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

"It's over already?"

Play As Man. Play As Kong.

Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (quite a mouthful) makes a stunning debut on the Xbox360. Like many titles on the 360's launch, King Kong also has last generation counterparts, but what is surprising is the game far excels any of the ports from last generation. It is obvious that great care, and dedication went into the development for this game. King Kong certainly has issues that could have been fine tuned, but the game itself is still something to marvel at. Peter Jackson (Lord or the Rings) has decided to remake the classic film King Kong, and to be honest, I have never seen the original, but with Peter Jackson directing, I couldn't help but be excited. Its Peter Jackson gosh darn it! Aside from last gen's gem, the Chronicles of Riddick, King Kong is arguably the best adaptation from a film to a game I have ever played.

The game opens with a bang with its first cinematic cutscene. It features clips of the movies that felt polished, and did a great job at setting the mood for the upcoming adventure. You play the role of Jack, who is a play writer that is accompanying Carl the director for his upcoming smash hit. You're traveling on board a ship towards the enchanted Skull Island. Along with Carl, you have Hayes, Jimmy, and Ann to round off the rest of the group. Upon landing on the island, one thing that really pops out is the dark and edgy mood. The atmosphere was able to set the overall feel of the game in its opening moments.

For the most part, the player will be playing the game from a first person standpoint with Jack, but there are instances where the player will control Kong. From the first person perspective, the controls felt smooth and slick. Unlike most shooters, where the gun is automatically pointed out, Jack doesn't hold it out, but instead it's a combination of the LT and RT triggers in order to pull the weapon out and use it. The aiming feels just about right, as plowing down enemies become second nature. On this island, there are a large variety of prehistoric enemies that range from raptors, v-rex, venatosaurus, and large millipedes. What's special about these enemies is the fact that they are so deadly, and to some extent so big that each battle feels like a life and threat situation. Consequently, each battle is very intense with plenty of thrills. The first encounter with a V-Rex is especially gratifying because conventional weapons cannot kill the V-Rex, but instead, the player must come up with different evasion tactics. What's more importantly meaningful is the game is able to bring the whole environment into perspective because for a good portion of the game, you will find yourself only armed with primitive spears.

The level designs for the most part are very nicely done. While the game is quite linear, each part of the levels feel connected and form a sense of cohesion. There are a few puzzles scattered throughout some of the levels, which consists of searching and finding levers that opens certain doors. For the most part, finding these levers isn't too difficult, but there were a few instances where I had some trouble locating them. There will also be passages that are blocked off by impenetrable branches that can only be crossed by burning it down. Therefore, there will be situations where you will have to fight across a field of scavengers and raptors in order to get a torch back to the designated area.

One thing that I particularly liked was when Jack was hurt to some extent, the screen would turn red, and the screen would get a bit blurry and hard to see, which emphasized how the lost of blood would lead to disorientation. Little attention to detail such as the blurriness and redness of the screen shows that the developers took their time and added a lot of little things that go a long way to making a solid game.

Who's King Now?

For a lesser extent, the player will play as the mighty King Kong. And to be honest the transition from Jack to Kong doesn't flow as well as I'd hope. The first person elements are crisp, fluid, and surprisingly intuitive, but switching to third person mode as Kong, isn't quite as good. It still controls well, and fun to play, but with its simplistic button interface, it turned the Kong segments into a pure button masher rather than controlled and timely combos. During the King Kong segments, the player will have some platforming elements that are as simple as it gets. The platforming elements are basic jumps from mountain to mountain, and swinging from branch to branch. With a press of a button, Kong is easily guided from one place to another. The fighting comprises of a few buttons that is quite effective by pressing it wildly. King Kong can also pick up smaller enemies and throw them across far distances. The best parts of the Kong segments are definitely the enormous battles with the V-Rexes. In one instance, the player will find himself battling against 3 V-Rexes at a time. For the most part, the King Kong segments were fun, but with the simplistic button interface, and lack of depth with the platforming, the Kong segments leaves a lot to be desired.

Perhaps the best part about King Kong is the voice acting. With incredible voice acting and a soundtrack to match, King Kong is without a doubt a pleasant surprise in the sound department. The music soundtrack can only be describes as intense and moody. It does a great job at matching your current predicaments. For example, when being chase by the V-Rex, the beat will pick up. The voice acting had plenty of emotion and heartfelt. To some extent the voice acting allowed me to empathy for the characters in their predicament.

King Kong's graphics look great. With lighting effects that just shimmer with beauty, King Kong has plenty of eye candy. The rain effects were also something to marvel at. During most of the levels, it was dark with plenty of rain splashing that showcased the dramatic effects and capabilities of the new Xbox. And during the level with the brontosaurus, the lush and gorgeous environments, coupled with the realism of the dinosaurs were really the feat of all the levels. However, the character models left a lot to be desired, as the facial areas of the characters felt sloppy and out of proportion. And besides the movie cinematic in the beginning, the rest of the game's cutscene didn't seem like it was taking advantage of the hardware. The animation for the most part held up quite well, especially the way the creatures moved.

While King Kong has plenty of nice features along with some fundamentally sound gameplay, the game is extremely short. And it is quite a shame too considering that it had some dynamic gameplay. Furthermore, the game also lacks any incentive for the player to replay the game. And since the game is based on the movie, I felt that if the game was longer, it would have allowed for a better pacing to the story. The story in itself is quite solid, but with better pacing, the game could have felt that much more dramatic and that much more epic. But even with all things considered, the game still has plenty to offer, and should be a pleasant surprise for anyone looking for a quick fix.

A blast from the past.

King Kong from start to finish felt polished and solid. And while the Kong segments felt a bit uninspired at times and with a truncated length, the game feels more like a rental than a buy. While the game does sport some impressive graphics, the game to some degree felt like a last generation game rather than a next generation game. And thus the game felt more like an Xbox 1.5 game than a full-fledged Xbox 360 game. But even with that said, the game has some frantic gameplay, outstanding voice acting with a soundtrack to match, and more importantly the game's prehistoric nature allowed for plenty of gigantic battles. Despite its short length, the game has plenty to offer, and is a solid title that is worth checking out. While the game may not be worth the 60 dollar purchase price, it would still make a great rental. But one thing is for sure; the game is too good to not play at all.

Pros
The first person elements felt nice and were fundamentally sound. There were plenty of frantic and chaotic battles with prehistoric creatures. King Kong also sports an impressive soundtrack with amazing voice acting.

Cons
While the game sports some impressive visuals, it still doesn't feel like next-gen. The third person segments with King Kong were a bit too simplistic for its own good.

Final Score: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/09/05