The Thing

First off, I would say that The Thing is an above average linear game in the realm of the survival/horror genre of PS2 games. The game's basic premise is taking on the role of the lead character that is given the undesirable task of investigating an artic research station that has been taken over by an alien entity which looks like a really nasty mix between swamp thing and last year's tuna casserole you forgot about in the back of the refrigerator. The smaller manifestations of the Thing vary form looking like little skulls running around on chicken legs to goo spitting spiders. Not exactly inspiration for staying up all night wandering what that sound was outside your window. But, in the Thing's defense it certainly makes a nice target for spraying with your shotgun and then barbecuing it with the flamethrower.The game's primary focus is on realistically bloody combat, with the arctic station as its backdrop. The game does contain the basic elements of squad teamwork, but it comes across as more of an afterthought than anything else. The redeeming element of the teamwork though is the concept of trust and fear in each of your teammates, as it gives them a feeling of having different personalities and temperaments; to the point where you might actually feel a bit sorry when you have to waste them upon their being infected by the Thing. Which gives the basis for the NPC's fears; anyone can turn into the Thing at any time. This is a really nice touch as the NPC teammates don't feel as static as they do on games like Project Eden. You'll find though that as long as you have an extra piece on you, all you have to do is give it to a newfound teammate to get them to trust you. This also introduces a very simple form of inventory management and conservation as you sometimes have to decide whether you should use that last med kit to heal your fellow teammate or save it for yourself.The difficulty level is somewhere between low and medium. I for my part would have liked to have had more encounters with boss characters and Thing manifestations that are harder to kill. The few bosses present in the game are relatively easy to defeat once you recognize the pattern in which they're swinging their gigantic appendages in their mostly futile attempts to clobber you. Another addition that would have upped the difficulty would have been harder puzzle solving, as the puzzles essentially comprise fetching keys to open locked doors and finding engineers to fix certain power panels that you the character cannot fix yourself.In my own humble opinion the graphics for this game are top-notch and maintain a pretty even frame rate throughout the game, even when you've got a whole room of little Things leaping at you. The flame effects for the fires and flamethrower discharges are very nice. About the only complaint that can be leveled against the graphics is that the collision detection can be a little off, hence being able to stick your hands in to the wall sometimes.In conclusion, I reiterate that the game's focus is on the bursting into the room with both guns blazing style of action (though you will find areas where you'll have to pick off enemy commandos with your sniper rifle). The game does provide some real challenges here and there, but for the most part it's pretty much a nice stroll through the blood stained halls of the arctic station. Though this doesn't sound like much fun, this game somehow miraculously makes it fun. So, if you're looking for a good action game to spend about five or six hours (depending on how good you are) on, The Thing is a pretty good bet. If you want deep psychological themes which give you that nice creepy feeling and make you want to play it at night, your better off sticking with the Silent Hill series or Fatal Frame.

Paid for a like new one, was disappointed that PS2 games need an HDMI converter for HD tv's ughhhhh so lame, they always have to do that, make everything outmoded and obsolete so you have to buy more crap.

Man, I'll just categorize here...The good:- If you are a fan of the movie, you will find yourself saying "Awesome!" a few times during the game. It really follows the mood of the movie. It just has this "cool" feel to it that I haven't experienced in other games before. It is dark, cold, and lonely just like the movie. Atmosphere gets 5 stars.- It is really disgusting, disturbing, and sometimes spooky. The gore fits right in with the story. Most disgusting game ever. This is a good thing...? YES!!!- Good weapon selection, freaky looking monsters. Exciting firefights.- Many people complained about changing weapons and equipment, but I liked the system a lot.The bad:- The social features of this game were heavily advertised. They are garbage. Your "companions" cannot truly be blood tested. They just turn into things when you pass certain points in the game. Everything is predetermined, and your friends are not with you for long. You can test some guy and he comes up negative - then you walk 5 feet, while looking at him the whole time, and he suddenly turns into a thing. Dumb. Real dumb.- One of the last couple of levels is too long. There is no save location for like 30 or 40 minutes of gameplay. And it is a pretty hard level. Its like they just missed it or something. Or they just want you to try 15 times and get bored and frustrated out of your mind, I could be wrong...- The boss encounters are ridiculous. If you stand toe to toe with a boss, you will get creamed. There is no creative way to go about killing a boss. So you have to conduct a trial and error glitch search. Never fear, you will find a glitch for each one. "Oh, if I stand here, he can't see me, even though I am in the middle of his field of view!" Dumb. It just seems stupid that you have to depend on glitches to complete the game.- Not enough health packs. You have to go back and do levels perfectly if you want to make it further. You can kill a boss and still have to continue on into more danger, with no reward of a save location or health packs.- Too short, too hard. Should have been longer and easier. Video games are for fun, sometimes programmers forget these things.All in all, I had fun, the atmosphere was the best ever for a video game (I LOVE this movie), but found myself saying "That is retarded" way too many times. The #1 advertising pitch (social interaction with NPCs, and wondering if they are things)was a joke. DO-OVER!!! This game could be the best ever if they spent some time on it.

