01/22/2006>> Peter Jackson's King Kong: Official Game of the Movie (Nintendo DS)

Genre: Action / Adventure

 

 

 

 

 

King Kong on the PS2 was an immersive, wonderfully entertaining game, and quite possibly one of the greatest games based off of a movie, ever. When Ubisoft decided it’d take its fantastic console game and cram it into handheld form, one would only hope for the best. What we have here is most certainly not the best - rather unfortunate, that is. However, King Kong on DS is not a total disaster - it has some redeeming qualities that make it worth the play through you really ought to give it, granted it’s in rental form where you’re spending minimum dollar.

 

When you begin playing King Kong, you’ll notice the game offers you many languages to pick from - chances are if you own a DS, you can speak at least on of these languages. It’s rather funny that’d they’d take the time to offer many different languages as opposed to working on the game’s glaring technical glitches and bugs, of which there are plenty. However, it’s nice to know that if you don’t speak English there’s always an alternate language (hopefully your own) to go with.

 

 

Starting up the game leaves you with three save slots, though really that should be only two slots - my experience with the third slot lead to the third level of the game being impossible to complete. King Kong offers a paltry 17 levels total to complete, earlier ones taking mere minutes to finish off. One thing King Kong successfully transferred into handheld form is the length - King Kong is short. It’s possible to blaze through the game in one dedicated sit-down. What’s even worse is that once you complete a game, that’s it - end of the game for you. You can’t go back and play the levels you’ve already beaten or try to break old records - that’s just it, it’s over. Erase the game and start over if you want to keep playing so bad. That is a glaring flaw in King Kong - it’s short, and when it’s over, it’s completely over. It definitely does not offer much reason to replay - a purchase King Kong is not.

 

But an experience it is. It isn’t immersive like its console big brother, which is slightly disappointing, though not really to be expected from a handheld game. Rather, King Kong is fun. The game is a first person shooter throughout the majority of it, and it puts you in the boots of Jack. You, as Jack, find yourself on a seemingly deserted island. On this island you must fight giant crabs, psychotic prehistoric birds and T-Rex dinosaur-like creatures, all so you can shoot some stupid movie. The story line is less than compelling, and told through pictures and talking heads - a disappointment for a DS game. When you’re actually moving around in the environments, however, the gameplay quickly picks up.

 

When you actually start playing the game, you’ll immediately notice the rather slow pace of which your character chooses to walk. You move like you’re sneaking about the whole time throughout the game at the same pace - something that’s slightly annoying in the first couple minutes of gameplay, but something that you can also easily adjust to. The game does a good job of teaching you how to grasp it’s relatively simple mechanics - the first two levels of the game are essentially tutorial levels, and both are rather short, which makes for a quick run through of the game before you’re tossed into the real action. The game’s controls are simple to grasp - the touch screen’s use is similar to Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt’s, where you aim using the screen and move with the buttons. It’s easy to pick up and easy to play with - it’s also very precise. Picking up weapons is as simple as double tapping the touch screen, and using them requires the press of the R or L button - and that’s all there is to it.

 

 

King Kong is simple to play, but can be difficult at times to actually progress through. The game have mechanics you must learn and adjust to in order to take down some of the harder foes - a super giant crab, for example, or psychotic flying birds that fly over to you and quickly attack you. It’s fun to shoot these creatures and its fun to move around looking for them. That is why King Kong manages to actually succeed - its fun to play. It lacks the high production values of other Triple-A DS games and it isn’t as fun, either - but while it lasts, it’s enjoyable. It would always be enjoyable, too, if it weren’t for the surprisingly high bug count.

 

The game really enjoys screwing itself up. Switching up the speed of the game itself, getting certain characters/creatures stuck, not letting you complete levels, crashing all together - King Kong is infested. These wouldn’t be a huge problem if they weren’t so high in count and didn’t happen so often - unfortunately they do. These are frustrating bugs that can come in at the most annoying of times - for example, when you’re battling a particularly difficult enemy for the fifth time. The game gets so interrupted by its bugs that it seriously affects the gameplay - a huge disappointment. Bug free, this game could be so much easier to recommend.

 

However, that’s just Jack - you also get to play as King Kong itself, storming around the jungle smashing creatures to bits. Playing as Kong is even more linear than playing as Jack - you’re given a set path to go through and are even given set actions. You can branch off in different paths and if you don’t press to correct buttons while scaling the jungle you’ll never make it, simple as that. Lacking is the sense of power from the console version of the game - you’re Kong, but you’re on a miniature screen in a less-than-impressive environment. Included is the same gameplay feel - making Kong’s bouts just as fun as Jack’s. Unfortunately, though, you don’t actually get to play as Kong when you scale the city - nor do you get to play as Jack. This leaves out what was one of the finest set of levels from the console version, which is another disappointment.

 

 

Music is intact - this sounds just like the console version, with moody music and an array of noises from the many creatures you meet (including the scritch-scratch of the scuttling crabs and the footsteps of the raptors). Lacking are impressive graphics - it’s pretty cool for a DS title, but when held up to the Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demo of 2004, it isn’t nearly as refined. The jungle looks dirty and gritty - unfortunately, also blocky and clippy. The game is also littered with fog - you’d be hard pressed to pick a better title for foggy gameplay (save for the Silent Hill series).

 

Kong manages to succeed where it’s important to do so - the gameplay. It’s a fun game to play though extremely linear and simple. Unfortunately, the game is brought down by game-destroying bugs that wreck what the experience could have been. Kong is worth a play through - if you can get some game time with it on the cheap, take the opportunity to do so. However, Kong is not worth owning - it’s not worth taking another look at once you’ve stormed through it the first time. It’s a decent, although extremely buggy three or so hours, but that’s the solitary experience in its entirety.

 

 

 

Game Score

 

4.2

 

Reviewed By: Jordan Skinner