In an intense, immersive moment, I kept feeling the desire to look quickly, as if it were my own head. As Jack, the right analog stick doesn't let you look around fast enough for my liking. Even by 2005 standards that's pretty bad. Character's mouth movements often don't match what they're saying. Cons: -Kong's controls are clumsy and consequently his levels aren't very fun. Creative liberties with the story are taken, but on its own it works just fine. The world genuinely feels like an extension of the King Kong (2005) universe. Other than that, here's the rundown of what I liked and didn't like. Some levels that stand out to me are "Hayes", "Brontosaurus", "Venatosaurus", and "To The Lair". Subtle, quiet, and unnerving music cues also help. 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. The noises they make before their silhouettes appear in the distance are unsettling. Many environments are misty/foggy so its hard to see more than 50 yards ahead a lot of the time. It's not just the situation the game's presentation and stellar atmosphere make it particularly eerie. 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. Spears aren't very helpful if there's more than one dinosaur. 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. I say that because dinosaurs are a lot more intimidating than plain old lions, tigers, and bears. 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. As Jack, you have the first-person perspective of someone in this scenario. Upon replay, the greatest aspect of this game for me is the unsettling, anxiety-inducing atmosphere. I recently dusted it off and spent my summer going through my old games, including this one.
I'm not much of a gamer besides my PC, my old PS2 is my only gaming console. It is a wild ride worth experiencing and Jackson and Ancel deliver one of the better movie-based games of 2005. However, you can play it again to unlock all the extras like featurettes, interviews, and art. Jamie Bell, Evan Parke, and especially Jack Black are excellent as well. 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. The music is superb and the voice work is very well done. The graphics are excellent and you really feel you are battling for your life on Skull Island. The gameplay is simple to learn and well-done. You can also lose if one of your comrades is killed. 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. King Kong re-enacts the fights against the T-Rexs and other huge inhabitants. There will also be some levels where you control the King himself. There are also several puzzles to be solved. 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. In the game, players control Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) through the nightmare that is Skull Island. I played and beat the game on the Xbox 360.
Ubi Soft released Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game Of The Movie for all major consoles and the PC.
Ancel is world-renowned for being the father of the Rayman series and also the criminally overlooked Beyond Good And Evil.
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. 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. Peter Jackson is not only an Academy Award winning director but also an avid video game player.