The Thing is one video game movie sequel you won't want to miss!
In celebration of Halloween, we’re counting down the days with some of the greatest horror games ever made -- 31 of our favorites! Every day, we’ll take a look back at a horror game that gave us goosebumps, made our controllers tremble, and chased us out of our living rooms. Long live the horror game! And make sure to check out our full list of 31 Great Horror Games To Play In October!
John Carpenter's classic film adaptation of a John W. Campbell novella is one of my favorite scifi horror flicks of all-time. So when Computer Artworks (R.I.P.) released a video game sequel to the film in 2002, I was all over it.
The Thing is a conventional shooter at its core. There are things to shoot, and you have machine guns to shoot them with. You also have explosives, and lots of things blow up. But the game is so much more than that. It brought so many cool survival horror mechanics to consoles that I dare call it a game ahead of its time.
First, environmental hazards play a big role in how you play through the game. The more time you spend outside in the eternal Antarctic winter, the faster your health bar depletes. You're forced to spend a lot of time inside with the monsters so that you don't freeze to death.
There's also the "trust system," which really helps convey the tone of the film. Like in the film, the Special Forces unit that is investigating Kurt Russell's scientific outpost soon become suspicious of each other. The Thing could be anyone, after all. Depending on how you lead your squad, what items you give them, how good you are at keeping them alive, the trust bar will be raised or lowered for each of your squad members. If the bar goes red, you best believe that soldier is going to crack and start shooting everybody. The scarcity of supplies such as ammo and medkits creates a great dilemma: do you keep your teammates alive or do you ensure your own survival and take out the rest of your unit?
The Thing is one of the most faithful adaptations in terms of tone ever made.
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that's your thing!