Peter Jackson's King Kong (Xbox 360, 2005)

Most 'Official Games of the Movie' aren't very good. (I'm sure you can think of more than a few.) But this game is the exception to that rule. I was genuinely not expecting to find a fun, varied, and visually interesting game to be tied to a movie licensee. But what really makes this game, is it's low price and easy Gamer Points.

The graphics will not blow you away. In comparison to other Xbox 360 launch titles, this game is average. It doesn't look fantastically next generation, but its good at what it does. Maybe the developers haven't gotten used to making games for the Xbox 360 yet. Keep in mind that it does get very dark often, and if you own a standard TV, you may have trouble seeing the action in a few places. The game works best with HDTV.

As the other reviewer mentioned, you control either Jack (the character from the movie) or Kong (the huge ape from the movie [you can't miss him, he's on the cover of the game]). When playing as Jack, the game is a first person shooter. As Kong, you have 3rd person view as you run, smash and swing across the island. This gives the game some variety and change so it doesn't get dull or repetitive.

There is no sight, ammo or health bars... really, nothing is cluttering up your screen. It gives the game a very cinematic feel. Don't worry about aiming your gun. If you look in the general direction of whatever is attacking you, the game aims for you. Not a bad thing in my opinion, but I know that could frustrate some people who want more control. There are no life bars, and if you get hurt enough, the screen will pulse red and the action will slow down. If you give your character a breather, your heath will return and the screen will return to normal. I think this is the same as in Call of Duty 2. It's nice not to have to look for health packs all the time, and it keeps the player in that "I'm playing the movie" mindset.

Finally, there are two main reasons why I think this game is a best buy. Right now, the game is inexpensive. It may even be a better option than renting it. And for your money, you get something else that seals the deal. Gamer Points! Just for playing the game from start to finish (not very long) you will be rewarded with 1,000 Gamer Points that show next to your Xbox Live name. This was huge for me! Most games have you jump through impossible hoops for it's points. To find a game like this where the points are handed out so freely, it's a diamond in a stack of coal.

Nice coal mind you. The game is not bad at all! It's not long, but you won't feel cheated when it's over. The graphics look good and the gameplay is tight and interesting. If you're on a budget (or played everything else already), King Kong will hold your attention long enough to earn you 1,000 easy Gamer Points to pad your Xbox Live profile.

The graphics in this game are awesome. Light and fire effects look motion captured, and the Kong "rage" sequences are crisp and sharp. There is no HUD as in other first person shooters, giving King Kong a more retro, less futuristic feel. In other words, you feel as if you are in the jungle with only a spear and a pistol to survive.

The storyline follows the movie vaguely, but does a good job of steering away from any spoilers. However, the game stays more to the jungle element than the city aspect. Anyone who has seen the movie will notice that only 4 levels out of 30+ have to do with the New York City sequence, which in most people's opinion, was the best and longer parts of he movie.

Regardless, the various "throw a burning spear here to light the grass" maneuvers are very repetitive and almost make this one a renter. Gameplay wise, the action is fast paced, but doing the same thing over and over and over definitely kills any likelihood of replay value.

I give this a 4 out of 5 on graphics and "Kong" only. Peter Jackson brought some new elements to gameplay that we can enjoy, but storywise, he should stick to movies.

This was the first game played on my 360. I rented it and was able to get through the whole game in a week. It was fun, relatively easy and entertaining. I always feal like the games are too short once I finish them. For the price you would think there would be more levels or options. Other then the somewhat long and boring movie skits, this was definitely a good game!

I was a little disapointed on the graphics. through the story you constantly look for weapons or ammo. You usely use bones or spears to try and kill what you half to kill. King Kong was a little hard to control when he was fighting the T-rex because there are a lot of buttons to use to wear him down and kill him/them. There are a lot of places to go and a lot of things to do before you get him to New York . This makes the game worth playing. like most games they put you through a lot of different scenarios. This game is no different. Thats what I like about this game, the scenery, killing things with out lots of big guns, (witch I like) and the journey you take. Overall I give it 7.5 out of 10 Rating.

its ok to get easy acheveiment points

Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is a first person shooter action adventure game based on the 2005 film King Kong. It is a collaboration between the film's director Peter Jackson and famed videogame designer Michel Ancel (Rayman, Beyond Good & Evil), remarkable in that such true cross-medium creative partnerships are rare in the realm of game development. It was released on sixth generation platforms on November 17, 2005, as well as a mobile version also released in Winter 2005, developed by Gameloft[1]. In the United States, the Game Boy Advance version is titled Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World. All film cast members reprise their roles.