Just in time for the theatrical release of King Kong comes a game well suited for play while you're standing in line waiting to get in on opening night. Just like its console and PC counterparts, the mobile version of King Kong lets you play as the gigantic ape himself as well as Adrian Brody's resourceful but significantly smaller and very much wimpier character. This side-scrolling action adventure game is designed in the vein of various 16-bit classics as well as numerous other past games from publisher Gameloft, which once again delivers an impressive-looking and well-designed little gaming experience with King Kong.
You'd figure it wouldn't be particularly fair to compare the mobile version of King Kong against the bigger, flashier 3D versions on consoles and PC, but there's at least one aspect of this game that's better than the others. Namely, you spend most of your time here playing as Kong rather than as Jack, and let's all agree it's preferable to lumber around as a giant ape, snapping dinosaur jaws and stuff, rather than tiptoeing around as some good-for-nothing screenwriter-type with a blowgun. Despite the differences in the characters' statures and personalities, controls nevertheless are similar for both. You can run and jump either to the left or right, and you'll automatically grab ledges and climb up wherever needed. Kong can swing on stuff and grab on vines (or New York City buildings!), while Jack can push blocks to open new passageways. Jack's sequences are a little more puzzle-oriented than Kong's, while the ape gets to spend a good amount of time pounding dinosaurs into mulch.
While there's some quality action to be found in this game, the nine levels blow by quickly, maybe in an hour. That's the game's biggest weakness, since it doesn't take its time to really flesh out the potential made possible by its solid controls and design. Instead, the levels often feel like little demos for what should be much longer and probably more challenging levels (though at least there are bits of story thrown in between to create some continuity). There's also not much variety to the enemies you'll face, and while the combat sequences as Kong definitely look satisfying, there's not much to them other than hitting the 5 key over and over to punch dinosaurs in the face. Not that there's anything wrong with punching dinosaurs in the face.
King Kong's visuals are one of its best points, since the two main characters animate smoothly and impressively, at least on our test Sony Ericsson S710a handset. Jack looks like a regular little dude, and watching him run around in jungle settings brings back memories of the side-scrolling classic Flashback. Kong looks particularly striking, though, and fills a good-sized portion of the screen despite being surprisingly maneuverable, even graceful. He's got somewhat of a stylized, almost comic-book look to him, with his exaggerated snarl and dynamic moves. Watching him clamber around and punch stuff is definitely a big part of the fun. As for the game's audio, there isn't a whole lot to it other than a synthesized title track and some subdued little sound effects here and there. It's probably unreasonable to expect this game to mimic some of the fantastic ambient sounds of the console and PC versions, but more in the way of audio, especially coming from those strangely quiet dinosaurs Kong so loves to thrash, would have been nice. At least Kong's got a pretty decent roar.
You'll likely be satisfied with what you play of the mobile version of King Kong, since this is a well-presented action game that throws a good amount of variety at you, especially with its two playable characters. However, since you'll be finished with the game in less time than it would take you to sit through the feature film, and since there's little obvious reason to revisit the relatively easy levels, there's not much lasting value to this experience. But it's still worth checking out for fans of the movie or really for anyone looking for a solid but brief action game for their handset.
