Peter Jackson´s King Kong Review

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Peter Jackson’s King Kong

Review by Old RoosterDecember 2005

“Mike, I’d Like You to Make a Game of My Film” —Pete

Peter Jackson is fast becoming a legendary film developer. Michel Ancel is moving in the same league with game design—see Rayman and Beyond Good and Evil. Rumor has it that Mr. Jackson directly requested of Mr. Ancel a quality video game be made of his upcoming film—King Kong. The quote above is, of course, my own rendition of their opening line.

We’re happy to report that Mr. Ancel not only accepted but has triumphed with his production of one of the very best video game tie-ins or adaptations of a film ever created. We’ve grown cynical with the great majority of film-game translations. The deteriorating quality of the Harry Potter licensed games and the disappointing Batman Begins come to mind. Here, however, we have altogether a different creation. The genius of Ancel coupled with the encouragement and storytelling of Jackson plus voice-overs from his major film stars has culminated in a thrilling action/adventure experience.

I’d played a good part of the game before going to the film the other day, finishing it just a while ago. The two (film and game) complement each other extremely well. Although the Kong saga is well-known, with the game being released before the film, it helps a good deal to have seen the film before playing the game. Certainly, you appreciate Ancel’s work more if you proceed in that order. Further, there are some creatures and environments exclusive to the game, placed there to “enliven” the experience. You may find, though, that the additional nasty things do more to “endeaden” it!

“Jack, I’m Gonna Need Your Help with This” —Carl

King Kong plays in two basic formats—first-person action as Jack Driscoll (voiced by Adrian Brody) and third-person fighting as Kong (voiced by Percy Kong). You’ll spend about 75% of your efforts playing Jack, 25% as Kong, with the experiences being radically different.

After a brief introduction, which makes more sense after having seen the film, you’re literally plunged into the waters just off Skull Island. Finding your way to shore with your team, you’ll explore, open doors, pick up sticks, engage in various nonthreatening actions that introduce you to the controls and your companions. Primary among these compatriots are Ann Darrow (voiced by the lovely Naomi Watts), Hayes (the first mate), Jimmy (too young to be there), and the prat, Carl Denham (voiced by Jack Black). The interaction and dialogue among the primary characters is well-written and entertaining.  Further, the party will act together, sometimes dragging you along or suggesting a direction or activity. “C’mon, we have to make it to that cliff,” exclaims Hayes at one point, showing you the path to take. Artificial intelligence seems well-done, with bug/monster-shooting from your buddies acting as a real supplement to what you’re supposed to be doing. Of course, they can’t die, but you can, and do!

As Jack, the mild-mannered screenwriter turned hero, you play from a first-person perspective, initially a bit disorienting. There is no heads-up display, or inventory, or other onscreen information.  You can pick up one item at a time, check your reserve of bullets, and call for NPC help. That’s about it. The initial stage, pre–bug attack, acts as kind of a tutorial. You’ll discover there are tools and weapons, some of them brought from the ship (pistol, shotgun), some indigenous to the island (spears, levers). The screen will display which is held by you at any given time.

Control, for a console action game, is quite smooth. Aiming takes a bit of getting used to, but it isn’t as hard as I thought it might be, being one used to the efficient mouse/keyboard combination for first-person action titles.

“Hang on, Jack, We’ll Get out of This” —Ann

One of my only criticisms of the terrific film was with the amount of time spent fighting off crabs, dragonflies, giant leeches, megapedes and other nightmarish bugs. Well, you encounter them early and often in the game, and you’d best be ready! Fortunately, although you may and will expire in your first trials, the save game points are generous, affording minimal backtracking when you do have to restart.

This is a good time to talk about the wonderful pacing and degree of tension King Kong offers. Reminding me at times of the classic Alien vs. Predator game series, you’ll have only a bit of a lull, or problem to be solved, when, suddenly, the jungle explodes with monsters big and small. Much as in the film, machine guns don’t work really well on dragonflies, and such a weapon may not be near at hand, so you’ll learn to use stakes and spears, sometimes fire. Make sure you’ve taken your cardiac medication!

“Follow That Ape” —Jack

Of course, you all know from the legend that Kong takes our Ann on a wild journey through the jungle and cliffs of the island, encountering more than leeches along his way. As you switch, on and off, to playing Kong, you’ll move to a third-person perspective, which allows you to clearly view the death and destruction you bring to the story—in the hugest of fashions! Your enemies now become the mobile, vicious venatosaurs and almost invincible V-Rex. Only Kong can deal with these guys, and he has a range of choices.

Moving the controller to Kong, we find the options to gently drop Ann to the ground, out of the way, and dodge, swing, grab and throw an enemy, bite, and hit with a jaw-breaking finish! There’s no subtlety with Kong—no exploring, wondering what weapon to use. He is the weapon. My wife found mild-mannered me grunting and growling along with Kong as I worked to dispatch a V-Rex. Goodness, the animalistic violence this can bring out in a person! Some of you, I’m sure, will avoid the game for that reason, hoping to keep your inner ape shackled up.

