Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie - Ann
6Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (also known as Peter Jackson's King Kong, or simply King Kong) is a 2005 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft, based on the 2005 film King Kong. The game was created in collaboration between the film's director Peter Jackson and the game's director Michel Ancel. The game follows New York scriptwriter Jack Driscoll through Skull Island, as he attempts to save love interest Ann Darrow who has been sacrificed by the island's natives to the giant gorilla Kong.
The game allows players to play as both Jack Driscoll and King Kong. Players use firearms and spears as Jack; and punch, grab and use objects/corpses as Kong, to defend against and fight creatures on Skull Island. The King Kong segments are played from a third-person perspective, while the Jack levels are played from a first-person perspective. The game de-emphasizes the role of a heads-up display, with the developers explaining that this conceivably would help players to get further immersed into the game (although the HUD can be turned on in the settings).
It was released in November 2005 for Microsoft Windows, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and the Nintendo DS, as well as the Xbox 360 as a launch title. A version for Game Boy Advance titled Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World was released simultaneously. A PlayStation Portable version was released in December 2005. The film's cast members reprise their roles.
Upon release, the console and PC versions received positive reviews, with critics praising the game's immersive environments and audio, ability to play as both Jack and Kong throughout the game, the voice acting (particularly Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody and Jack Black's performances), and is often considered one of the best movie-based video games of all time. However, the DS version received negative reception due to bugs, poor AI and technical issues, while the PSP version received mixed reviews, with critics liking the inclusion of a multiplayer mode, but criticizing the shorter campaign length.
Since its release, King Kong has gained a significant cult following and has been praised as a revolutionary title in the survival and first-person shooter genres.
In the game, the player assumes the roles of both New York scriptwriter Jack Driscoll and the giant gorilla, King Kong, as they struggle to survive the threats of Skull Island in 1933.
Human levels are controlled from a first person perspective. The game de-emphasizes the role of a heads-up display: it lacks a life bar, aiming reticle, and ammunition readout (the ammo readout and aiming reticle can be turned on and off at the player's will, but is disabled by default), further adding to the challenge and encouraging the player to find alternate weapons and techniques.
Interspersed with human adventure are levels in which the player controls Kong himself, traversing Skull Island's unique geography, battling various giant monsters while defending Ann. The Kong levels take place in a third-person view, as the player directs Kong to punch, grab and use objects/corpses as weapons. He can also bite, climb, charge, hurl enemies and even pound his chest to go into fury mode. When Kong is sent into fury mode, the sky becomes tinted with a golden hue and Kong becomes more powerful and less vulnerable to attack. Many of the Kong sequences fulfill the role of boss fights, as the giant ape is able to effectively battle the gigantic creatures that Jack's weapons cannot harm.
The game features an alternate ending where Kong can be saved during the Empire State Building shootout and safely returned to Skull Island. The ending was approved by Peter Jackson. To unlock the alternate ending, players must complete the entire game and then go back and play through various maps and earn a total of 250,000 points. It can also be accessed by using the cheat codes.
The Xbox 360 release features improved graphics and audio over the sixth-generation console releases. The second PC version, known as the "Gamer's Edition" (originally only available with select graphics cards and later offered on game download services), also includes these improved features.
The "Special Edition" version of the game was available for a limited time. Along with the two standard game discs, included are a bonus disc, containing concept art and a screensaver, and a making-of disc, containing a featurette with Peter Jackson. There was an error in the printing of the discs and the disc labelled "Making of" was actually the "Bonus" disc and vice versa. The signature edition also comes with a Topps trading card of King Kong, a code for a downloadable ringtone, and a cover signed by Peter Jackson. In 2019, Microsoft added the Xbox 360 version to the Xbox One backwards compatible library.