King Kong game review X360

[carbonbased_al]

King Kong. A classic movie about a giant gorilla. I think it’s only appropriate to offer up a review of this game, as this is the home of the lowland gorillas. And while I haven’t seen the movie, I can say judging by the game, it’s gonna be good.

Kong looks great on X360.You can tell that a lot of work went into this one. The scenery is spectacular. They made one pretty jungle. Some great effects too. The fire and water are quite well done. Enemies are varied, and very well detailed. Everything from giant crabs to t-rex’s stand in your way. Design is very well done.

Gameplay is what sets this title apart from others. It’s an interesting blend of fps and 3rd action. But this isn’t your typical run and gun twitch shooter. It’s a thinking man’s shooter. Sure there are a few guns, but ammo is very limited. Most of the time you’ll find yourself pitted in epic battles with nothing but bones and spears. Things can get hectic, and many situations call for a solution other than killing everything in your path. Example, you can spear worm or dragon flies and use them as bait. What’s nice is these weapon’s can break. Wood spears break after use and bones splinter. Fighting raptors with a busted stick can be difficult.

One complaint I have is the lack of weapons. There is a luger, shotgun, tommy gun, and a sniper rifle. These are complemented by spears and rib bones, which can be thrown. But that’s it. You’d think there would be some different bone or spear designs but nope. And one thing that bothers me is the sniper rifle. It’s a bolt-action rifle, but you don’t see the action after each shot. Reloading is also too fast. Other than that the rest of the guns are sound.

The action can get tense. Especially when you are being chased by invincible t-rex’s. Running like hell is often your best bet, while trying to lure baddies away with food. Starting fire’s also can be effective, but quite hard to time. The action really changes when you switch to Kong.

Kong is played 3rd person and frankly is just a blast. He’s got a limited move set consisting of punches, grabs, rushes, and just some brutal finishers. My favorite has to be the chest pound. Yes, you can pound chest and doing so for long enough works kong into a rage. Rage slows things down a bit and makes attacks more effective.

Kong handles like a giant gorilla should. You run along walls ala PoP, swing from branches, jump, and make gorilla screams. You can even pick up pillars and use them as giant clubs. Some of Kong’s boss fights are just epics. And the final level, scaling the empire state building and swatting biplanes is beyond awesome. Just a tad too short though.

Sound is excellent. Everything from jungle noises, dinosaur calls, Kong screams, and gun shots sound great. Voice acting is also done by all the actors from the movie. The sound does a lot to help immerse you into the game. The soundtrack is excellent, fits the game extremely well.

Kong is probably my favorite launch title. It took me so off guard and is just so rewarding. The fps/3rd person concept really helps things move along, as it breaks up the action and keeps things from getting boring. There is little extra content, but do well enough and you’ll earn an alternative ending (I’m not giving it away ). This game is definetly unique and well worth the price.

[illuminatus]

Excellent review! When X360 stops crashing, and they come out with Halo3, I'll have one, and you've given me a good idea for my next game... Halo3 comes first though, of course!

[carbonbased_al]

Originally Posted by illuminatus

Excellent review! When X360 stops crashing, and they come out with Halo3, I'll have one, and you've given me a good idea for my next game... Halo3 comes first though, of course!

Happily not one issue with mine. Runs great. And Halo 3 is gonna be sick. Some of these first run games are gorgeous and they haven't even tapped deeply into what this thing can do.

[ComicBookFreak]

I myself am a big gamer also but haven't played the 360 yet. I have a PS2 currently. Nice review keep them coming!

CBF

[BlackTalon]

The game without a doubt looks great on PC they even have a special high res version of the game that takes a monster PC to run
(Processor: Pentium IV 3.0 GHz or AMD 3000+ or better
RAM: 2 GB
Video Card: 3D 256 MB, supporting Pixel Shader 3.0 and Vertex Shader 3.0 - ATI X1800, NVIDIA 6800, or better
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0C compatible, EAX 3.0
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0C
Hard Drive Space: 5.4 GB (5GB download, 5.4GB installed footprint - standard edition is 1GB/1.5GB)
I however found the game to be way to short for me even if amazing looking but I tend to land on the hardcore gamer side of things and blast threw games quickly. This game is by far one of the better movie games made and hopefully will help set a standard like Chronicles of Riddick Butcher bay that not all movie games have to suck. Note that I am talking about the PC version here.

[carbonbased_al]

Originally Posted by BlackTalon

I however found the game to be way to short for me even if amazing looking but I tend to land on the hardcore gamer side of things and blast threw games quickly. This game is by far one of the better movie games made and hopefully will help set a standard like Chronicles of Riddick Butcher bay that not all movie games have to suck. Note that I am talking about the PC version here.

Agreed. I finished it in little over 7 hours. I think most people would finish around 12, which is still short. It's a quick ride, but a fun one. I haven't seen the pc version yet, just the X360.

[illuminatus]

Originally Posted by BlackTalon

This game is by far one of the better movie games made and hopefully will help set a standard like Chronicles of Riddick Butcher bay that not all movie games have to suck. Note that I am talking about the PC version here.

I love the xbox version of Escape from Butcher Bay, haven't played the PC.. I loaned my xbox copy to a friend.. who then moved to Colorado with it... so now I have to find another used copy somewhere and buy it...

[jgrimball]

Originally Posted by carbonbased_al

360.

Awesome to see I have a fellow XBOX 360er on CS. I loved King Kong!!!
It was a great game! I also loved Kameo, excellent platform game. I am
in the process of playing Gun and Condemded now.

[illuminatus]

Originally Posted by jgrimball

Awesome to see I have a fellow XBOX 360er on CS. I loved King Kong!!!
It was a great game! I also loved Kameo, excellent platform game. I am
in the process of playing Gun and Condemded now.

OOOH! Will you PLEASE post a review of Gun when you're done? I've heard so many things from mags/forums/whatever, I want to know if they hype is true!

[carbonbased_al]

Originally Posted by illuminatus

OOOH! Will you PLEASE post a review of Gun when you're done? I've heard so many things from mags/forums/whatever, I want to know if they hype is true!

Gun was the first 360 game I beat. I will do a writeup of it next

[BlackTalon]

Originally Posted by carbonbased_al

Gun was the first 360 game I beat. I will do a writeup of it next

Ah I played this one as well for PC curious to see what you thought of it.

[CigDaddy]

Great review...I bought King Kong for the 360 but won't be able to play it until Christmas...

Hurry up and review Gun!!!