King Kong Review - Xbox, Xbox 360

Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie was crafted by Oscar winning director Peter Jackson and acclaimed game creator Michel Ancel (Beyond Good & Evil) so there was very little question that the game was going to be good. King Kong is a gorgeous looking game that is one of the scariest and emotionally charged experiences you’ll find in a videogame. It isn’t perfect, but it is still absolutely worth playing.

Story and Setting

The story of King Kong is 70+ years old and not too much has changed for the new film and videogame. Movie director Carl Denham takes a film crew to the mysterious Skull Island to make his next big movie. The island is inhabited by dinosaurs and other creepy crawlies and is ruled by a giant ape. What starts out as a simple movie ends up as a fight for survival.

In the game you play as the screenwriter for the film Jack Driscoll from a first-person perspective. The game follows the story of the movie for the most part but it takes a few liberties with the storyline to make for a more exciting videogame. You play as Jack for 75% of the game, but the rest of the time you get to play as King Kong himself. It only takes about 6-7 hours to play through the game, but what an experience it is for those 6+ hours.

Play As Puny Humans

As Jack the game is a first-person-shooter. The controls and FPS fundamentals are all very solid. What makes the game special is that you only have a limited amount of ammunition for your weapons and will have to rely on spears and bones for weapons for much of the time. You also have to make use of fire to burn thick patches of weeds and a fire tipped spear does more damage than a regular spear. Guns and ammunition are spread out fairly well and you’ll find ammo crates at just the right times when you need it. There is only a finite amount, though, so you have to switch off between spears and guns in order to make sure you have enough bullets for when you really need them.

Aside from direct combat, there are also a handful of puzzles to solve. Most of them are typical fetch quests (find lever at point A and bring it back to door B) but you’ll also do things such as spearing grubs and insects to use as bait for other creatures so you can sneak past. Unfortunately, the same puzzles are repeated throughout the game and after the first couple of chapters it starts to get a little old.

"Wow" Factor

Where King Kong really shines, though, is in the overall experience and “wow” factor. The levels are very linear, but enemies and puzzles are placed in areas that absolutely make sense which keeps you interested. Also, when you start to reach a point where you are getting a little bored with what the game has to offer, it will introduce a new enemy or a big action sequence that will instantly grab your attention and get you immersed all over again. Another way the game keeps you immersed is that there is no onscreen indicators cluttering up the view. Your character will say how much ammo he has out loud and your health is shown by the screen turning red when you are hit. Pure genius. And best of all, as far as I’m concerned anyway, is that you are on an island crawling with dinosaurs. The T-Rex (called V-Rex in the game) sequences are worth the price of admission all on their own because they are undeniably the most thrilling action sequences in any game ever. These giant beasts can kill you in one bite, and feeling your controller rumble as the earth shakes when they walk and the screen get distorted when they roar is downright scary. Dinosaurs have never been done better than they are right here.

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