“Let’s make a movie” – Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

[To finish off 2005, I welcome back Agnes Forrester, who you can find on twitter as @cartridgepink. Agnes previously wrote about A Bug’s Life and Sonic Labyrinth. Thanks also to Agnes for the images in this post.]

Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft, PlayStation 2, 2005)

Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is lumbered with a clunky Official Title, the kind of branding and licensing mess which could imply an IP-first, quality-last nightmare. But from its opening sequence – reminiscent of Skyrim’s, released six years later – it’s clear the game is anything but. King Kong has its quirks, but it’s a thoroughly modern and thrilling action-adventure.

The majority of the game places you in control of Jack Driscoll, playwright turned reluctant adventure hero. Kong is also playable in certain levels, an order of magnitude bigger and stronger, with a different playstyle. As in the film, Jack makes his way through the jungle supported by the ill-fated film crew and sailors who journeyed to Skull Island.

There’s no shortage of film tie-in games from the 2000s, but King Kong is tied in closer than most. The film’s principal cast all reprise their roles, but the game goes further still in its efforts to integrate the original cinematic experience. There’s no visible UI; hints and instructions appear underneath the action on baked-in letterbox bars. Real-time cutscenes keep the action tightly paced. Yet it’s not a game that wishes it was a movie. It’s a constant, careful negotiation between cinematic and interactive conventions.

If creepy crawlies aren’t your thing, King Kong probably won’t be either. Megapedes (overgrown giant centipedes) and dog-sized scorpions are frequent enemies, along with bat-like gargoyle dinosaurs. Because it’s an action game released in the mid-2000s, there’s also giant enemy crabs. The relatively short list of potential threats makes learning to fight them easier; the last thing the game needs is a broader variety of horrifying bugs.

The game forces you to be resourceful, saving your ammunition for when you need it. You can lure spiders away from you by distracting them with bait, or pick off carnivorous dinosaurs as they feed off another monster you’ve dispatched. Instead of wasting precious bullets, Jack can throw spears or bones. Every encounter is life and death, as Jack only takes a couple of hits before everything turns red and it’s all over.

The Kong levels, like him, are an entirely different beast. Kong is shown in third person view, showing off his power and stature when coming up against vicious “V-rex” dinosaurs. After slogging through some tall grass or wading through infested waters as Jack, besting a dinosaur with a single punch as Kong never got stale. There’s a decent range of moves Kong has at his disposal, from picking up and throwing enemies, to wrestling-inspired tackles. The game also treats players to Kong’s brutal jaw-breaking dinosaur finisher from the film.

There are a few quirky locked camera angles in the Kong levels, but otherwise these segments felt surprisingly contemporary. Kong’s movement – wall running, swinging effortlessly from branch to branch – is very similar to what’s on offer in 2019 release Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

As far as NPC companions in action games go, King Kong’s cast is astoundingly competent. The team is pretty good at staying out of trouble and defending both you and themselves – with the exception of self-absorbed film director Carl, who makes up for it by being played by Jack Black.

The characters will check in with you as they traverse through the jungle, whether it’s to warn you of a threat up ahead or just ask how you’re holding up. They’ll also bicker amongst themselves or tell you where to head next. There isn’t a huge amount to work with but the performances are fun, the star factor an added novelty.

The game also plays with the reflexive nature of King Kong; a fictional film crew once within a film, now within a game. Ammunition crates dropped by parachute are repeatedly mentioned as being from an ally’s plane. When swapping or reloading weapons, Jack announces how much ammunition he has left, helping the player keep track; eventually Hayes tells him off for it, worrying the noise would draw enemy attention.

Yet for all its strengths, the The Official Game of the Movie experience isn’t a consistently entertaining one. The jungle is extremely linear and though it’s lovely to look at, there’s not a lot of variety. The human-sized centipedes never let up. The spear throwing, bug killing, V-rex escaping routine wore thin. Playing as Kong started to feel like a reward for surviving as Jack.

A more distasteful problem is directly inherited from the source material: the subplot of Skull Island’s hostile native population, as present in the original 1933 film as well as Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake. The first few encounters with Skull Island’s indigenous people are from afar, with Jack and company running from flaming arrows. But before long there’s direct combat, and a single voice line acknowledging that you’re the ones trespassing on their land does nothing to improve the scenario. When the islanders go on to attack Kong, it’s all too easy to swat them away. It’s a thankfully brief misstep.

Kong’s capture and escape in New York is but a tiny fraction at the game’s end. Compared to the lush Skull Island jungle, NYC is a disappointing visual downgrade. Climbing the Empire State Building, Kong lashes out at fighter planes for as long as he (and the player) can. It’s a boss fight from the boss’s perspective, an unusual unwinnable finale. The manual teases the possibility of a happier ending through a new game plus mode, but replaying with an added scoring system is a big ask to save the giant ape. King Kong’s Skull Island is worth exploring, but repeated trips are probably ill-advised.