<s>
The	O
Thing	O
is	O
a	O
2002	O
squad-based	O
third-person	O
shooter	O
survival	O
horror	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Computer	O
Artworks	O
and	O
co-published	O
by	O
Vivendi	O
Universal	B-Application
Games	O
under	O
the	O
Black	O
Label	O
Games	O
label	O
and	O
Konami	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Xbox	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameCube	B-Application
and	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Advance	I-Device
versions	O
were	O
also	O
planned	O
,	O
but	O
both	O
were	O
cancelled	O
early	O
in	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
basic	O
gameplay	O
in	O
The	O
Thing	O
is	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
traditional	O
third-person	O
shooter	O
;	O
the	O
player	O
character	O
,	O
Blake	O
,	O
can	O
run	O
and	O
shoot	O
,	O
strafe	O
,	O
crouch	O
,	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
environment	O
,	O
interact	O
with	O
NPCs	O
and	O
use	O
items	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
flashlights	O
,	O
fire	O
extinguishers	O
or	O
flares	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
three	O
types	O
of	O
NPC	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
;	O
engineers	O
,	O
soldiers	O
and	O
medics	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soldiers	O
have	O
more	O
health	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
better	O
shots	O
than	O
engineers	O
or	O
medics	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Medics	B-Application
are	O
capable	O
of	O
healing	O
both	O
Blake	O
and	O
any	O
other	O
injured	O
NPCs	O
,	O
and	O
carry	O
unlimited	O
health	O
packs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NPC	O
AI	B-Application
is	O
determined	O
primarily	O
by	O
the	O
"	O
Fear/trust	O
system	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
NPC	O
responds	O
differently	O
to	O
different	O
surroundings	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
medics	B-Application
tend	O
to	O
scare	O
easier	O
than	O
soldiers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
an	O
NPC	O
is	O
scared	O
,	O
it	O
affects	O
their	O
performance	O
;	O
soldiers	O
become	O
less	O
accurate	O
,	O
engineers	O
take	O
longer	O
to	O
repair	O
fuse	O
boxes	O
and	O
medics	B-Application
do	O
n't	O
heal	O
characters	O
as	O
quickly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Windows	B-Application
PC	I-Application
port	O
features	O
patches	O
that	O
fix	O
issues	O
present	O
on	O
the	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
when	O
Universal	B-Application
Interactive	O
began	O
looking	O
through	O
Universal	B-Application
Studios	I-Application
 '	O
back-catalogue	O
of	O
feature	O
films	O
with	O
potential	O
for	O
adaptation	O
as	O
video	O
game	O
franchises	O
,	O
they	O
quickly	O
decided	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
lucrative	O
such	O
intellectual	O
properties	O
was	O
the	O
1982	O
film	O
directed	O
by	O
John	O
Carpenter	O
,	O
The	O
Thing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Universal	B-Application
and	O
Konami	O
announced	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
September	O
20	O
,	O
2000	O
,	O
before	O
development	O
had	O
begun	O
,	O
confirming	O
it	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
an	O
adaptation	O
of	O
the	O
film	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
sequel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
revealed	O
the	O
game	O
would	O
be	O
released	O
for	O
"	O
next	B-Application
generation	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
"	O
,	O
of	O
which	O
only	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
was	O
initially	O
confirmed	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
and	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Advance	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Handheld	O
version	O
was	O
rumored	O
to	O
support	O
with	O
the	O
device	O
(	O
although	O
both	O
versions	O
were	O
quietly	O
canceled	O
early	O
in	O
production	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
upon	O
Computer	O
Artworks	O
 '	O
2000	O
video	O
game	O
Evolva	B-Application
,	O
Universal	B-Application
invited	O
them	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
pitch	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
pitch	O
,	O
Computer	O
Artworks	O
reskinned	O
a	O
level	O
from	O
Evolva	B-Application
with	O
an	O
Antarctic	O
theme	O
and	O
a	O
Thing-like	O
creature	O
as	O
a	O
boss	O
fight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
pitch	O
impressed	O
Universal	B-Application
sufficiently	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
deal	O
was	O
signed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
director	O
,	O
William	O
Latham	O
,	O
"	O
Universal	B-Application
were	O
very	O
good	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Drawing	O
inspiration	O
from	O
Aliens	O
,	O
the	O
1956	O
version	O
of	O
Invasion	O
of	O
the	O
Body	O
Snatchers	O
,	O
Half-Life	B-Application
and	O
Area	B-Application
51	I-Application
conspiracy	O
theories	O
,	O
Computer	O
Artworks	O
began	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
November	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
16	O
,	O
they	O
announced	O
the	O
game	O
would	O
also	O
be	O
released	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
with	O
a	O
release	O
date	O
slated	O
for	O
mid-2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
first	O
shown	O
at	O
Universal	B-Application
Interactive	O
's	O
"	O
Gamer	O
's	O
Day	O
"	O
on	O
August	O
13	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
confirmed	O
