Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

"Yes we know you helped Peter"

Despite the most unwieldy and self-indulgent title ever, Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (henceforth referred to simply as King Kong) is a great success. When I first started playing my roommate shuddered at the fact that I was playing a game based on a movie. He shuddered with good reason. Most games based off of movies range from mediocre to downright horrible and target kids who don't know any better. King Kong, on the other hand, was made with a great passion for gaming and an acute eye for detail.

You start off playing the game as Jack Driscoll, a humble writer-turned-hero. The stages are short and relentless. Although they are extremely linear and the path forward is always abundantly clear, you feel like you're inhabiting a complex and fully fleshed-out world. As Jack, most of the time you'll find yourself hiding from the various creatures that roam the island. It does feel like you are exploring a completely wild and uncharted land full of chaos.

Playing as Kong is immensely satisfying. You get to run along the vine-covered walls of the jungle and swing from the branches. You swipe a horde of tribesmen out of the way with a flick of your arm and break the jaws of velociraptors in half with your bare hands. This doesn't mean you are invincible though. You just feel much more powerful and in control of the environment as Kong.

The game is short and a little anticlimactic, but it's packed full of amazing and unforgettable moments. The environments of Skull Island are completely absorbing and mesmerizing and Ubisoft goes to great lengths to make sure nothing takes you out of the moment. There are no distracting health bars or inventory. You know you're close to death when the screen goes red and the dramatic ‘you're-about-to-die' theme starts playing. Who needs a health meter? Your weapons consist of spears found on the island and a few guns with limited ammo. The fact that you have precious few shots to kill a whole pack of velociraptors heightens the constant state of fear and tension. When playing as Kong your bare hands suffice quiet nicely as your weapon of choice.

The graphics are some of the best you'll see on PS2. This is the only version I've played, but I'm guessing this game probably looks even more stunning on XBOX360. I'd hope so anyway. The lighting effects are breathtaking and add a stunning amount of realism to the jungle. Sometimes I would just stop and tilt my camera around to appreciate the settings.

The sound is top-notch all the way around (at least as far as I can tell listening through my crappy Apex TV speakers). It's fortunate the actual actors from the film could deliver the dialogue for the game as well. It adds to the immersion factor of the game. The music is never distracting or inappropriate and always adds to the mood and emotion of the game.

The shortness of the game didn't bother me, but the rushed ‘we-have-a-deadline-to-meet' feeling of the ending did. I don't know why every single game that comes out now is expected to be at least 20 or 30 hours long. That's not necessarily a good thing. If a game can accomplish what it needs to in 8 – 10 hours there's nothing wrong with that. I prefer playing a shorter game that is thoroughly engaging than one that spreads itself too thin over a period of 50 hours.

So don't let the game's title or the fact that it's based on a movie deter you from playing one of the most thrilling adventures of the year. Now that they have this great title under their belt I'd like to see Peter Jackson and Ubisoft turn some of his earlier films into games. I could definitely go for “Peter Jackson's Dead Alive: The Official Game of the Movie”.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/06