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I wrote a review for SR this morning and here's my opinion on this great game:
"Not often it is that we see games based on popular films capturing the magic of the film (and incidentally ending up a pale imitation of its silver-screen counterpart), but there are exceptions, and fortunately, I am able to report that The Thing is one of these. For once in a game, the cinematic tie is put to good use. Any fan will know that the game is based on John Carpenter's 1980s film The Thing (although its origin roots far further back than that) and sees you investigating a deserted Antarctic base. As quite a nice touch, it continues where the film left off, and some recordings from Kurt Russel tie in nicely. As with the film, it soon becomes mayhem with extra-terrestrials running all over the place, and even a man-made conspiracy that you will learn about in the later stages of the game.
The suspense element really is there, as your set of teammates are fully interactive, as an engineer will open doors for you, a medic will heal you, but best of all is the emotion engine impletemented here. This has to be the most impressive feature in my opinion. Never has a game relied on such a realistic approach. By this, I mean that the others will suspect you of being the Thing, they will become numb from the cold and eventually die (as will you) and the sight of a corpse will lower their morale. This adds a new level of realism, as if you don't find shelter, you will die, no doubts about it. The great thing is (no pun intended) that you don't know who to trust and who not to, but there are methods to find out how (such as the true-to-film blood test). If your teammates bickering isn't enough for you, wait until you are led astray and a pack of monsters attack you and your crew - it makes some pretty hairy moments!
Obviously there is a fair ammount of dueling in the game with enemies in different sizes, and it's quite shocking just how deadly they can be. If trapped in a tight space with a Walker, and a Flamethrower being the only way to kill them, you will surely burn yourself in the process. I wouldn't really call it AI, but the enemies are no easy feat. A big gripe for me was the aiming system - it is pretty terrible. Only when you see an enemy running about 10 feet from you can you lock on, in which time some enemies (epsecially the Walkers) would have depleted vital health. This is especially problematic for the Flamethrower, which is a very difficult weapon to use already, but the aiming system only adds to this.
The graphics are some of the best I am yet to see in a game. Even on my GeForce 2 MX 400, it runs like a dream (and runs exactly the same on a GeForce 3, funnily enough) and it is truly a pleasure to look at. The in-game cinematics are amazing, with a slick presentation and relevant plot set-pieces in the mix. The audio feature is also astounding, treating us to crisp speech, which seems to be a rarity in PC games (Half Life anyone?) and the theme music is genuinely scary (especially the heartbeats as you approach an enemy or unexplored area). The sound effects are pretty similar, relevant sounds which when mixed with the graphics, make for one of the slickest games I have ever had the pleasure of playing.
The Thing is a incredibly immersive game, one of the most I've ever played and it is incredibly enjoyable. The presentation is top-notch and there really are feelings of desperation and (lack of) trust. The squad-based element only adds to an already corker-of-a-game and the way that they react to certain scenes and elements is a step forth in the gaming fight with realism. The only aspect of the game that I can really touch on is the inaccurate aiming system, which is just a minor niggle compared to the hours that you'll get out of this game. You will play this game and really enjoy it, if you have just the tiniest bit of The Thing in you."
One thing I didn't have space to add was the actual length of the game - it's not a particularly long one. Hell, I've got 2/5 of the way through the game in a casual hour. I just hope that the later levels are longer and more involving, although it is still a great game, longevity out of the way.
Anyone 'pleted it yet?
Flux.
PS. Feel free to post your opinions too! :)
"Not often it is that we see games based on popular films capturing the magic of the film (and incidentally ending up a pale imitation of its silver-screen counterpart), but there are exceptions, and fortunately, I am able to report that The Thing is one of these. For once in a game, the cinematic tie is put to good use. Any fan will know that the game is based on John Carpenter's 1980s film The Thing (although its origin roots far further back than that) and sees you investigating a deserted Antarctic base. As quite a nice touch, it continues where the film left off, and some recordings from Kurt Russel tie in nicely. As with the film, it soon becomes mayhem with extra-terrestrials running all over the place, and even a man-made conspiracy that you will learn about in the later stages of the game.
The suspense element really is there, as your set of teammates are fully interactive, as an engineer will open doors for you, a medic will heal you, but best of all is the emotion engine impletemented here. This has to be the most impressive feature in my opinion. Never has a game relied on such a realistic approach. By this, I mean that the others will suspect you of being the Thing, they will become numb from the cold and eventually die (as will you) and the sight of a corpse will lower their morale. This adds a new level of realism, as if you don't find shelter, you will die, no doubts about it. The great thing is (no pun intended) that you don't know who to trust and who not to, but there are methods to find out how (such as the true-to-film blood test). If your teammates bickering isn't enough for you, wait until you are led astray and a pack of monsters attack you and your crew - it makes some pretty hairy moments!