This game rocks!!It picks up a short while after the 1982 film of the same name ended. You play as US Military Commander Blake, who's part of a massive search & rescue mission to locate any and all survivors of the destruction of both Outpost US North 31 and the Norwegian Base in Antarctica.The military has somewhat of an idea of what's going on, and what they're up against, but that probably won't be enough.GAMEPLAY:-----------------This game is slightly difficult and a very nerve racking experience and is presented in a 3rd person-shooter perspective. As Commander Blake, you get to command a 4 man team as you investigate the wreckage of both camps, as well as other locations not seen in the film. Your men will listen to you and will act accordingly to the situation.You're often partnered with another marine, a medic and an engineer, and all will aid you in battle against any hostiles and have different abilities. The marine will back you up in combat and is more resilient than the other 2, the medic will patch you and your men up after any battle (But can't patch himself up, unfortunately) and the engineer can repair and bypass any technical equipment (i.e. unlocking mechanical doors, turning on the power in blacked out areas and such)Also, your men might not always be there to have your back. Sometimes they die, sometimes they turn into Things, so you'll sometimes find yourself alone, which adds to the suspense and horror tension. Sometimes you'll have to take on a lot of hostiles by yourself, but you're given quite a lot of firepower, so survival isn't impossible. And on the plus side, you'll always find more men around the areas you'll visit, so you're never alone for long.There is also a small amount of puzzle solving involved within the game which changes things up a bit from getting repetitive.FEAR & TRUST:----------------------Now this mechanic is where The Thing really shines!! Your will get nervous and jumpy upon seeing mutilated corpses, sometimes they'll vomit or wet themselves. You can calm them down by bringing them away from the scene and giving them some more ammo or a weapon. This'll gain you trust from your team. The more your men trust you, the easier it'll be for them to be willing to help you. You can also gain a large amount of trust from your men by subjecting yourself to a blood serum test (as seen in the film) to prove you're human.But this also has its down side. Sometimes if you test one of your men, the test will shatter and they'll change into one of the Things and attack you and the others. This helps in gaining trust from the others who are still human, but also puts them in danger as the Things are strong and vicious, able to kill any of the men (Blake included!!) with a few strikes!! Be careful when doing this!!WEAPONS:----------------In keeping with the tone of the film, you're given an MP5 submachine gun, a shotgun, a flamethrower, a pistol, a sniper rifle and grenades. Plenty of firepower to bring the fight to the alien menace terrorizing the search & rescue mission around Antarctica.VERDICT:--------------The Thing is a rare gem, and does a great job in continuing the story which was left open by John Carpenter after the fiery climax of the film. There is also a great deal of respect for continuity for the film also; You first arrive right at what's left of US Outpost North 31 and enter through one of the back doors, you get to see the block of ice in the Norwegian camp where the alien awoke and began it's reign of terror, you find the dead Norwegian in the chair whom Mac and Doc Copper found while investigating the Norwegian camp, you find the alien craft that the Blair-Thing was building underground, you walk by the tractor where Mac and Fuchs where talking about Blair's notes and so on and so on.There are also a few twists in the story which keep it fresh and interesting, and stop the game from becoming stale. Genre fans might see them coming, though.Fans of the film should be very pleased in this horror infested, actioner. It has all the feeling of John Carpenter's film from the darkly lit atmosphere, to the creature designs and sound effects. The feelings of paranoia and anxiety are also present as major themes brought over from the film itself, and lend themselves to the amazing experience!!All in all, a very great love letter to fans of The Thing. If you're a gamer and a HUGE fan of The Thing like I am, definitely seek this game out and give it an honest try!!I promise you that you'll be blown away by it like this Thing fan was!!

Bought the expensive “very good condition” one and the disk came with scartches and missing edges around the disk. Never got to play it.

Very fun game!

Game case had water damage.

The front part of the cover was ripped off and didn’t come with the Manuel as shown