|
Things
just got better on the PS2
By Tom Fahey
 |
|
Soldier:
"He was gutted - it sent him up the wall."
|
This latest concoction
from the Konami recipe book consists of a tablespoon of survival,
a cup of horror, stirred well, with about 278-litres of blood!
The Thing is the PS2's newest survival horror, and my-oh-my - it
is bloody horrific!
The Thing started life as a movie, and game starts off where the
movie finished. Anyone seen it? Well if not, here's a quick summary:
A weird-arse alien life form, which can live inside any living
organism, takes the form of a dog in a Norwegian base camp in Antarctica.
The "thing" inside the dog starts to spread amongst other
dogs, and then people, so the witty Kurt Russell blood tests everyone
to find the culprits.
From here on in, you witness some real nasties, blood, lots of
guts, and evil alien scum. So, as a search and rescue team, your
mission is to find out what the F@#% happened!!
Your team consists of a soldier, a medic, an engineer and yourself.
Each have their own AI, and areas of expertise.
Your medic will automatically heal you and your other men (just
like the medics in StarCraft: Brood Wars), the engineer will sort
out mechanical difficulties, and the soldier will successfully blow
the crap out of everything! These three troopers all follow orders,
and are faithful to you in your battle against... things.
However, the 'trust/fear' system must be taken into consideration
here. There are a lot of weird things going on in this place, some
of which can affect your teams train of thought.
 |
|
What's
that - you're cold?? Let me help...
|
For example, if you walk into a room full of blood, with several
people who are resting in pieces, your men may just feel a little
sick to the stomach (they even throw up sometimes) and to the mind.
So, in effect, their trust in you lowers purely because they're
scared. Bloody fairies...
Seems fare enough! It is funny though when you think that you can
cheer them up with a clip of ammo for their machine gun. Simple
things for the simple minded.
There are three levels to the important fear meter. If it's green,
then you team will follow orders, shoot "things", and
gather on Sundays to drink beer, eat pizza, and watch the footy
- or whatever they play in Norway (clog throwing - Ed). So, in other
words, they really trust you.
The second stage is yellow. Your men will not follow orders, but
they will defend you against alien scum. If the fear meter is in
the red area, then you're as good as gone. Your team will think
you have turned into a "thing" and will take it upon themselves
as their personal duty to blow you away. No more beer and pizza!!
One of the really cool aspects of the gameplay is the fact that
the bitter Antarctic temperatures do affect you and your team. You
have a freeze meter, which slowly fills up when outdoors, and it
lets you know that your character is (and please excuse the Dr.
Evil quote) freckin freezin! In such an event, seek shelter before
you become the latest icy pole flavour.
The other part of the gameplay I particularly enjoyed was blood
testing. You can give people blood tests to test their loyalty,
as "things" these days can be particularly deceiving.
 |
|
Don't
lose your head....
|
However, most times, people fail the test miserably, and become
the enemy! So the moral of this story: That which he does not know,
can't hurt him!!
The graphics aren't too shabby in The Thing, but thankfully not
too good either, otherwise we may have had some vommit chunks on
the PS2 from the many gore scenes, which are already gory enough.
But like I said, the graphics are very pleasing. You can have in
great detail the four team members and a herd of "things"
on screen at the one time.
And as the bullets fly, the people/things die, and plenty of blood
spills. It's a nice game world. Really nice...
As for the gory stuff? Well I'm still trying to forget about the
image of that guy I blood tested who failed big time.
What followed was a gory mutation where this guy's skin tore apart
as the pulpy growth of an alien pupae and other assorted scum and
mucus emerged from beneath. Thanks to the game's artists for that
graphical insight of a mutating "thing".
If you're a little squeamish, or don't like the sight of parasitic
aliens bursting out of people, then stop reading now, because this
game sure as hell isn't for you! But for those who are searching
for an all new survival horror title, which - mind you - feels nothing
like any other of the Resident Evil rip offs, then I recommend The
Thing.
Those who watched and enjoyed the movie will also appreciate the
sequel-style plot. It's got the "b" and the triple "g":
Blood, Guts, Gore and Guns... What more could a gamer ask for?
Horror seekers: Enjoy.
Game: The Thing
System: Playstation 2
Players: 1
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Universal
Studios
Distributor: Vivendi
Universal
Rating: 80%
(Ratings
Key/Explantion)
The Thing is on the shelves now.
|
