When gamers see a new game based on a movie, the hardcore usually shy away, knowing how utterly horrible it’s going to be. Who can forget how E.T. the game, made by Atari almost 20 years ago almost bankrupt the company, or recall Enter the Matrix just a couple of years ago as examples of dismal failures in the movie game genre. I was a little leery of this title when it came out, and didn’t really think it could live up to it’s potential.

Then I remembered 3 little movies made by Mr. Jackson himself, a tiny collection of films known as The Lord of the Rings. Who can forget all the fantastic action of Middle Earth that Peter brought to life on the silver screen, and that fistful of Oscar’s he walked away with for all his hard efforts. His creative genius, teamed up with perhaps the finest developers in the video game business right now, Ubisoft, got me intrigued, so I went out and picked up a copy of King Kong to see if this could have somehow turned out right.

In the beginning I really wasn’t expecting much, but thankfully I got a whole lot more than I thought was ever possible! Is this game the first hit in the movie genre? Read on and we’ll see how Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie stacks up!

Gameplay

In King Kong, you get to play the game from the point of two characters in the Story. You start off as Jack, the screenwriter on the trip for Carl the movie producer, who sets off to Skull Island to film an epic movie. Along with you is Ann, a down on her luck and out of work vaudeville actress. Immediately upon arrival, you realize that the island is inhabited by prehistoric creatures long thought extinct. Jack is separated from his companions and must fight his way through the jungle to get back to them. Armed with simple spears, the battle is tense and at some moments almost scary.

Along the way, Jack will find cargo crates that are occasionally dropped from the seaplane that has accompanied the ship on its journey to Skull Island. These crates will carry a single weapon from an assortment of pistols, shotguns, machine guns, and sniper rifles. Ammo is always scarce, so try to make every shot count. The spears can be acquired almost everywhere you look, so use these when possible. Spears can also be lit on fire to clear areas of thick brush to make your way through the jungle easier, or burn the prehistoric beastie’s to death if you’re lucky and time it right.

As you make your way through the jungle to get back to your shipmates, Ann is captured by the island natives and offered up as sacrifice to the great ape, Kong. This is where the fun really starts as you are now playing as King Kong in a third person view, unlike the first person view you use while playing as Jack. Jumping from cliffs, climbing vines, swinging through the trees, Kong does it all! Pick up a downed tree and use it as a baseball bat against the killer V-Rexes, it’s just great fun to play as Kong! His infatuation with the blonde haired beauty keeps Kong on the trail of the ship’s crew, and eventually leads to his capture and shipment to NYC.

All in all, the gameplay is just really fun as you prove your dominance over the inhabitants of Skull Island.

Control / Playability

The controls are pretty straight forward playing as Jack in the first person view. The left trigger brings your weapon up to the ready position, be it a gun or spear, and the right trigger fires or hurls your spear. The analog sticks are used as in any FPS. The right bumper button is used to reload your weapon when you have it in the ready position. Pretty straight forward and easy to pick up for anyone who has ever played a FPS.

When playing as Kong, the left stick is used to move him and the right stick gives you limited camera control over the environment you are in. The A button is used to hit and do the jaw breaking finishing move on the larger denizens of the jungle. The B button is used to catch and throw smaller beasts and to take or drop Ann as you rampage around the island. X is used to climb, dodge while fighting, swing from tree to tree, and jump. The Y button is used to repel and bite enemies, and when tapped constantly it gets Kong to thump his fists against his chest putting him into fury mode. Fury mode is really cool and gives Kong a burst of super strength which is then used to thrash his enemies into submission!

Graphics / Presentation

The graphics in this game are pretty well done, but not yet up to the promise that the Xbox 360 has to offer. Character models look well done, almost life like but not quite there. The dinosaurs look really good, and the vicious V-Rexes are downright terrifying to behold for the first time as you run for your life as Jack. When playing as Jack in the first person view, the frame rate can take a dramatic hit when moving quickly, but you get used to it.

When playing as Kong the environments are truly stunning to behold, swing from tree to tree down some pretty cool looking canyons. As mentioned before, fighting the V-Rex’s is absolutely gorgeous, but the giant snakes later in the game are downright ugly. I don’t know if this is a graphics issue, or the developer’s just designed them that way.

Audio

The sound effects in the game are great, from the fury mode yell of King Kong, to the screams of the dinosaurs running through the jungle. The in game music is perfect to go along with the atmosphere of the whole game. Nothing extraordinary here, but it all fits the game perfectly.

Replay Value

It’s actually worth replaying this game after you beat it. After the first time through, the game unlocks a scoring mode for your efforts on every level. Once you reach 250,000 points, you can unlock an alternate ending to the game where Kong does not meet his tragic fate at the base of the Empire State Building. Kong is actually taken back to Skull Island and allowed to live a life of bashing dinosaurs to his hearts desire!

Overall Score

Overall Score: 8.5/10 [not an average]

Additional Comments

Let me put it simply, Peter Jackson’s King Kong the Official Game of the Movie is just downright fun and a blast to play. Ubisoft and Peter Jackson made this perhaps the best movie based game ever released. The parts you play as Jack, running around the island to save his friends, can be suspenseful and a tad scary at times. Playing as King Kong is phenomenal, swinging from trees and using huge tree trunks to bash the island creatures into submission is a great stress reliever. I was very expecting a huge let down, but I highly recommend this game to everyone with its combination of FPS and almost platform like parts as you play as Kong. Go out and get this game, and release your inner beast!

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