Metareview: Peter Jackson's King Kong

by Alan Rose { Nov 30th 2005 at 5:00PM }

King Kong meta
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.

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
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
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
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
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?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

magic_user2005 @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

I think I'll wait to see the movie first, but the game looks cool.

Scott @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

I heard that the game was kind of short so I'll probably rent it.

Chiablo @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

I played the first few levels of the Xbox version. My beef with the game is:
1. The director is very very annoying and never shuts up.
2. The lipsynch is absolutely horrid.
3. You can't turn fast enough.

The annoying director I can understand, it's the type of character they were aiming for... and it's Jack Black, he's always annoying regardless of what he's doing. Apparently this includes video game renditions of him.

The lipsync is probably due to the 'ole "lowest common denominator" syndrome that affects games. Because the PS2 is such a weak system compared to the Xbox and PC, they have to cut polygons and animations whereever possible... I guess semi-realistic rain is more important than having characters look believable when they talk.

With enemies attacking you from all angles, not being able to turn around fast enough is devastating. It wouldn't be bad if there was a way to adjust the sensitivity of the X-Axis, but there isn't. To give you an idea, go boot up Halo, and set the X-Axis senstivity to half normal and see how annoying it is when stuff is ambushing you every 20 feet.

I got to just past the part where the heroine gets captured by Kong... then shelved the game to play Path of Neo (which has it's own horrible faults but is a funner game overall.)

ronnie @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

The controls could be a little more senstive, but the experience as a whole is very immersive and makes for a pretty good game.

It's short, and the dumb fire puzzles and opening doors with switches gets old quick, but the game has some really brilliant stuff in there as well.

elroyhead @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

I'm currently in love with this game.

Like, the kind of love that's detailed in legends with strong warriors and elven maidens and stuff.

Yeah, that kind of love.

Ray @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

I rented the PS2 version last weekend and loved it. The game is short, and the end is anticlimactic, but other than that the game is amazing. There's no heads-up display and all cinematics happen in realtime; you can even walk around while things are happening, so most cinematics are seen from Jack's (the main character's) perspective. The sense of scale is great, and it has probably the best dinosaurs I've ever seen in a game. I highly recommend it as a rental.

Nat @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

It wouldn't break the game Zoop's record. Zoop (published by Viacom Media, and released in 1995) was made for Playstation, Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, Jaguar, Game Boy, PC, and Mac, making a total of 9 platforms.

Andy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

review at insanecentral

http://insanecentral.com/plugins/content/content.php?content.13

siro @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

Andy: Don't post links to your own review, especially if it's as redundant and shitty as it is.

Jimmy Gunawan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:03PM

I finished this game in around 8-10 hours. There is this small feeling to play it again, but only some of the fun chapters of the games, mostly the easy bit, using Kong.

I reckon the game really has cinematic view and feeling. It's fun to play and very involving. I wish I could've played the XBOX 360 version of the PC version which has much better graphics. This lives up the movie and to really appreciate this movie remake of King Kong, one should try to play the game.

I should mention though that I experienced a couple of glitches and bugs with PS2 version that I played. Like for examples:
1. Ann could often stuck if we walk to fast.
2. After the brontosaurus attack, the airplance decided not to fly. I was confused and waiting and waiting, but the airplane just stuck there and Jimmy won't fly.
3. It froze once.

Kong rules!