Kong Done Right

There are few licenses more beloved by kids, creature fanatics, and movie fans in general than King Kong. His climb atop the Empire State Building is as iconic as any cinematic image.

The original film spawned countless remakes and sequels, comic books, action figures, and oodles of other paraphernalia. Now, Kong's fate rests with Hollywood's golden boy, Lord of the Rings' director Peter Jackson.

Atmospheric to say the least.

Infused with Talent
Before mentioning mechanics and gameplay, it's important to note that Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game Of The Movie represents an important first and last step in the current and next generation of gaming. Movie-licensed games used to be a joke, but with the original Xbox®, the trend began to take a massive upturn, with great titles like Spider-Man® and Spider-Man® 2 from Treyarch and Activision, Inc.; The Lord of the Rings™: The Two Towers™ and The Return of the King™ from Electronic Arts, and the shockingly excellent movie tie-in The Chronicles of Riddick™: Escape from Butcher Bay, developed by Starbreeze.

Bash creatures into submission with blows so powerful
you'll think your TV is actually shaking, not just the screen.

This list goes on, but the point is this: Movies and games are becoming seamless. From sheer production value to their integration with one another, the two mediums are finally marrying to one another with outstanding results, and Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game Of The Movie may be the best example yet. Bear the following in mind:

• Dual geniuses: Both Peter Jackson, the Academy Award-winning director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Michel Ancel, the acclaimed game designer and creator of Rayman® and Beyond Good & Evil™, have combined forces to create a truly collaborative effort on Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game Of The Movie for the original Xbox and Xbox 360™.
• Weta access: The movie's special effects house, Weta Workshop, has provided game studio Ubisoft with unprecedented access to the assets used to create and give life to Skull Island, the creatures, the characters, and, of course, Kong himself. The result is an experience as true to the movie as can be.
• Actor's touch: Few things can ruin a game faster than terrible voice acting, but almost as jarring at times is to know and love a character from a movie, only to find their game counterpart is voiced by someone else entirely. Again, Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game Of The Movie offers a cohesive experience, as the actors and actresses from the movie give life to their in-game counterparts.

Survival of the Fittest
Gameplay-wise, the game breaks down into two very disparate experiences. On the one hand, you play as Jack Driscoll (voiced by Academy Award winner Adrien Brody) from the first-person perspective. After things go awry on Skull Island, you find the bulk of your experience comes down to one primal emotion: survival. Survival for you, and survival for your fellow human beings, most notably Ann Darrow, as you find the terrors the island holds are creatures you don't fight and conquer, but those you run screaming from.

You'll remember your first encounter … *shudders*.

The great success Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game Of The Movie offers from the first-person perspective is scale, believability, and immersion in its enormous world. For example, the jungle feels rich, dense, and, though you're outdoors, claustrophobic, as visibility is at a premium and anything can lurk behind any corner or bit of underbrush.

No Heads-Up Display

There's no HUD to speak of. No health bar, no ammo box, no compass, no objective markers. Instead, the game's intuitive design and subtle hints offer the clues you can instantly recognize in a more natural way. Jack's breathing becomes rapid and his vision blurs when he's injured or in intense situations. He lets you know how much backup ammo he has, and audio clues help you determine just what to do next or where to go.

The environment itself is rich with other immersive elements. Natural weapons (like spears) can be grabbed from the environment in ways that make sense, and in-game puzzles use the environment in a logical way, instead of jarring block/jigsaw puzzles that seem out of place.

As a human, you only ever play as Jack, but you're highly dependant on your A.I. buddies throughout. They help you with their own unique sets of skills, as well as aid you through their actions and dialogue to clue you into the next section or call out an incoming danger. They feel alive and active throughout the story, which is refreshing.

Kong Time
The majority of your Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game Of The Movie playtime is spent behind the paranoid and courageous eyes of Jack Driscoll, but occasionally you are offered the chance to wield raw, animalistic power in the form of the ferocious King Kong himself. The sections involving the great gorilla are played from the third-person perspective, and, like the rest of the game, they are sans HUD, but, with a simple and highly effective control scheme, you won't need one.

The experience of playing Jack is all about survival, fear, and intense exhilaration, but with Kong, it's about proving your strength and prominence as the king of the jungle. You bash creatures into submission with blows so powerful you'll think your TV is actually shaking, not just the screen. On a more subtle level, the Kong sections also allow for a great release from all the tension built up while playing Jack. It's an excellent change of pace.

Peter Jackson's King Kong The Official Game Of The Movie is, as the name says, the official game of the movie, and while that has been said of many a game, you would be hard put to find a better example of a game complimenting a movie. From presentation to game design, this title delivers the same emotion, core story, and the visceral thrill as its blockbuster movie counterpart.

Note: All screenshots are from Xbox 360 version of the game.

Article by Alex McLain