it	O
would	O
also	O
be	O
coming	O
to	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Universal	B-Application
revealed	O
details	O
of	O
the	O
fear/trust	O
and	O
infection	O
systems	O
,	O
which	O
they	O
said	O
would	O
form	O
an	O
integral	O
aspect	O
of	O
the	O
basic	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
playable	O
demo	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
was	O
released	O
on	O
March	O
25	O
,	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
interview	O
with	O
GameSpot	O
on	O
April	O
1	O
,	O
Universal	B-Application
Interactive	O
producer	O
Peter	O
Wanat	O
explained	O
"	O
the	O
trust-fear	O
dynamic	O
was	O
born	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
film	O
and	O
the	O
simple	O
fact	O
that	O
we	O
needed	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
main	O
character	O
NPCs	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wanat	O
cited	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Resident	B-Application
Evil	I-Application
,	O
Silent	B-Application
Hill	I-Application
,	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Max	B-Application
Payne	I-Application
as	O
influences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2002	O
,	O
Vivendi	O
Universal	B-Application
formed	O
a	O
new	O
publishing	O
division	O
called	O
Black	O
Label	O
Games	O
;	O
a	O
label	O
which	O
Ken	O
Cron	O
(	O
Vivendi	O
Universal	B-Application
Games	O
CEO	O
)	O
stated	O
"	O
will	O
focus	O
on	O
delivering	O
innovative	O
,	O
high-quality	O
titles	O
to	O
satisfy	O
the	O
growing	O
consumer	O
appetite	O
for	O
increasingly	O
sophisticated	O
content.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
transitioned	O
from	O
Universal	B-Application
Interactive	O
over	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
label	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
console	O
versions	O
are	O
co-published	O
with	O
Konami	O
,	O
with	O
Vivendi	O
Universal	B-Application
handling	O
distribution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Thing	O
received	O
"	O
generally	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
"	O
on	O
all	O
three	O
platforms	O
;	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
version	O
holds	O
an	O
aggregate	O
score	O
of	O
78	O
out	O
of	O
100	O
on	O
Metacritic	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
twenty-seven	O
reviews	O
;	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
version	O
a	O
78	O
out	O
of	O
100	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
twenty-one	O
reviews	O
;	O
and	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
a	O
77	O
out	O
of	O
100	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
nineteen	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eurogamer	O
's	O
Kristan	O
Reed	O
scored	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
version	O
a	O
5	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
,	O
arguing	O
of	O
the	O
trust/fear	O
system	O
"	O
It	O
is	O
nowhere	O
near	O
as	O
much	O
of	O
a	O
neat	O
gameplay	O
innovation	O
as	O
the	O
hype	O
had	O
some	O
people	O
believe	O
 [ ... ] 	O
As	O
a	O
squad	O
based	O
game	O
it	O
would	O
work	O
far	O
better	O
if	O
you	O
ever	O
had	O
to	O
care	O
a	O
great	O
deal	O
for	O
anyone	O
's	O
survival	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tom	O
Ham	O
scored	O
both	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Application
versions	O
a	O
4	O
out	O
of	O
5	O
,	O
writing	O
"	O
not	O
only	O
is	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
solid	O
action-adventure	O
frenzy	O
,	O
it	O
also	O
manages	O
to	O
tell	O
a	O
tale	O
that	O
is	O
truly	O
chilling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yet	O
,	O
thanks	O
to	O
some	O
high	O
production	O
values	O
and	O
consistently	O
interesting	O
action	B-Application
scenes	O
,	O
The	O
Thing	O
rises	O
above	O
these	O
flaws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ryan	O
MacDonald	O
scored	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
version	O
an	O
8.4	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
,	O
writing	O
"	O
When	O
you	O
look	O
at	O
everything	O
the	O
game	O
offers	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
its	O
gameplay	O
,	O
presentation	O
,	O
and	O
story	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
hard	O
not	O
to	O
appreciate	O
The	O
Thing	O
whether	O
you	O
're	O
a	O
fan	O
of	O
the	O
film	O
it	O
's	O
based	O
on	O
or	O
just	O
a	O
fan	O
of	O
the	O
survival	O
horror	O
genre	O
in	O
general.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
scored	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
version	O
an	O
8.4	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
,	O
calling	O
it	O
"	O
The	O
best	O
of	O
the	O
three	O
,	O
combining	O
sharp	O
graphics	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
with	O
the	O
superior	O
console-style	O
control	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
version.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
later	O
named	O
The	O
Thing	O
the	O
second-best	O
Xbox	B-Application
game	O
of	O
September	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
's	O
Douglass	O
C	O
.	O
Perry	O
scored	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Application
versions	O
an	O
8.3	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
GameSpots	O
annual	O
"	O
Best	O
Action	B-Application
Adventure	O
Game	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Application
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
to	O
Tom	B-Application
Clancy	I-Application
's	I-Application
Splinter	I-Application
Cell	I-Application
.	O
</s>
