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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Terrible
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 12/06/2005
- Updated on: 05/17/2006
- Released on: 11/21/2005
- Originally published on GameSpot: Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (DS) Review
Talk around the watercooler suggests that the console versions of Peter Jackson's King Kong are thrilling and entertaining, albeit brief in length. If you're interested in playing a video game based upon the big ape's recent silver screen adventure, by all means, pick up the console game and enjoy yourself. Whatever you do, don't give the Nintendo DS game a passing thought, or, heaven forbid, waste money on it. This poor excuse of a first-person shooter is so bad that other developers should study it and use it as a guide for what to avoid when putting together similar games in the future.
King Kong on the DS has very little in common with its console counterpart.
Like its console counterparts, the DS game is set up primarily as a first-person shooter and only loosely follows the events from the movie. Everything takes place on Skull Island, which is home to a tribe of superstitious natives, some prehistoric beasts, and a giant ape known as King Kong. Players spend the majority of the 17 levels directly controlling the swashbuckling hero, Jack Driscoll, in first-person-viewpoint environments that are mainly oriented around shooting enemies and unlocking doors. In the movie, key events are set in motion by three of Jack's companions, namely Carl Denham, the pushy filmmaker; Hayes, the expedition guide; and Ann Darrow, the actress that Carl has hired to star in his latest film. In the game, most of the mischief caused by these characters is shown in still-frame cutaways, although they do tag along behind Jack during certain levels and help out as necessary. Approximately every five levels or so, the game shifts gears and puts players in control of the mighty Kong. These levels employ a third-person perspective and mostly involve climbing, jumping, and swinging across the island with some hand-to-hand combat thrown in along the way.
Without question, the idea of being able to play as a human one moment and Kong the next is brilliant. Unfortunately, the action-packed combat and beastly cathartic moments that were realized so frequently in the console game aren't present in the DS game. Progression through the first-person levels is entirely too straightforward. Despite the jungle setting, each level is basically just a long hallway with a few offshoots, turns, and doors incorporated in order to obscure the nagging feeling that, indeed, you really are just walking down one hallway after another. Ironically, even though this is a first-person shooter, players rarely get the opportunity to shoot at things. Enemies are sparsely distributed, to the point that most combat situations involve a lone crab skittering toward you with its claws extended. What's more, every enemy is a crab, a bee, a bat, or a Velociraptor-like dinosaur. Velociraptors are worthy foes, but crabs and bees?
The control mechanics in the first-person levels are fine, but, there too, the developer didn't make an effort to do anything interesting with them. You can move Jack around using the directional pad, change his eyeline by dragging the stylus across the touch screen, and fire weapons or activate switches by pressing one of the shoulder buttons. When you come across a switch that Jack can't reach, you can also double-tap the touch screen to command Carl, Hayes, or Ann to pull it. That's everything players have control over. Aiming is mostly automatic, Jack can't jump or perform any melee attacks, and there isn't any inventory management because Jack can only carry one weapon at a time. As it is, Jack's weapon options are pitiful and extremely limited. He can throw spears and pick up and use four different guns. For whatever reason, though, someone on the development team decided that the spear and pistol should be more effective than the shotgun or machine gun.
The Kong levels aren't much better. They give off a larger-than-life vibe because of Kong's size and the third-person perspective, but all of the tree-swinging falls flat because the majority of Kong's actions are pre-scripted. He can't fall off a ledge, miss a jump, or lose his grip. All players need to do is press the B button over and over again to make Kong progress from one handhold to the next. Combat requires slightly more input. Smaller lizards have to be knocked away by pressing the punch or slam buttons, while larger T-Rexes must first be worn down with basic attacks before initiating the killing blow, which is a neck snap that's performed by rapidly pressing the Y button. Even though the Kong levels aren't that good, they're easily the best aspect of the game. It's a pity that among the 17 levels, only four of them involve playing as Kong.
Clearly, the game was doomed from conception because the design and development staff wasn't ambitious enough with their ideas. On the whole, there isn't much for players to do. The first-person levels are overly linear and don't contain anywhere near what would be considered a satisfactory number of enemies. There certainly aren't enough Kong levels. The control mechanics are fine, but so many actions are automatic or pre-scripted so that it takes away hands-on opportunities that might have helped the layouts and combat seem less boring.
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Where to buy
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (DS):
$12.40 - $17.49
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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$17.49 | Yes |
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$12.40 | No |
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