Obviously there is a fair ammount of dueling in the game with enemies in different sizes, and it's quite shocking just how deadly they can be. If trapped in a tight space with a Walker, and a Flamethrower being the only way to kill them, you will surely burn yourself in the process. I wouldn't really call it AI, but the enemies are no easy feat. A big gripe for me was the aiming system - it is pretty terrible. Only when you see an enemy running about 10 feet from you can you lock on, in which time some enemies (epsecially the Walkers) would have depleted vital health. This is especially problematic for the Flamethrower, which is a very difficult weapon to use already, but the aiming system only adds to this.
The graphics are some of the best I am yet to see in a game. Even on my GeForce 2 MX 400, it runs like a dream (and runs exactly the same on a GeForce 3, funnily enough) and it is truly a pleasure to look at. The in-game cinematics are amazing, with a slick presentation and relevant plot set-pieces in the mix. The audio feature is also astounding, treating us to crisp speech, which seems to be a rarity in PC games (Half Life anyone?) and the theme music is genuinely scary (especially the heartbeats as you approach an enemy or unexplored area). The sound effects are pretty similar, relevant sounds which when mixed with the graphics, make for one of the slickest games I have ever had the pleasure of playing.
The Thing is a incredibly immersive game, one of the most I've ever played and it is incredibly enjoyable. The presentation is top-notch and there really are feelings of desperation and (lack of) trust. The squad-based element only adds to an already corker-of-a-game and the way that they react to certain scenes and elements is a step forth in the gaming fight with realism. The only aspect of the game that I can really touch on is the inaccurate aiming system, which is just a minor niggle compared to the hours that you'll get out of this game. You will play this game and really enjoy it, if you have just the tiniest bit of The Thing in you."
One thing I didn't have space to add was the actual length of the game - it's not a particularly long one. Hell, I've got 2/5 of the way through the game in a casual hour. I just hope that the later levels are longer and more involving, although it is still a great game, longevity out of the way.
Anyone 'pleted it yet?
Flux.
PS. Feel free to post your opinions too! :)
Page:
Gah, sod off.
Why? TYo get your word count up? You could have just linked it and people who felt the urge could've gone and read the thing. I personally didn't give you the satisfaction of reading your post because I felt it insignifacant. MWAH!
I wrote a review for SR this morning and here's my opinion on this great game:
"Not often it is that we see games based on popular films capturing the magic of the film (and incidentally ending up a pale imitation of its silver-screen counterpart), but there are exceptions, and fortunately, I am able to report that The Thing is one of these. For once in a game, the cinematic tie is put to good use. Any fan will know that the game is based on John Carpenter's 1980s film The Thing (although its origin roots far further back than that) and sees you investigating a deserted Antarctic base. As quite a nice touch, it continues where the film left off, and some recordings from Kurt Russel tie in nicely. As with the film, it soon becomes mayhem with extra-terrestrials running all over the place, and even a man-made conspiracy that you will learn about in the later stages of the game.
The suspense element really is there, as your set of teammates are fully interactive, as an engineer will open doors for you, a medic will heal you, but best of all is the emotion engine impletemented here. This has to be the most impressive feature in my opinion. Never has a game relied on such a realistic approach. By this, I mean that the others will suspect you of being the Thing, they will become numb from the cold and eventually die (as will you) and the sight of a corpse will lower their morale. This adds a new level of realism, as if you don't find shelter, you will die, no doubts about it. The great thing is (no pun intended) that you don't know who to trust and who not to, but there are methods to find out how (such as the true-to-film blood test). If your teammates bickering isn't enough for you, wait until you are led astray and a pack of monsters attack you and your crew - it makes some pretty hairy moments!
Obviously there is a fair ammount of dueling in the game with enemies in different sizes, and it's quite shocking just how deadly they can be. If trapped in a tight space with a Walker, and a Flamethrower being the only way to kill them, you will surely burn yourself in the process. I wouldn't really call it AI, but the enemies are no easy feat. A big gripe for me was the aiming system - it is pretty terrible. Only when you see an enemy running about 10 feet from you can you lock on, in which time some enemies (epsecially the Walkers) would have depleted vital health. This is especially problematic for the Flamethrower, which is a very difficult weapon to use already, but the aiming system only adds to this.
