King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

I'm not much of a gamer; besides my PC, my old PS2 is my only gaming console. I recently dusted it off and spent my summer going through my old games, including this one. Upon replay, the greatest aspect of this game for me is the unsettling, anxiety-inducing atmosphere.

As Jack, you have the first-person perspective of someone in this scenario. You know that primal fear instilled by our ancestors of being helpless and hunted in an unfamiliar environment, worrying about encountering a lion, tiger, or saber-toothed cat armed only with spears? This game gave me that same sensation multiplied by a factor of five. I say that because dinosaurs are a lot more intimidating than plain old lions, tigers, and bears. I got very anxious in a level with a lot of Venatosaurus or juvenile V-Rex where I'm low on ammo or don't have a gun at all. Spears aren't very helpful if there's more than one dinosaur. When you're out in the open and you know a big predator is running toward you, your immediate instinct is to run for shelter. It's not just the situation; the game's presentation and stellar atmosphere make it particularly eerie. Many environments are misty/foggy so its hard to see more than 50 yards ahead a lot of the time. The noises they make before their silhouettes appear in the distance are unsettling. There's no health bar, ammo count, or map in the corners of the screen to distract you, allowing you to be more immersed in the situation. Subtle, quiet, and unnerving music cues also help. Some levels that stand out to me are "Hayes", "Brontosaurus", "Venatosaurus", and "To The Lair".

Other than that, here's the rundown of what I liked and didn't like.

Pros:

-Everything mentioned above. -Very good graphics for a PS2 game. -The world genuinely feels like an extension of the King Kong (2005) universe. -Creative liberties with the story are taken, but on its own it works just fine. -Great music.

Cons:

-Kong's controls are clumsy and consequently his levels aren't very fun. -Character's mouth movements often don't match what they're saying. Even by 2005 standards that's pretty bad. -As Jack, the right analog stick doesn't let you look around fast enough for my liking. In an intense, immersive moment, I kept feeling the desire to look quickly, as if it were my own head. -I like the idea of the burning bushes but they burn way too quickly (then again they could be super flammable Skull Island plants). -The game is quite short (I beat it in less than six hours on my second playthrough) and unfortunately the lack of upgrades or new levels or other cool things to unlock means there isn't enough replay value to keep me coming back. Besides those four levels I mentioned earlier, there's nothing else I'm dying to experience again. Even that feeling of being prey I mentioned before dwindles once you know how to navigate each level.

This game is worth a playthrough for the atmosphere, but I wouldn't pay a lot for it. I got my copy used and you shouldn't pay anything more than a used price for it. I'd give it a 6.5/10; it's better than a 6 but I'm not sure if I want to round up to a 7, either.

Peter Jackson is not only an Academy Award winning director but also an avid video game player. He worked closely with EA with the various Lord Of The Rings video games made; intertwining the gameplay with movie clips and having the actors like Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood do voice acting and filling the extras menus with plenty of interviews and making-of-features.

When he was getting his new version of King Kong readied, he once again wanted a video game version made, but this time he went to Ubi Soft to work with famed video game designer Michel Ancel. Ancel is world-renowned for being the father of the Rayman series and also the criminally overlooked Beyond Good And Evil. Ubi Soft released Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game Of The Movie for all major consoles and the PC. I played and beat the game on the Xbox 360.

In the game, players control Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) through the nightmare that is Skull Island. The gamer must attack the various denizens of the Island that attack him or his friends such as Carl Denham (Jack Black), Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), Jimmy (Jamie Bell), and others. There are also several puzzles to be solved. There will also be some levels where you control the King himself. King Kong re-enacts the fights against the T-Rexs and other huge inhabitants. You basically have one life; with a gameplay mechanic similar to The Getaway and Call Of Duty in which you regain your health if you avoid being attacked. You can also lose if one of your comrades is killed.

The gameplay is simple to learn and well-done. The graphics are excellent and you really feel you are battling for your life on Skull Island. The music is superb and the voice work is very well done. However, Brody brings very little of his Academy Award winning skills to the table; mostly uttering how much ammo is left or screaming ANNNN! Watts is very good but she says "Oh My God!" too many times. Jamie Bell, Evan Parke, and especially Jack Black are excellent as well.

Sadly, the game is very short. You can beat it six hours. However, you can play it again to unlock all the extras like featurettes, interviews, and art. It is a wild ride worth experiencing and Jackson and Ancel deliver one of the better movie-based games of 2005.

I got this on PC, although it was the first game I ever got on PS2. The controls on both platforms are very easy to get used to, and the game play style is totally unique. I love going from FPS to Third Person, from Jack to Kong, Kong to Jack, and so on. The graphics are very good, although the PC requires a very powerful graphics card in order to run the game. Still, I really love this game. It follows the story, maybe not the actual events, but it follows the story of the movie almost flawlessly and the levels are often heart-pounding and intense (the scariest level is "Brontosaurus", where there are about a hundred dinosaurs that will leap at you from any direction at any time). The Kong levels are truly inspiring, where you can go from breaking a V-Rex's jaws to smashing up Military Vehicles in New York City.

If you loved the movie, you should definitely get this game. It has all the major parts of the movie and even expands on the movie.

8/10!!

Most games based on films suck! But not KK. The graphics are sharp the strategy perfect the voices are PERFECT!! But don't rush out and buy it now. Because there are some(sigh) let downs. 1.You got to wait such a long time for KK to break free and start rampaging through New York 2.They could've let the guns be less powerful and fast because I just ran out of bullets of Drisscols 500 bullet machine gun and I could kill a dino in just 10 shots!! But instead of that go! Buy it! NOW! Peter Jackson's best! Really go! The best game of the year or the decade or the century or maybe all time!!!!! If you hate the movie you would still love the game! You would play it all week! Go get it it would be the best fifty dollars you ever spent!

Peter Jackson didn't want the game to be a slave of the movie, and because of this, the game is very different. This doesn't the game isn't good, though. IT'S FRIKKIN' AWESOME!!!!

The graphics are way above average, the controls are difficult at first, but it's easy to get used to them, the voice acting is very good, and the game automatically adjusts the difficulty level to match your level of skill. However, don't pretend to suck just to beat the game faster, as this isn't an easy game anyways.

Overall, this game is very enjoyable. It's available for Gamecube, GB Advamce, Nintendo DS, PS2, and XBOX 360, so it's not that hard to acquire it, so go play it as soon as possible. If you don't enjoy yourself, sue me.