Review: King Kong (X360)

Some neat ideas but the FPS is too generic and repetitive.

King Kong combines elements from dinosaur shooters (e.g. Turok) with fighting elements (DOA style) as you play as both human (Jack) and Kong. The bulk of the game is standard FPS fare that involves engaging various dino critters and solving basic puzzles.

There are repeating “scripted” events which progress the story but also suffer from regular glitches and bugs. One bug, in particular, resulted in me having to start the entire game again from the start as you only get one save game and it saved the game mid-glitch – very frustrating!

Playing as Kong is much more fun as the game switches to a combo-based fighting game with Kong fighting various big dino monsters whilst swinging through the jungle.

Although too dark in places, the graphics are very good. The characters have their recognisable actor faces and the models & textures are excellent. The weapons look good, and there are some nice fire and water effects. The environments do get repetitive; as do the enemies, but both convey the look and style of the film very well. Kong is the graphical highlight with full animated “fur” and motion captured movements.

The music and sound effects are often taken straight from the film and are pretty good. The actors also lend their voices to their characters which emphasises the ambition of the game.

You can pick Kong up for less than £20 (MiniMinx bought it for £15), but personally it is best enjoyed as a rental. The game is short and you could probably complete it in a weekend. The achievements are all unlocked by playing the game all the way through.

The film was too long and a bit unnecessary, even though it was a visual and cinematic spectacular. The game follows the same trend, but this time it is too short and repetitive. As a movie tie-in it is a sterling effort, but it is still a below par FPS with a few neat Kong sections.

6/10