If you give your character a breather, your heath will return and the screen will return to normal. There are no life bars, and if you get hurt enough, the screen will pulse red and the action will slow down. Not a bad thing in my opinion, but I know that could frustrate some people who want more control. If you look in the general direction of whatever is attacking you, the game aims for you. really, nothing is cluttering up your screen. This gives the game some variety and change so it doesn't get dull or repetitive. As Kong, you have 3rd person view as you run, smash and swing across the island. When playing as Jack, the game is a first person shooter.
The game works best with HDTV.Īs the other reviewer mentioned, you control either Jack (the character from the movie) or Kong (the huge ape from the movie ). Keep in mind that it does get very dark often, and if you own a standard TV, you may have trouble seeing the action in a few places. Maybe the developers haven't gotten used to making games for the Xbox 360 yet. It doesn't look fantastically next generation, but its good at what it does. In comparison to other Xbox 360 launch titles, this game is average. But what really makes this game, is it's low price and easy Gamer Points. I was genuinely not expecting to find a fun, varied, and visually interesting game to be tied to a movie licensee.
(I'm sure you can think of more than a few.) But this game is the exception to that rule. Most 'Official Games of the Movie' aren't very good. Peter Jackson brought some new elements to gameplay that we can enjoy, but storywise, he should stick to movies. I give this a 4 out of 5 on graphics and "Kong" only. Gameplay wise, the action is fast paced, but doing the same thing over and over and over definitely kills any likelihood of replay value. Regardless, the various "throw a burning spear here to light the grass" maneuvers are very repetitive and almost make this one a renter. Anyone who has seen the movie will notice that only 4 levels out of 30+ have to do with the New York City sequence, which in most people's opinion, was the best and longer parts of he movie. However, the game stays more to the jungle element than the city aspect.
The storyline follows the movie vaguely, but does a good job of steering away from any spoilers. In other words, you feel as if you are in the jungle with only a spear and a pistol to survive. There is no HUD as in other first person shooters, giving King Kong a more retro, less futuristic feel. Light and fire effects look motion captured, and the Kong "rage" sequences are crisp and sharp. Awesome elements, graphics! Repetitive & easy gameplay!