Ever since Resident Evil came out, scaring the hell out of gamers has been a favorite pastime of video-game publishers. The variety of thrills has grown over the years, with games like Silent Hill, Parasite Eve, Fatal Frame, and more. However, the genre has grown a bit stagnant. I mean, there is only so many times a monster jumping through a window will scare you. Several developers have attempted to add new twists to the tried and true formula, but none have been too successful; recent survival-horror games have had gimmicks rather than true advancements. Black Label games introduces one of the most unique devices ever implemented in survival horror with its trust / fear system. It's the differentiating factor that separates The Thing from the competition, and while the game has other flaws, trust / fear is the freshest addition the genre has seen in years.

Without question, developer Computer Artworks and Black Label had a lot to live up to. Games based on movies (or inspired by them) haven't had the best of luck in the industry, and The Thing is not your everyday horror movie, so you can imagine the pressures involved when developing this title. Fortunately for Black Label, The Thing hits its mark with gusto. Not only is the game a solid action-adventure frenzy, it also manages to tell a tale that is truly chilling. Combined with topnotch graphics, incredible use of sound, and a very cool trust / fear interface, The Thing manages to do what so many movie licensed game have failed to do -- succeed.

Believe it or not, The Thing is the official sequel to the movie. The storyline for the game takes place shortly after the events from the 1982 movie. A division of Gen Inc. goes to the Alien Ship crash site to begin excavations and their investigations. Once on board, they discover a research lab where the Gen Inc. scientists soon find a liquid that has some "unique characteristics." Colonial Whitely, a veteran U.S. Solider who is charge of the facility, begins to show signs of terminal illness. Some even say he's not quite the same. Before long, communication with the group and Colonial Whitely has stopped, and thus a military taskforce is sent in to investigate.

Players take on the role of Captain Blake, the soldier who is in charge of the taskforce. The squad is dropped off at the ship by plane, which is scheduled to pick them up in three days. After they arrive, they encounter an unspeakable horror. Players must find a way to destroy the infection and stop Colonial Whitely (who I'm sure you can guess has completely lost it) before the plane arrives.

At first The Thing plays like any other action-adventure survival-horror game. As Captain Blake, you walk around in a third-person perspective, talk to NPCs, and interact with specific objects in the environment. In addition to yourself, players will be in charge of a small party with each member having a specific skill. Members range from your basic combat soldier to the more specialized engineer. How you interact with these various NPCs will determine how successful you are in the game. Additionally, there are puzzles to solve, and of course, numerous "things" to kill, but this is where the similarities between other games and The Thing stop. The developers have incorporated a brilliant trust / fear interface that plays heavily into the gameplay. How it works in the game is pure genius.

Burn baby, burn!
The trust / fear interface is inspired by how the main characters in the movie were trying to figure out who was "infected" and who wasn't. What made the movie so suspenseful was this chess game the characters were playing with one another. It was a trying thing to figure out who was infected and how to gain each others' trust. The same holds true for the game. How you interact with the various NPCs in the game will determine their psychological state. Via icons above the NPCs head, players will know immediately if they trust them, if they're scared, or if they're hurt.