 STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED |
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| Game Details | Released
17 November 2005 | | Format
PS2, XBox, GameCube, PC | | Developer
Ubisoft |
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Peter Jackson's King Kong
 Review
While most Academy Award-winning directors are only too happy to distance themselves from the inevitable console spin-offs from their movies, Peter Jackson was actively involved in choosing Ubisoft’s Montpellier studio to create the King Kong video game, impressed by the developer’s work on the underrated sci-fi adventure, Beyond Good & Evil. The Canadian coders in turn spent much time in New Zealand presenting early builds to Jackson, drawing heavily on the effects work of Weta Digital to ensure Skull Island’s simian sovereign looked every bit as imposing as his big screen counterpart. Not surprisingly, the results are stunning.
Mixing first-person shooting sequences where you play as Jack Driscoll, and dramatic scenes of third-person platforming where you control the titular ape, King Kong allows players to experience both ends of the food chain; as Driscoll, escaping from Skull Island involves dodging ravenous raptors as you flee through the jungle, while Kong has the power to lay the smack down on his prehistoric rivals, casually snapping a T-Rex’s jawbone to liberate his diminutive love interest.
Although it draws heavily on familiar genres, the game brings fresh ideas to Driscoll’s Doom-style episodes, forcing players to use survival techniques and keep a close eye on the natural environment. To escape a trio of raptors, for instance, players can use a discarded spear to catch a fish and distract the hungry lizards, light the stick and set the jungle ablaze, or
simply skewer their screeching enemies the old-fashioned way.
The graphics push the current consoles hard – especially in the lumbering model of Kong, brought to life by silky animation and a dramatic sense of weight – but while the game is frustrating as it teases you with a vast jungle environment but forces you down a narrow pathway, King Kong is still a more inspired way to experience Jackson’s sense of adventure than the shoddy spin-offs based on Lord Of The Rings.
Reviewer: David McComb
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Average user rating for Peter Jackson's King Kong
| RE: King Kong | | Yeah played it a second time and liked it a hell of a lot more pick it up for your 360 agent Goth ... Read More
| | | Daniel Kelly About me | | 13:37, 02 September 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: King Kong | | I've got the 360 arriving soon. Is this worth getting as it looks cool, especially the Rexes. ... Read More
| | | AgentGoth About me | | 09:28, 10 July 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: King Kong | | i got bored by this, all I did was poke sticks at dinos. It has some very good parts but at the end it is just bland. Looks beautiful, have to say that. ... Read More
| | | Deviation About me | | 14:17, 08 July 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: King Kong | | Its pretty good though the enemies becoming annoying rather than challenging after a period of time. Larger enemies like rexes are always fun though. The graphics are above average so its worth a 7/10 ... Read More
| | | Daniel Kelly About me | | 20:44, 14 June 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | King Kong | | | Unlike the movie, thespecial effects are bad. You cantdo much with the spears except poke things and shoot a few guns. Huge disappointment. ... Read More
| | | premierbaron About me | | 18:43, 15 March 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: King Kong | | Best played on the X box 360. ... Read More
| | | BobaJango About me | | 16:51, 03 February 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: King Kong | | | L: Da Big Cheese
Very swish graphics, like in a museum. Look, but don't touch. Unfortunately, the graphics is the only thing that impressed me. Me and a mate agreed that the film doesn't translate well as a game. The enemies are annoying and repetitive. The layout of the game, at the beginning anyway, works like this: go through a tunnel. Get attacked by a few giant snakes / spiders / whatever. Move through another tunnel. All the while using spears to burn stuff. The whole package feels b... Read More
| | | MuckyMuckMan About me | | 10:57, 02 February 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: King Kong | | | i played a Demo game of this and it is AMAZING the game is a must have for any serious gamer..... Like me ... Read More
| | | Darth Sidius2 About me | | 10:49, 02 February 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: King Kong | | A great game to begin with. I've only got a demo at the moment though! ... Read More
| | | BobaJango About me | | 18:42, 31 January 2006 | Report This Post | |
| | | | King Kong | | | A damn fine game, feels like you are actually in the film, looks awesome, sounds awesome, maybe a little restricted when you are playing the big guy, but when you get to beat twenty tons of testosterone into the inhabitants of Skull Island who cares. I started playing it and just kept gowing through to the end, like the film it is based on once you get into it the time just rolls by. ... Read More
| | | MOnkeyboy1138 About me | | 15:52, 16 January 2006 | Report This Post | |
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