King Kong
Kong rocks the 360!
Tags: King Kong Categories: Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by David Hinkle on Dec 29th, 2005
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| King Kong (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
Being one of the most anticipated and heavily advertised movies of the year, Peter Jackson’s King Kong has assaulted every gaming platform, including the most recent console on the market, the Xbox 360. The good thing is that unlike just about every single game that is based on a movie, this game is actually good, but on the Xbox 360 it’s better than good, going so far as to be great, and only suffers from being a bit short. What short amount of time you’ll play the game, however, is fantastic.
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Carl Denham (voiced by Jack Black), soon-to-be-out-of-work director, has come upon a map to the mysterious, uncharted Skull Island. In searching for an undiscovered leading lady, he comes upon Ann Darrow (voiced by Naomi Watts) and convinces her and his screenwriter Jack (voiced by Adrien Brody and whom the player will be using during the majority of the game) to come along for the film opportunity of a lifetime. From arrival, it’s evident that things aren’t relatively normal on this island.
It might be the dinosaurs and viciously-evolved insects that permeate this land that time forgot. Maybe it’s the indigenous tribal people that knock out Jack and abduct Ann to sacrifice to their tribal god. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the 30 foot tall gorilla with which they label ‘Kong.’ Regardless of just what each equally odd characteristic of this island is, it certainly isn’t Kansas. During the game you’ll be able to play as both Jack and Kong with every second of the game being fun and challenging.
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During the times you’ll control Jack, the game is a very competent FPS. You’ll tote several different types of firearms such as a Tommy gun and a sniper rifle, also able to procure and utilize the many animal carcasses and spears left behind by the indigenous people of the island as makeshift melee weapons. Ripping apart a dead animal’s ribcage to use as a spear is always the best bet when all ammo is out as Jack’s bare hands really aren’t much match for anything on the island. You can also use the spears and bones to knock down torches to cause brush fires in order to flush out enemies or to just burn them alive. Utilizing fire not only makes your spears stronger, but it’s an excellent defensive tool that is integrated into the game perfectly.
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During the segments where you control Kong, the game shifts into a third-person action game with some light platforming. The light platforming mostly deals with Kong’s escapades of swinging about the jungle during one of the game’s chase scenes and later when he arrives in New York. For the most part, as Kong, you’ll be bashing raptors with your bare hands or a freshly-ripped tree trunk. You’ll also encounter a fight or two with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is just about as much fun you could have as a 30-foot-tall gorilla. The segments where you are Kong are about as much fun, if not more, than the segments where you control Jack, so it’s a bit of a shame that there just isn’t more of them in the game.
Honestly, it’s a shame that there isn’t more playtime period, as once you feel like you’re getting into the meat of the title, you’re in New York and the game is approaching its conclusion. For how great the controls, action, and presentation all are, the game just suffers because it’s one of the shortest titles to grace the Xbox 360. This hurts even more when, upon conclusion, you realize there isn’t anything else left to do in the game.
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The graphics and voice work in Peter Jackson’s King Kong are both just utterly amazing. The Xbox 360’s hardware really maps the environments excellently and the standard HD in 720p make everything look that much better. The game’s character models, along with that of Kong and the dinosaurs along with the indigenous people is just top-notch and really shows the high production value that went into making this game. The subtle look of Kong’s fur moving when he swings about the trees or the calm march of the brontosaurus is just perfect. The T-Rex’s opened mouth as it hungrily snaps for Ann looks absolutely wonderful. Compounded with the excellent architecture and attention paid to detail on the island itself, you get one of the best looking titles to date.
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The voice work quality is helped by some of Hollywood’s top A list celebrities in Jack Black, Naomi Watts, and Adrien Brody. Jack Black plays the obsessed Carl perfectly, really showcasing his desire for the ultimate flick and little concern for anything else. Naomi Watts conveys a lot of emotion in her dialogue, playing the caring love-interest to Jack and she manages to reenact Ann’s scream from the original film almost perfectly. Adrien Brody provides a very subtle performance, understating his emotions and letting the actions of Jack really speak for the character.
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Peter Jackson’s King Kong on the Xbox 360 is one epic game that provides excellent FPS combat when you play as Jack with some visceral action as you control Kong in third-person. Although the game is fairly short, the duration is fun and fulfilling throughout. The ending leaves a bit to be desired as you are left to play out the game’s ending while having no impact on the outcome. Still, this is hands-down one of the strongest titles in the Xbox 360’s launch lineup.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Great gameplay + Beautiful visuals in 720p + Controls are excellent as Jack and Kong |
9.4 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - A bit short | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| The Xbox 360 version blows away the rest. | |
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Tags: King Kong
Posted by David Hinkle on Dec 29th, 2005 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