The graphics, settings, voice acting, music, sound effects are all superb. I can find no fault with any of these technical aspects, with the game looking almost as good as any on the Cube (Resident Evil 4 is number one, in that regard). I’m sure the XBox 360 displays an almost photorealistic rendition of King Kong, and that’s nice, but I’m more than satisfied with this iteration, particularly on my 43-inch TV with 16:9 ratio enabled.

“Kong Takes Broadway” —N.Y. Times Headline

You remember, I trust, without my giving any secrets away, that Kong is ultimately captured and put on display, at least for a short while. All this before he runs away with Ann to the Jersey shore (just kidding). This sequence of events and play is quite short-lived (literally) and a bit disappointing. I had expected more of a Godzilla, destructomaniac approach, and I felt a bit let down. The film is far superior in the New York City portion. Relatedly, the game, like this review, ends quickly. I spent about seven hours in actual play time, perhaps half of what I had expected. Let’s sum up.

“It was beauty who killed the beast,” exclaims Carl at the end of the film. Although primarily an action title, King Kong successfully captures this spirit of emotion and involvement.  We care about the humans, especially Jack and Ann, but we also care about Kong.

Moving to the highest rank of film-game complements (it’s more than a “spin-off”), King Kong comes highly recommended.  It’s best to see the film first, but the game also stands alone in its own right as a fantastic experience. It’s gorgeous, wonderfully scripted and acted, extremely tense and involving. What keeps it, primarily, from a Gold Star award is the length, and perhaps the degree of linearity—as in “don’t wander, only go this way.” Yet as a rental or reduced-price purchase, I would enthusiastically urge you to experience King Kong the game. Just be prepared, for as the first mate Hayes would say: “Had enough excitement for one day?” Kong is great fun but not a calm game by any stretch!

What I Liked Most About the Game

  • Well-integrated complement to the film;
  • Peter Jackson clearly involved; great script;
  • Professional voice actors really make a difference;
  • Graphics and settings beautifully done;
  • Playing as Jack controls smoothly;
  • A quality, first-rate production.

What Disappointed Me a Bit

  • Length—seven hours went by very fast;
  • Linearity—I’d like to explore the island more;
  • N.Y.C.—It would be fun to throw more cars. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft Release Date: November 21, 2005

Available for: Game CubeWindowsXbox  PlayStation 2Xbox 360PlayStation Portlable

Four Fat Chicks Links

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Screenshots

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System Requirements

Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP (only) 1.0 GHz (2.5 GHz recommended) 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended) 64 MB DirectX 8.1 compliant video card (128 MB recommended) DirectX 8.1 compliant sound card DirectX 8.1 (DirectX 9.0c included on disk) 8x or faster CD-ROM drive (32x or faster recommended) 1.5 GB free hard disk space

Where to Find It

Links provided for informational purposes only.  FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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17 Responses to First Impressions: Heavy Rain

  • Toger

    I hate QTEs, but Heavy Rain is sitting in my Amazon cart waiting for me to push the button. I don’t even own a PS3, but I plan on buying the game anyway. I do have a good friend who’ll let me play at his house. Of course, I’ll have to drive 100 miles, one way, through the snow to get to his house. His chat-happy birds will cheerfully chirp thereby completely disrupting any atmosphere, but I can play.

  • David

    What!?  Heavy Rain is full of QTEs?  I totally did not see that coming.

    The whole dad experience thing sounds intriguing.  I’m already getting odd looks from my girlfriend for exclaiming over cute kids on the bus or at the mall, something like what you described might send my biological clock over the edge.

  • Lewis B

    My sentiments exactly David!

    Mat has been playing the Heavy Rain demo for a while now, and although he admits he is intrigued by the story, he does constantly complain about the control method.

    R2 + Analogue stick to run? *scoff*

  • Gregg B

    @Lew: DEMO?! PS3 DEMO?! *runs off to PS3*

    That sounds like the Batman: Arkham Asylum controls – Crazy Bonkers Design. The sort of design that puts pull handles on push doors.

    @Steerpike: “I despise children. They are disgusting and annoying. They knock things over. They interfere with everything. They’re not useful until they’re at least 13, when you can get them to mow the lawn and stuff. But you can pay a service to do that for just a few hundred bucks a year and the service won’t vomit on you, shit in its diapers, grow up to resent you, or otherwise suck. Don’t flame me and don’t post comments to the contrary: kids are repulsive. Why anyone would want them is beyond my feeble imaginings.”

    HAHAhahaha- I er, – hahahaha – you’re as outspoken as me about demon spawn children.

  • Lewis B

    Yeah its been on the internet for weeks and weeks Greggi.  I think you have to do a couple of online puzzles etc to get the appropriate code or something.

    Search on Kotaku, they first ran with it IIRC.

  • Mat

    The puzzle code was for early access before it hit the PSN Store. It’s been available to all since last week.

    Regarding the demo, it took me around 3 or 4 attempts at it to appreciate it. First time around I couldn’t have been more dissapointed by it, but after the 3rd or 4th I decided I wanted to stick with it. I don’t think the demo is a particularly great example of what the game supposedly does best either – choice. I also HATE the control scheme and some of the voice acting is so wooden. Creating an immersive, realistic game is fine but having characters stumbling into tables and fridges because of the ham fisted controls, and listening to French voice actors impersonate Americans does remove that realism a little!

