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

"More Like Princess Kong"

INTRO: The King Kong remake is actually a very good movie, and so I was somewhat excited when I learned of this game. Especially since we were promised play time as Kong. But in the end despite all the hype and good reviews King Kong turns out nothing more than another bad movie license.

GRAPHICS: With huge environments it is fairly impressive that frame rate does not stutter. And although resolution and model details are not amazing they are pretty good. Pretty much all of the characters have a very well detailed likeness to the actors they represent. However the dark and dreary look with fog is the most typical approach to try and cover up bad draw distance. Even though the levels are huge and impressive details quickly go out the window the bigger they get. That and collision detection are less than amazing, and you frequently will get stuck in stuff or see through stuff, which quickly takes away the cinema and next-gen feel.
Score 5

SOUND: Most of the characters do have the same voices from the movie, which is impressive because it is pretty much a star studded cast. So of course all the voice acting is great. Most of the sound effects are also top notch as well. Effects like the screen going blurry when “V-Rex” roars do add to the tension. The music is also taken from the game which this is also very nice.
Score 8

CONTROLS: Straightforward and completely the opposite of complicated. Kong has only a few actions, and once you master the timing for the jump and chase sequences it is almost intuitive. Playing as Driscol is pretty easy as well. Aiming the those spears turns out to be easy enough. That said the only problem is walking on ledges and other precise movement when playing as Driscol can led to frustration.
Score 8

STORY: The story is pretty much straight up pulled from the movie, as of course will all movie license games though some liberties are taken to extend the experience. It does also try to capture some
of the more dramatic and inspiring moments of the game, but the movie actually makes a better showcase for this type of stuff. The pace of the story is sped up from the movie as well and a little cookie-cuttered to. Overall definitely the movie is the better experience of the two.
Score 4

GAMEPLAY: You are on an expedition to find the last unmapped land in the world. However it turns out there are dinosaurs and super sized everythings on this island ( insects, bats, and you guessed it one pissed off guerilla!). And now Ms. Darrow has been kidnaped by Kong! There are two parts to the game that intertwine, playing as Kong or the writer Driscol. Driscol plays like a FPS but with no HUD to try and give a cinematic feel. Guns and spears are the weapon of choice here. The spears work well as you battle these said giant things and dinosaurs. The best part is that they are reusable, but they will eventually break. Playing as King Kong is just as you would imagine it. Smash and destroy everything. And although these parts are fun they short and restrictive. Puzzles break down to find stick and insert here for Driscol or simple plat forming for Kong. All in all the game is kinda fun but the reason for my bad rating of the game is the amount glitches in the game. Which include the normal getting stuck in the wall and getting stuck on imaginary ledges. But the real bad part is that the game will forget the scripted elements of the game, leading you to a dead end where you advance to a cut-scene but instead no matter what you do it can't be triggered. Which means you have to restart. To make this matter worse the checkpoints are long, you could lose 30 minutes of play time because the developers made a rushed product!
Score 4

REPLAY: The glitches really ruin the game and are enough for a lot of people stop during the first play through. And even if you do finish there is no reason to play a second time, no muliplayer, no unlockables, no hard achievements (you get the 1000 points if you finish).
Score 1

BOTTOM LINE: Definitely don't buy. Worth a rent for an easy 1000 achievement points if you have a spare 5 to 8 hours.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/06