The Thing - (William Latham)

The Thing is a third person survival horror game, and sequel to John Carpenter's 1982 film The Thing. It was developed by Computer Artworks. PlayStation 2 version of this game was released in North America on August 19, 2002, and in Japan on February 27, 2003. ^[1]The Thing is set after the film's ending, when two United States military rescue teams, Alpha and Bravo, are dispatched by Colonel Whitley to investigate the loss of contact with U.S. Outpost 31. Alpha Team, headed by the unit's second-in-command, Captain Pierce, is dropped at the nearby Norwegian Outpost. Bravo Team, led by the unit's Commanding Officer, Captain Blake, is then dropped at the American research station. The player assumes the role of Captain Blake, and must learn how to coordinate and command his Bravo Team colleagues while investigating the ruins of Outpost 31 and locating clues and messages detailing the incident for players who are unfamiliar with the film. The mission supervisor, Colonel Whitely, will offer sporadic assistance and relay objectives via radio. This section serves as an in-game tutorial and training level and offers some insight into the events which transpired following the end of the movie.

During the player's investigation of the ruins of the Outpost, they will find the UFO from the film. They will also find the body of Childs, one of the survivors from the movie. Upon securing the facility, Blake is airlifted to the Norwegian research station to locate and reinforce Alpha Team after Whitely informs him that they have lost contact with the team. There Blake and his group encounter swarms of Things that slowly dwindle down his team as Blake rescues Colin and learns of a government conspiracy with Gen Inc in conducting experiments on the alien lifeforms before they began to infest the research facility. Blake learns that Whitely was behind it the whole time and even injected himself with a Cloud Virus B4 Strain. With a new group, Blake fights his way through numerous black ops and creatures before killing the transformed Colonel Whitley. The player has the assistance of a helicopter pilot, revealed to be R.J. MacReady, the hero from the original film.