Peter Jackson's King Kong: the Official Game of the Movie - T
Common Sense Note
Parents should be aware that this is an intense action game in which players will kill giant insects, crabs, bats, dinosaurs and some humans. Most of the action is presented through a first-person view, and the violence involves both shooting guns and stabbing with spears. Some third-person passages depict King Kong breaking the heads of dinosaurs and smashing humans. Though the action can be tense and the game provides many startles, the violence is generally bloodless and gore-free.
Families who buy King Kong might want to talk about how games based on movies are used to market movies and related merchandise. How are the release dates tied together? Are you more likely to be interested in a movie if you enjoy the game (or vice versa)? How does a video game based on a movie limit the story the game can tell?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Chris Jozefowicz
PETER JACKSON'S KING KONG: THE OFFICIAL GAME OF THE MOVIE is a beautiful, atmospheric, exciting, and tense game -- while it lasts. Both Kong followers and fans of first-person shooters will find plenty to love, but the game is short enough that many players would be better off renting it.
The game follows the plot of the new movie, which is pretty similar to the classic 1933 film: movie-makers venture to tropical Skull Island for exotic location filming.
Players mostly play as Jack, a screenwriter on the project, as he and the crew rescue the beautiful actress Ann after Kong abducts her. Players occasionally control the big ape, too, including when he is captured and put on show in New York City, and when he scales the Empire State Building before falling to his death.
This is mostly a first-person shooter with some third-person passages. Most of the action consists of shooting or spearing giant creepy crawlies and dinosaurs, while finding handles to open doors and torches to burn through bramble. As Kong, players grapple with scores of dinosaurs and swing through the scenery. The bulk of the violence is directed at the beasts, although both Jack and Kong sometimes fight the native islanders, albeit without much blood.
Kong also has to pound his way through the streets of New York City, but despite the explosions and smashed cars, this violence is likewise gore-free. The Kong scenes are undermined by sluggish controls and simple action. Fighting creatures often boils down to frantic button mashing.
But the game will keep players entranced with its gorgeous, cinematic presentation. The jungles of Skull Island, the setting for about 90 percent of the game, seem hot and steamy, with shafts of light piercing the mist through the canopy of leaves. The sound is equally impressive, heightening tension with the sounds of Jack's rapid breathing or providing scares with the shrieks of dinosaurs hidden in the bushes.
All in all, this is very much like playing a movie. In addition to superior graphics and sound, there is no on-screen display, no crosshairs, ammo gauges, or health bars to obscure the view (although some of these features can be turned on from the options menu).
Immersing players into the movie does lead to linear gameplay, though, which reduces the replay value. It's over in five or six hours, and players may wish they had more to explore.
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ViolenceAs a man, players shoot, stab, and burn various monsters and some humans; as a giant ape, they smash monsters, humans, and scenery; blood and gore is minimal. Some characters in the game are eaten by the beasts. |
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Social BehaviorJack and Kong sometimes fight the native islanders. |
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CommercialismTied to the movie. |
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