Assuming you are not attempting certain sequences ad nauseum, the pace of King Kong is non-stop with the core gameplay lasting between five to ten hours depending on your skill. After that, there is no multi-player and no reason to replay episodes and try different strategies. As the game progresses, though, extra content was unlocked like design galleries from the movie. After the first time you beat the game a point system is added that allows further bonuses to be unlocked, including a gameplay episode with an alternate, PETA-friendly ending.
Oddly, the many of the extras are more linked to the King Kong movie than the game is. It is called “Game of the Movie,” and not “Game Based on the Movie,” but the latter is strangely accurate. For all that is made of Peter Jackson and Weta’s cooperation and support, the developers seem to only have had a list of characters and a vague outline to work with.
There are scenes of Kong fighting three V-Rexes, but they’re nothing like what happened in the film. There is a herd of brontosauruses but they’re not encountered as they were on the big screen. You fight bugs through the game, but not after falling off the log. When Kong goes to New York, it is odd that his experiences are completely different from and not exciting as those in its source material. Because there is no apparent reason for the differences, it seems a sad waste.
While the script may not have been relied upon, Ubisoft has done a competent job of translating to the small screen the visuals and audio Weta created, although there are some dissapointments. Kong’s roar rumbles with bass and all the ambient sounds are all effective and convincing, as are those attached to the creatures you attract.
Sadly, the voicework, especially that of Jack Black, leaves much to be desired. I cannot understand Black receiving any accolades for his work because his lines sound nothing like a movie and just like he was casually rehearsing them on his back porch.
Visually, the important thing is that the jungles are lush and filled with breathtaking sites. This is done so well that numerous graphical shortcomings are actually easy to overlook. Environment textures are blurry, character models blocky, many plants are laughably two dimensional, and New York is really just plain looking. In particular, because of the fidelity shown to what Jack would actually see, I wish the game fleshed out Jack’s person and showed his legs when you looked down.
However, some parts look perfect, as when Kong goes into a rage and the world turns sepia and the action unfolds in slow motion, highlighting each monstrous blow he delivers. The overall impression the game leaves is that the graphics do their job of bringing to life a fantastic world and I was struck by its beauty.