    Still, I rushed out to buy it this morning and will rush home from work to play it in about an hour!

  • xtal

    @ Toger: I don’t own a PS3 either, and it’s not like Heavy Rain seems to be “that” game which makes you run out and buy one– like Bioshock made me run out and get a 360– and it’s also not like this game looks groundbreaking in any way, because it really doesn’t. It’s just got me curious…and people tend to do crazy things the week after they get their yearly bonus. Soooooo yeah, who knows; maybe I’ll own a PS3 soon, but like hell I would admit that it was for Heavy Rain. Psh. I’d tell people it was because I wanted to watch BSG on blu-ray; though anyone who knows me would see right through that lie since I am an avid non-format-upgrader: I’ll switch my BSG collection from DVD to blu-ray the day I upgrade my copy of Jurassic Park from VHS to DVD. (Hint: never)

  • Toger

    @xtal: I’m in no hurry to upgrade my meagre DVD collection to blu-ray either, but I have to say the movies I’ve watched on my friend’s PS3 are absolutely stunning. Blade Runner was simply breath-taking in blu-ray and it made me want a PS3. I don’t think Heavy Rain will be a system seller for me, but I’m betting the game from the Ico team will.

  • xtal

    A game from the Ico team, you say? Hmmm. I’ve been making rounds on Kijiji and Craigslist looking for a copy of Ico (eBay prices are so shudder-inducing) for a few days now. I really need to play that game after my experience with the indescribable Shadow of the Colossus.

    It’s good to know they haven’t died some Interplay-esque death in the meantime.

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Nope, they’re a small team that works within Sony. Fumito Ueda is the lead and he’s got like ten or so people who’ve worked with him on all his games. Sony pretty much lets them do what they want.

    The Last Guardian is the game that’s coming up from them. It looks more like Ico and less like Shadow of the Colossus to me, which is to say it appears to be focused on platform elements. If I didn’t already have a PS3, it’d be the game that sells it.

  • Gregg B

    @Toger: Ooh, Blade Runner on Blu-ray, gorgeous in all its gorgeosity. In 5.1 it sounds incredible too.

    I bought my PS3 for Team Ico’s unnamed-at-the-time game, Heavy Rain (back when it was just a teaser), LittleBig Planet (yes, yes, I know), Dead Space and Motor Storm: Pacific Rift which sort of pushed me off the fence.

  • Toger

    Gregg, oh yes. The surround sound was spectacular. Did I mention my friend’s HDTV is 72″ (obscene, isn’t it)? It’s like being at a high-class theatre: better food, pauses for bathroom breaks and no one talking through the movie.

    Is Trine up on PSN, yet? If so, that might be my tipping point: Last Guardian, Heavy Rain and Trine.

  • Gregg B

    *spits tea out, despite not drinking any*

    O_O

    72″?! I’m speechless. I can only imagine how awesome that is. Size does matter.

    Not so sure about Trine… hang on. I think it is.

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    I think it is too, Toger. I’ll check.

    To be honest, though, I doubt you’d be disappointed with the purchase even if Trine’s not there yet. I’ve been way happier with my PS3 than with my 360. Demon’s Souls, Valkyria Chronicles, Uncharted, Folklore, even little games like Flower – I’ve had more concentrated fun with the PS3 than with Microsoft’s console, which tends to gather dust for months between game releases.

    72″???? I thought size didn’t matter!

  • Toger

    Size doesn’t matter. 😀

    In my friend’s defense, it was a great deal: opened box, itty-bitty scratch on the case, not a dead pixel to be seen and it was less $$ than the 60″ he originally wanted.

    Thanks for checking guys. I’ve played a tiny bit of Uncharted, but I’m horrible at the combat. Flower intrigues me. As does Demon’s Souls, but I know that game will crush my soul.

  • Gregg B

    There were certain moments in Flower where it just totally succeeded in conveying a feeling that I can’t say I’ve had in many other games, usually when rushing across a field through the grass or through a canyon or just skimming a pond, but it was never anything to do with collecting bloody petals or fulfilling some rudimentary puzzle. I think my problem with it was that it felt like it was trying to be this deeply emotional piece but in the end there seemed to be too many concessions to being a game rather than just running with the emotive side of the experience. One thing I am sure about though, is the trophies. Don’t get me started on the fucking trophies…

    One of my favourite little games on the PS3 is Everyday Shooter. It’s got a brilliant soundtrack that suits its raw visual style and I love how each level requires a certain tactic or strategy to survive it. It’s a very satisfying game in small bursts.

  • Hanover

    Unfortunately Cage mucked up the ending yet again.  The problem is that the mechanic of the game forced them to have to cheat in order to prevent spoiling the mystery of the game.

    There is also a red herring that makes no sense and is obviously put there to misdirect the player.

    90% of the game is awesome, the last 10% while not as bad as the indigo prophecy, is still sloppy.

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