Peter Jackson's much anticipated King Kong will not only be smashing box office records in the near future, but may
also set the record for the widest release of a video game. Whether you own one or more of the four available consoles,
the three major handhelds, or a PC, you will be able to delight in all that is Kong this holiday season. If it ever
makes it to the Mac, King Kong would be on a total of nine platforms, but before you buy any version, this is
what the critics are saying.
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1UP (90/100) appreciates Kong%uFFFDs universal appeal: %uFFFDThe game is accessible without being dumb, and in many ways the ease-of-play approach can be refreshing for hardcore gamers. By making a streamlined but polished game, Ubisoft has created something that can be appreciated by hardcore and mainstream game players equally.%uFFFD
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TeamXbox (84/100) says the minimalist interface adds to the immersion: %uFFFDThe one aspect that sets King Kong apart initially is the lack of a heads-up display (HUD). No life bar, no inventory readout, no ammo indicator %uFFFD it%uFFFDs all Skull Island, all the time. This obviously goes a long way in bringing about the intended cinematic experience, and for the most part it works.%uFFFD
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GameSpot (82/100) feels this is more than just a mindless shooter: %uFFFDIt also helps that the monsters you%uFFFDll encounter on Skull Island are unbelievably ferocious. They%uFFFDre smart, too. They%uFFFDll attack in packs and force you into hiding spots and cover positions.%uFFFD
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IGN (80/100) found Kong a bit buggy: %uFFFDWe have played and beaten this game on multiple final boxed copies across all the systems and independently discovered scripting errors that either forced us to restart the game from the previous level or to replay from the game%uFFFDs beginning. The bugs don%uFFFDt always seem to appear in the same place%uFFFD%uFFFD
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GameSpy (70/100) preferred playing as Adrien Brody to Kong: %uFFFDThe game%uFFFDs third-person elements %uFFFD which cast you as King Kong himself %uFFFD feel underdeveloped compared to the rest of the game. While they%uFFFDre still enjoyable during the relatively short spurts in which they surface, it%uFFFDs clear why there wasn%uFFFDt more of an emphasis on them: they simply aren%uFFFDt as fleshed out as the rest of the game.%uFFFD
Despite GameSpy%uFFFDs rating, the major industry appraisers seem to like the cinematic presentation of Peter Jackson%uFFFDs King Kong and it scores higher overall than the above average Aeon Flux and Chronicles of Narnia. Could we be seeing an upward trend in movie-based games?
