting or buying it used.

Jussi L. gave it an 8:
I give it a good 8. it's great and really manages to catch the movie feeling quite well. I enjoyed playing the thing but some issues dropped points. for example when you die you have to go to mainframe to load your last save and the game doesn't save between levels so it's frustrating to automatically hit the main menu button when you should have restarted the level. ingame everything is just fine, the trust factor is interesting and could have been in bigger role. the small things were frustrating in numbers and in challenge. less monsters with more challenge would have been better. also the player is unable to move when in FPS mode, which was stupid in my opinion. overally, really good game with minor mistakes, which don't spoil the experience at all.

Alex B. gave it a 10:
This is a game u should get because it will scare u to sh#t. never play this game at night. some parts are a little hard AT TIMES but very fun. but sometimes your squad will blow their heads off but its all good.very very addicting. i wish u could slow down time like in max payne. DONT BUY THIS GAME IF U ARE A PUSSY. IF U ARE U WILL HATE IT AND MAYBE TRY TO BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF LIKE THAT GUY THAT GAVE THIS GAME A 2..... i hope u liked my report.

Simon H. gave it a 7:
A good game, excellent graphics and a lot of puzzle solving.

Tarik T. gave it a 2:
This game really sucks, terrible story good puzzles, but probobaly one of the worst combat systems i have ever come across. Yea the combat system really brings the game down 8 points, basically all you do is shoot the aliens and then use your flame thrower, it may seem cool at first but it actually gets exteremly lame. This is a good rental if you were a fan of the movie the thing, which i must say was sooo dope, i loved the movie. If not you should not waste your money on junk like this.

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