King Kong Review December 19, 2005

Introduction

Page:: ( 1 / 6 )

Games based upon movies are rarely any good. I'm not talking about games that are "inspired" from the movies such as the Star Wars titles, but games that try to capture the entire storyline. Most games act as pure marketing fluff, a handful of games are fun, and then there are games that have the potential to redefine gaming. Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is one of those rare games in that third category. Even if you stripped the game of its King Kong license, and removed all the fancy voice acting and simply kept its core gameplay and storyline, it would still be an incredible game. The original Halo has been described as being "30 seconds of fun repeated over and over again." King Kong is 30 seconds of fear and adrenaline repeated over and over again. It's not scary in the sense of a horror film but scary in that you're genuinely afraid of your player dying.

[image]

Page 2

Page:: ( 2 / 6 )

The game starts off with a video clip from the King Kong movie trailer to set the stage. We learn that Carl Denham (Jack Black) has plans to make next his film on-location at an exotic island. Of course, in classic Hollywood fashion, things go horribly wrong and the games starts off with you in the life boat making your way to shore. With the exception of the very first video clip, the rest of the game is done entirely in real-time with virtually all cutscenes being played through the first person perspective.

[image]

Page 3

Page:: ( 3 / 6 )

As a result of the uncluttered view, you feel like you're there on Skull Island, and this is enhanced by the rich Dolby 5.1 surround sound mix, on par with the best Hollywood action films, and the careful art design and judicious use of shaders on the Xbox 360. The final element to bringing the game to the next stage is the fact that the gun remains holstered most of the time. You must hold down the left trigger to pull out your gun or ready your spear and use the right trigger to attack. Since you can't run when you have your weapon drawed, you spend a good portion of the game with the weapon holstered, ensuring that your hand doesn't block the view of most of the game.

[image]

Weapons

Speaking of weapons, there aren't many. You can only carry one gun at any given time and they pretty much are the tried-and-true conventions of a pistol, a shotgun, a machine gun, and a rifle. Since the health system doesn't rely on "hit points" you won't have to deal with finding health packs (or equivalent "food"). How can you replenish ammo? Well, it would seem silly to have random boxes of ammo spread out through the jungle. Ubisoft's solution is to have random boxes of ammo spread out through the jungle and then explaining it through the story – these are being dropped by the rescue pilot as you're making your way through the jungle to find a place where he can land.

[image]

Survival

One of the main strengths of King Kong the game is that things are genuinely tense. As I mentioned earlier, the art and sound play a substantial role. The sense of survival is fully captured everytime you get ambushed by the giant centipedes or are somehow supposed to distract the "V-Rex" while your colleagues work on opening a door. The game has a definite primal feel to it in that while the creatures will eat you whenever they get a chance, they'll also eat each other when they get a chance. You can try to take down every single potential predator or play it in a stealthier fashion where you distract the predators with some food as your run by and hope to make it to the next stage of the room. If you're lucky, you can let natural selection take care of some of the creatures before you go in. In practice, you'll need a good mix of the strategies. King Kong is a game where there are times that you'll choose not kill everything that moves. This isn't due to some artificial limitation or penalty, but the simple realization that sometimes it's just easier to sneak by. Of course, it's always the predators that you don't see that startle you.

[image]

Page 4

Page:: ( 4 / 6 )

[image]

Playing as Kong

Although the majority of the time is spent playing as Jack, the screenwriter, in the first person perspective there are a handful of sequences where you get to play as King Kong. While these are always very visually exciting levels since they're played in the third person, the gameplay is simple button mashing. It's not even fun button mashing like an old school arcade game like Rampage or King of the Monsters – it's fairly boring. The novelty quickly wears off after the first time you play as Kong. In its current form, the balance seems just right to me. Enough sequences where you play as Kong to keep the gameplay entertaining and to provide better transitions in the story without it becoming overbearing. Interestingly, most of the bread-and-butter console review sites seem to want more time with Kong. Perhaps this is my bias as a reviewer.

