King Kong Xbox 360 Video Game Review

Can the Game Be as Big as Kong?

Games based on movies have a pretty bad reputation, to say the least. History is an ever present reminder that most of these transitions simply don't go through very well. Sure, there have been exceptions, such as the much hailed Chronicles of Riddick game (which wasn't actually based on the movie, just used the same main character). But on the whole, these games tend to crash and burn…and burn horribly, that is. King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is the most recent attempt. Debuting on current-gen consoles as well as the next-gen Xbox 360, King Kong hopes to pack a punch equal to it's hero and the rather lengthy title as well.

Although it's difficult to actually say it, considering how rare it is, King Kong is actually a pretty good game. Yes, surprising, I know. But King Kong actually gets the fundamentals right, introduces enough original concepts to make it unique, and has enough features to make the game surprisingly fun and addictive to play. King Kong has officially joined the extremely elite club of successful movie to game transitions.

King Kong offers a unique blend of different gaming sequences. As Kong, players get to tromp about in third person and wreak some true havoc with the massive ape. Players also get to play as humans in a third person view and solve puzzles and engage in surprisingly deep and appealing combat.

If you haven't seen the movie and don't want to have it spoiled, don't buy this game just yet. The storyline of King Kong follows the movie almost exactly. As Carl Denham, a desperate filmmaker, you depart to the lonely island in search the next great thing. The game starts off by unloading your character and the others at the island and letting you take in all the beauty that the game offers.