The graphics are some of the best I am yet to see in a game. Even on my GeForce 2 MX 400, it runs like a dream (and runs exactly the same on a GeForce 3, funnily enough) and it is truly a pleasure to look at. The in-game cinematics are amazing, with a slick presentation and relevant plot set-pieces in the mix. The audio feature is also astounding, treating us to crisp speech, which seems to be a rarity in PC games (Half Life anyone?) and the theme music is genuinely scary (especially the heartbeats as you approach an enemy or unexplored area). The sound effects are pretty similar, relevant sounds which when mixed with the graphics, make for one of the slickest games I have ever had the pleasure of playing.
The Thing is a incredibly immersive game, one of the most I've ever played and it is incredibly enjoyable. The presentation is top-notch and there really are feelings of desperation and (lack of) trust. The squad-based element only adds to an already corker-of-a-game and the way that they react to certain scenes and elements is a step forth in the gaming fight with realism. The only aspect of the game that I can really touch on is the inaccurate aiming system, which is just a minor niggle compared to the hours that you'll get out of this game. You will play this game and really enjoy it, if you have just the tiniest bit of The Thing in you."
One thing I didn't have space to add was the actual length of the game - it's not a particularly long one. Hell, I've got 2/5 of the way through the game in a casual hour. I just hope that the later levels are longer and more involving, although it is still a great game, longevity out of the way.
Anyone 'pleted it yet?
Flux.
PS. Feel free to post your opinions too! :)
"Not often it is that we see games based on popular films capturing the magic of the film (and incidentally ending up a pale imitation of its silver-screen counterpart), but there are exceptions, and fortunately, I am able to report that The Thing is one of these. For once in a game, the cinematic tie is put to good use. Any fan will know that the game is based on John Carpenter's 1980s film The Thing (although its origin roots far further back than that) and sees you investigating a deserted Antarctic base. As quite a nice touch, it continues where the film left off, and some recordings from Kurt Russel tie in nicely. As with the film, it soon becomes mayhem with extra-terrestrials running all over the place, and even a man-made conspiracy that you will learn about in the later stages of the game.
The suspense element really is there, as your set of teammates are fully interactive, as an engineer will open doors for you, a medic will heal you, but best of all is the emotion engine impletemented here. This has to be the most impressive feature in my opinion. Never has a game relied on such a realistic approach. By this, I mean that the others will suspect you of being the Thing, they will become numb from the cold and eventually die (as will you) and the sight of a corpse will lower their morale. This adds a new level of realism, as if you don't find shelter, you will die, no doubts about it. The great thing is (no pun intended) that you don't know who to trust and who not to, but there are methods to find out how (such as the true-to-film blood test). If your teammates bickering isn't enough for you, wait until you are led astray and a pack of monsters attack you and your crew - it makes some pretty hairy moments!
Obviously there is a fair ammount of dueling in the game with enemies in different sizes, and it's quite shocking just how deadly they can be. If trapped in a tight space with a Walker, and a Flamethrower being the only way to kill them, you will surely burn yourself in the process. I wouldn't really call it AI, but the enemies are no easy feat. A big gripe for me was the aiming system - it is pretty terrible. Only when you see an enemy running about 10 feet from you can you lock on, in which time some enemies (epsecially the Walkers) would have depleted vital health. This is especially problematic for the Flamethrower, which is a very difficult weapon to use already, but the aiming system only adds to this.
The graphics are some of the best I am yet to see in a game. Even on my GeForce 2 MX 400, it runs like a dream (and runs exactly the same on a GeForce 3, funnily enough) and it is truly a pleasure to look at. The in-game cinematics are amazing, with a slick presentation and relevant plot set-pieces in the mix. The audio feature is also astounding, treating us to crisp speech, which seems to be a rarity in PC games (Half Life anyone?) and the theme music is genuinely scary (especially the heartbeats as you approach an enemy or unexplored area). The sound effects are pretty similar, relevant sounds which when mixed with the graphics, make for one of the slickest games I have ever had the pleasure of playing.
The Thing is a incredibly immersive game, one of the most I've ever played and it is incredibly enjoyable. The presentation is top-notch and there really are feelings of desperation and (lack of) trust. The squad-based element only adds to an already corker-of-a-game and the way that they react to certain scenes and elements is a step forth in the gaming fight with realism. The only aspect of the game that I can really touch on is the inaccurate aiming system, which is just a minor niggle compared to the hours that you'll get out of this game. You will play this game and really enjoy it, if you have just the tiniest bit of The Thing in you."
One thing I didn't have space to add was the actual length of the game - it's not a particularly long one. Hell, I've got 2/5 of the way through the game in a casual hour. I just hope that the later levels are longer and more involving, although it is still a great game, longevity out of the way.
Anyone 'pleted it yet?
Flux.
PS. Feel free to post your opinions too! :)
Page: