A short experience with limited challenge, King Kong still offers a satisfying adventure.
Automatic weapons are limited, a shotgun, sniper rifle and a Tommy machine gun (as used in that time period), are all at your disposal in the form of small crates found throughout the levels. As Peter Jackson wanted it for a more realistic feel, there is no on screen HUD to begin with so you have no sight of ammo, or health. But instead Jack will utter the number of ammo he has left. You can also pick up spears as throwing projectiles that are laying around bones and other left over parts of the environment, which can be very helpful in sticky situations if you‘re without a gun. These weapons are fairly easy to used with seemingly a semi-auto aim function, which does make up for the lack of a aiming reticule.
The storyline really kicks off when you’re with Ann and then ambushed by the local tribes people that inhabit the island. You end up knocked out, kidnapped and tied up witnessing Ann being taken away by the gigantic Kong who appears from the thick jungle. Of course Ann being Jacks love interest as the film suggests, he will do anything to find her. So Carl stumbles upon Jack at that point, unties him and their search Ann begins. This Jingle is not a safe place to be, the creatures here are no joke. You’ll more then likely encounter a good variety of weird looking monsters. Giant bats and millipedes, are one of the frequent monsters you’ll face in the early sections of the jungle.
The puzzles in the game are pretty simplistic, repetitive, and offers no challenge or anything new to the table. Most of the time, you’re searching for wooden levers to open doors or finding fire for burning down shrubbery to get pass certain areas. One of the bright spots of King Kong is, actually getting to play as Kong. About more than half way through, you’ll transition from Jack to Kong in third person plat forming and/or chase sequences. It’s rather easy to traverse the linear jungle as Kong moves swiftly and strongly. As big as Kong is, he will ultimately have larger enemies to deal with, like in the film, he will take on V and T-Rexes as well as giant bats. The fighting controls feel natural, but can be a bit to button mashy at times. Still, it doesn’t try to push the limits of what you can do with Kong.
Graphically, theirs nothing special here, though the environments are solid, and accurate to it’s movie counterpart. The character and creature models have decent textures to them, Kong himself especially looks detailed. I did experience brief slow down on some occasions, but it doesn’t ruin the overall playability. The ambient sounds of skull island does have a sometimes eerie yet, immersive tone. It’s makes you aware of the many critters and monsters surrounding you. The intense musical score brings urgency to the situation, as you fight, shoot your way through all the areas, it’s certainly what the film and game did well.
After jungle hopping, the last stop of your journey ends in New York City after Kong is captured and put on display in a Broadway auditorium. Once you break out you must find your way up the empire state building holding Ann and from there on you battle a gang of biplanes. If you’ve seen the film, then you’ll know what happens next. This short sequence was disappointing as it ends rather abruptly without further gameplay like the chasing of Jack’s car through the New York streets. Ubisoft certain could’ve done a better job with that. All 1000 achievement points can be unlocked quite easily, just by completing the game, it’s that simple. Overall with everything accounted for Peter Jackson’s King Kong: Official Game of the Movie serves as a satisfying movie adaptation certainly compared to how most movie based games are these days. With that in mind, King Kong is at least worth a rental.