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(More customer reviews)I've reviewed a few X-Box games here, so before I continue, I ask that after reading this review, please vote as to whether or not it was helpful so I know how/if I'm helping for your game purchases. Thanks! I'm changing my reviews to give purchase/rent/buy recommendations, as well as the 5-star system.
"The Thing" is one of the more surprisingly enjoyable games I've purchased recently. For those on the fence, on my new rating system I would give this a "good buy". To give you a better understanding of this rating, I would give "Halo" a "definitely buy" rating, "GunMetal" would get a "rent only", and "Smashing Drive" would receive an "avoid" rating. With that said, let's get down to details:
Graphics: Graphics are well-done and rated about a 3.5 to 4 out of 5. The colors are well-integrated, snow/fog perception is visually well done. Texture mapping onto various "thing" creatures can be a bit redundant, but doesn't detract from game play. Conceptually, the graphics are similar to Halo. The mapping of character voices to mouth movements is a bit puppet-like, but it's understood that do so would require a much more programming effort, and again, doesn't detract from the story. There is some granularity on certain images, but the content is large, so some work is spared. Again, the graphics are fine, and do not detract from playability of this game at all. You may need to tweak your TV's video settings if you're used to watching DVD movies often because there are many dark scenes that may require a darkened room to play, or adjusted contrast/brightness (increased Gamma). Occasionally, when your character is too close to battle, the view switches from an "behind the back" third person, to a first-person. Sometimes this can be a bit jerky, or can be accompanied by video clipping (i.e., where parts of the characters seem to be "cut off" or disappear through walls), causing disorientation for the player, but again, doesn't happen enough to be a serious problem.
Sound/music: Sounds are rated 3.5 to 4 also. The sounds for certain weapons as the shotgun are superb with nice subtle additions, such as the clink of shells falling on hard floors, recocking of the gun, and the "schluck, schluk" of reloading more shells. The sounds of "things" dying is can be repetitive, and it would have been nicer to have a few more variations on this. The sound of the wind howling during outdoor missions never becomes overstated, and the repeating track works well. The background mood music is very well done. The tense sounds or sudden pizzicato play very well into the story. When I first started playing this game at night with all the lights out, the mood music started to give me the same fearful anticipation that watching a good horror movie will do. Sounds of doors shutting, computers working, electrical boxes being repaired, and circuit breakers being thrown are realistic.
Game play/controls: This category rates a solid 4. An interesting quirk of this game occurs during loading of missions, which in no way affects game play. During loading from the DVD-ROM a "loading progress" indicator graphic of a single alien cell morphing into a human cell moves with a very jerky motion from left to right, followed by the words "Assimilation Complete" typed out. This doesn't affect game play at all, but more care should have been taken to not detract from the mood between missions. Another slightly annoying thing is the fact that there is no directly accessible save function (from the start button menu). You have to find "data recorders" throughout each mission at various steps along the way to save your progress. Usually these are located in places just prior to some perilous action, however, sometimes they're placed near the end of a mission, and possibly nowhere near the initial action of a following mission. If your character is killed in a new mission, you can simply restart the mission as many times as you need, but if you exit the game, or have to shut down your X-Box, you may have to replay a bit more than you'd like of an earlier mission (from where you had saved at a data recorder location) up to where you'd actually left off in a following mission. The flow of story and action is smooth, and the addition of movie-like scenes between action is very cool, though sometimes at the end of a scene you may be placed right in the middle of critical action without enough time to assimilate your situation, and the next thing you know, you're toast. The controls are standard, however, the left thumbstick controls ALL of your movement, and the right thumbstick is only for "panning" left or right, or to lean outward left or right. This is different from Halo which uses the left thumbstick to move, and the right one to "turn your head" to view separately from movement. If you've played Halo often, it takes a little getting used to, but you'll adapt quickly. The other controls are very simple to use, and there are only a few functions so as to avoid complication. As I said above, playing this game at night with all the lights off can be creepy at first, so the anxious tension comes across very well. The game is rated "M" for Mature, mostly for occasional obscenities/language, and violence. I'm glad Black Ice (the creators) didn't hold back with language; it's probably about a "PG-13" rating, maybe pushing "R", but to have toned it down would have made the game into a parody of what it is now. The game features a great combination of problem solving with action-less action than Halo, but makes up for it with the heightened tension conveyed in playing out a Sci-Fi horror movie game.
I had no idea of what to expect when I had purchased this game, not having read any other reviews (which I usually do beforehand), but I was not let down, and I'd recommend it for purchase.
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Based on the same elements that made the movie so enjoyable--fear, suspense, and the possibility that your teammate might be infected--The Thing lets players creep into action with the help of several nonplayer characters (NPCs), whom you use to protect and aid your group. Using a core team of engineers, medics, and soldiers, players must manage the level of trust in, and fear of, you that these characters experience. They react to your actions and might betray you if they think you are the Thing. Conversely, you must constantly monitor which one of them might be infected. Other characters must trust you, but if they fear you, actions as drastic as coercion are necessary. For example, if a soldier doesn't have confidence in you, you may have to put your gun to his head to convince him you're not the Thing... and for his sake, he'd better believe.
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