Retro Review: Peter Jackson's King Kong

First played: 2005 on PS2

Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie may have a ridiculously long title but despite the long standing pattern of lazy game tie-ins, this one stands out as an often overlooked gem which goes beyond simply accompanying the film.

Peter Jackson’s King Kong is based on the same plot as the titular film which takes place across the game’s lone single player mode; Carl Denham, a daring but arrogant filmmaker, along with script writer Jack Driscoll and leading actress Ann Darrow journey with the crew of the Venture to Skull Island, a lost settlement teaming with hostile natives and deadly wildlife. When Ann is taken into the dense jungle by the giant ape, the crew gives chase in a bid to rescue her, and so begins a 6 or 7 hour adventure where you play as both Jack in first person survival and King Kong himself in a third person brawler. From the offset, King Kong sets itself apart from the film by mixing up the gameplay with plenty of what if scenarios. As Jack, you’ll take on the biggest, loudest and downright creepiest creatures you’ve ever seen from a first person viewpoint from enlarged spiders to the mighty V-Rex, which all have different attack patterns to exploit. Because they are all predatory creatures you can also trick them into attacking each other or going after a piece of bait. The game features traditional firearms, but when ammo is often scarce, you’ll often rely on spears and wits to come out alive. You’ll also be solving light puzzles such as finding a lever to open a door, or fire to burn away a bush which provide a nice reprieve from shooting up monsters. Playing as King Kong presents a huge sense of empowerment; no matter which creature you’re fighting or vine you’re swinging from, you feel the awesome power and weight behind the beast. In combat Kong has a wide variety of moves akin to wrestling games; Kong can smash, grab and throw objects and even finish off the larger opponents in the most brutal way possible. Though the Kong sections on Skull Island are plentiful, the final levels in New York City are disappointingly brief, not to mention that Jack Driscoll completely disappears for the game’s final moments. After the campaign is complete, you can go back and play the chapters again to rack up a high score and unlock extras; you gain points for killing creature and lose points for injuries and wasting ammo. It’s a novelty at first but without any other additional modes, it won’t last players very long.

The game is incredibly immersive for its time; there’s no heads-up-display telling you how much health and ammo you have left, instead you need only press a button and Jack will inform you of his ammo count. Health regenerates automatically and when you are hit, the screen will turn blood red and adrenaline will start running through Jack’s breath. This immersion extends into the story; despite some occasionally awkward dialogue, the voice actors (who all reprise their roles from the film) do a great job of selling the peril that surrounds the characters from beginning to end. The wide variety of environments, including cliff sides, valleys and swamps are all rendered quite well by PlayStation 2 standards, but it’s the sound that really impresses. When a creature roars or slithers in the background, you’ll definitely want to escape the often scary animals that cross your path. With all this in mind, the game leaps beyond a simple shooter and becomes something of a horror game; despite the 12+ rating, there are moments in the game which will send shivers down your spine which brilliantly captures the spirit of the Peter Jackson film.

It’s a short game with little replay value, but King Kong can still stand up today as a great example of how developers can take the source material from a film and get a solid game out of it. The immersion and atmosphere that surrounds every aspect of the title also allows it to sit alongside some of the best film-tie-ins put out over the years.

My recommendation: If you were a fan of the film like I was back then, it’s still worth a play-through on any older platforms it came out on (except for the DS). But because of its short length you really shouldn’t pay more than a fiver for it.

Rating: 7/10