By Charles Westmoreland
Platform: Playstation 2, XBox
Developer: Ubisoft
Release date: 11/22/05
Some monkeys fling poo – this one hurls trees. What’s better than bashing in the skull of a T-Rex Al Capone-style? Bashing in the skulls of two T-Rexes, of course.
Based on the soon-to-be Peter Jackson box office smash, “King Kong” sets players loose to navigate the jungles of Skull Island as both man and beast in an attempt to save a sexy blonde from angry natives and prehistoric dinosaurs. The game begins in medias res when adventurer Jack Driscoll is captured on Skull Island and used as a sacrificial lamb to appease the mighty Kong. As Jack, you spend most of your time running like hell while gargantuan predators hunt you down for their next meal.
The highlight of the game is when you’re playing as Kong. Controlling Kong generates a feeling a power at your fingertips as you hurl raptors, headlock a T-Rex, and swing off a vine to perform a body splash. After playing long enough you get the urge to pound your chest and make monkey sounds. Very rarely do movie-based video games turn out as well as Kong.
As with the “Lord of the Rings” games, Jackson also had his hand in the development of the “King Kong” game. While shooting the movie, Jackson sent footage to the developing studio to ensure the game followed the movie’s storyline and appeal, and the studio added some extras Jackson couldn’t fit into his film.
