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June 08, 2003
Playing the Thing
I've finally had some time to play <a href="http://www.artworks.co.uk/thing.htm">The Thing</a> (developed by UK-based Computer Artworks)... I picked it up in January, after getting the movie DVD as a Christmas present. The movie scared the crap out of me and I was keen for more :)
Also, their whole trust/fear system (for which the game received a Game Innovation Spotlight award at this past <a href="http://www.igda.org/awards/">Game Developers Choice Awards</a>), was something I was very curious to see in action.
So, based on those two motivations, I'd say the game is a resounding success (well, the first 4 levels (out of 10) are all I've played so far).
Rather than replay the movie, the game is very much a sequel, picking up where things were left hanging at the end of the movie. The arctic base was in the same condition, and felt like things were as they should be. Also, the game picks up the same creepy atmosphere. But, I don't think it is the same experience unless you've seen the movie - not that is provides clues, but to get the sense of continuity.
(Side comment: I believe someone's been quoted saying that in the future, movies will simply be the trailers/setup for people to go buy the ensuing games. Hmm, was it George Lucas?)
In terms of the trust/fear, I must say it is "frustrating", but in an in-game sense. It is quite a pain - as the character - to always have to worry about your troops and if they are freaking out, puking or just going to lose it. They do funny things sometimes (like unloading a machine gun clip shooting at an already dead monster and screaming stuff like "take that..."). Also, the trust aspect is key in that you always need to be maintaining/gaining trust by handing over ammo, doing blood tests, not running too far ahead, etc.
Not that this is a review, but the game is not perfect. The controller settings are not optimal and the precision of the shooting is off (never quite know where you are shooting). But, these are minor issues... Anyway.
So, despite <a href="http://www.avault.com/editorials/index.asp?editorial=edit116">all the complaining</a> about the lack of originality and movie licenses taking over the industry, I'd say that this is one very clear example of licensing a movie and creating a truly innovative and compelling game. The setting is obviously familiar to those who watched the movie, but the story is new and the developers were able to sneak in some "award-winning" gameplay innovations as well.
While I am a big fan of original games, I think there'd be fewer complaints if all developers were as creative with licenses...
Posted by della at June 8, 2003 02:04 AM
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Comments
Oh, I so agreed with you when I was only four levels into The Thing. I really enjoyed the Fear/Trust system and the team management... until I realized that the game breaks down and relies on simple scripting despite these features. For example, even if you perform a blood test on a member of your team and the result is negative, he still may turn into an alien 30 seconds later. Even worse, the team management breaks down because your team can be killed: you need an engineer to open certain doors UNLESS your engineer has been killed, in which case you can magically open them yourself. What's up with that?
I think this is yet another example of a great idea executed poorly. I'd be willing to bet that scheduling issues prevented the developer from taking this game's design to its logical conclusion.
waka
Posted by: waka at June 9, 2003 07:24 PM