[image]

Technical

The graphics for King Kong on the Xbox 360 look great as there's judicious use of lighting and shaders. Image quality certainly varies through the game, with some low-resolution textures feeling like they're out of place and as mentioned earlier, the game wasn't validated on calibrated screens. Still, as FiringSquad alum James Yu has shown, there's still a substantial jump from the Xbox to the Xbox 360. The audio is clearly the superstar in this game. With a nice surround sound setup, you are immersed into the game. There is substantial LFE content, and little details like insects in the jungle or the rustling of leaves create a sonic soundstage that is on par with the best of Hollywood films. The orchestral score is also superb, capturing all the mystery and epic nature of the story. Surprisingly, it's an entirely original score – but it's so good, that I wouldn't be surprised if it held its own against James Newton Howard's score for the theatrical release.

SIDEBAR: In retrospect, the original King Kong movie from 1933 was clearly ahead of its time.

Ballistics Report

Page:: ( 5 / 6 )

Pros

It's Fun. If that's not the principle reason for playing a game, there's no point in spending time with the game. King Kong: The Game brings the fun of a first person shooter and melds it with an action-adventure title along the lines of Ico. The gameplay dynamic works very well, and it's a game that keeps your adrenaline flowing.

Great graphics. While you'll still find low-resolution textures being used and wooden character animation, the graphics are good enough to bring you into the world of Skull Island. Unlike most of the Xbox 360 games where the graphics are a pleasant bonus to games that would be just as fun on a PS2 or Xbox, King Kong uses the Xbox 360's graphics capabilities to improve the actual gaming experience.

Reference quality sound. This is a game that showcases surround sound gaming. The music is composed specifically for the game, but sounds just as good as anything you've come to expect from a Peter Jackson production.


Superlative pacing. The game has a smooth and very progressive learning curve. You're always challenged but never frustrated. The game should take you a good 7-8 hours to go through, and virtually all 7-8 hours are entertaining. There's a part of every reviewer who wishes the game were longer, but a longer game would only dilute the experience. You could probably increase the length by dedicated more time for exploration but that would take away the survival and task-based rhythm of the gme.

Great storyline. Come on, it's based upon a movie from 1933 – back when every movie was a new production.

Cons

Limited replay value. While it's possible to try playing the game over and taking a different approach to dealing with the various predators on the island, the game is still designed as a carefully weaved linear game. The surprises aren't the same the second time around.



SIDEBAR: King Kong: The Game has actually made me more enthusiastic about seeing the theatrical release. Maybe that was their goal.

Final Verdict

Page:: ( 6 / 6 )

FiringSquad says:

The biggest hurdle to this game is that it really needs a killer system to capture the full effect. If you're playing the PC version, you'll need incredibly fast hardware in order to experience the Gamer's Edition. Likewise, the game demands 5.1 surround. In that sense, the Xbox 360 can be considered the definitive version (provided that it's not too dark on your HDTV). Even then, you'll want a big screen HDTV and a beefy surround sound setup. The core gameplay is just as good with the other editions, but the level of suspense and the immersion will be less when the lighting models don't allow predators to hide in the shadows or when the sound isn't coming from all directions. King Kong is a game where the improved graphics really add to the gaming experience.

In terms of value, King Kong seems to be at a disadvantage. Compared to a sports game or a game with online multiplayer which offers limitless replayability, King Kong is so good because it's so linear. It's like a carefully crafted movie that lasts for 8 hours and is rarely dull. If you ask me, I'd rather have 8 hours of non-stop fun rather than 18 hours of mediocre gameplay. Xbox 360 owners looking for a fun game this Holiday season should look no further.


Update: I just saw the theatrical release of King Kong and it’s only made me appreciate the game even more. If you’ve watched the movie, you’ll still be surprised events that happen in the game. If you played the game, you’ll still be surprised by events that happen in the movie. They complement each other even though they tell completely different, and occasionally contradictory stories. The theatrical release tells a more emotional story, whereas the game has a story that motivates you to play. Without spoiling too much for you, the movie captures the story of Skull Island as a daring rescue mission. The game tells the story of Skull Island as a story of survival and the human spirit. Ironically, some of the environments in the game are superior to the environments from the movie, and musically, the game is absolutely stunning. Although the theatrical release has an excellent soundtrack, the game is just as good. Maybe in the end, Ubisoft and Peter Jackson have truly accomplished what they set out to do. They’ve created an experience where each enhances the other. Playing the game made my experience of watching the movie richer, and I think watching the movie first would make playing the game a better experience as well.

[image]