Peter Jackson's King Kong

Pelit (Finland)

A stunningly atmospheric action-adventure that makes all the right moves. It is intense, scary, exhilarating and pure joy to play. One of the best games so far this year. [Nov 2005]

PSM Magazine

King Kong is at once purely simple and utterly unique, showcasing bifurcated gameplay and an instinctual theme of survival. [Holiday 2005, p.62]

Yahoo! Games

A linear game that simply doesn't feel linear, and that's a major achievement. By tightly focusing the action and constantly engaging the player, the developers have managed to make you feel a part of the action without holding your hand.

1UP

It's a great example of a movie tie-in that is easy to play, it's a successful combination of a first-person adventure and a third-person beat-'em-up, and at times it even feels like a dungeon crawler. But at its core, it's an extremely good (and extremely simple) survival horror game.

PGNx Media

The production values are amazing with top-notch graphics and sound found nearly everywhere. Though the game runs a little short – we played a little over six hours – you’ll have a blast every step of the way.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

Kong radiates the ultimate gaming feeling: being a total badass.

Cheat Code Central

There are countless tense moments playing as Jack and my only complaint is not playing as the featured star more than we were given the opportunity.

Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK

A brilliant action adventure that could well be the world's first classic movie-tie in. Innovative and flawlessly paced. [Nov 2005, p.74]

Digital Entertainment News

King Kong is one of the better action games you can buy.

Jolt Online Gaming UK

One of the most enjoyable if short-lived gameplay experiences. The game is practically a work of art, but that may not be enough for everyone.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

The most impressive element of the game, though, is Skull Island itself. Grand and gorgeous, the environments never repeat, and the adventure never slackens.

Gaming Horizon

Though it is very linear and very short, it is excellent at creating a rich visual, audio and emotional experience in an extremely cinematic manner.

WHAM! Gaming

To say that King Kong looks good is an understatement. It's gorgeous. Even on the technologically dated PS2, the imagery is truly beautiful and there are times during the game that you will just stop and look around at the scenery, enhanced yet again by the lack of any menus to distract you.

Gamers' Temple

While the controls may be on the simple side in a game like this that isn't a real issue because all you're want is to have fun.

BonusStage

Minus the camera issues with Kong, whose gameplay is more of a “tension-breaker” than a titular role, Peter Jackson’s King Kong on the current-gen consoles is definitely a must play!

Game Chronicles

By far the best-looking, best working, first person shooter to ever grace the PS2, Peter Jackson's King Kong’s immersing gameplay is second only to the classic Red Faction.

Game Informer

Graphically, it's a masterpiece. [Jan 2006, p.136]

Next Level Gaming

The voice acting is spectacular.

Stuff

These are some of the best graphics you'll ever see. Your first confrontation with the V-Rex (yes, that's what Peter J. is calling it) will be very, very memorable.

TotalPlayStation

This is a wonderful game. Hampered by a bit of overuse in some of the core mechanics, yes, but still a fantastic way of delivering an experience that you can only get when a great game designer and attention from the movie's director come together.

Play.tm

While the experience is short-lived, the seven or so hours of gameplay you get from it are truly amazing and for once, I can say a film-to-game conversion has successfully been achieved.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

By movie-to-game standards, King Kong is an instant classic. Just don't hold it to any greater standard.

The New York Times

The sense of immersion is increased by the game's first-person perspective and an absence of on-screen clutter. There is no health gauge blocking your view; if a dinosaur bites you, your vision blurs, indicating that one more bite will kill you.

GameSpot

It won't take you long to blow through King Kong, but its sometimes thrilling, often tense, and always entertaining adventure is absolutely worth checking out.

IGN

A short but memorable game packed with high-level artistic aesthetics and production values. If you have a stereo system, be sure to play Kong through it. It sounds incredible!

Edge Magazine

This dazzling, determinedly populist experience was not made according to the standards other games are made by, and when judged – or even just described – by those standards, it might seem slender to the point of frailty. [Christmas 2005, p.101]

3DAvenue

A title that anyone making a movie tie-in should study very carefully, as it solidly creates a new standard for such titles.

Gamer 2.0

A wondrous game. There is little to be upset about except its short length and no extra content, but the rest of the game is fantastic.

Worth Playing

It's a clinic in movie tie-in game making, with broad appeal, interesting gameplay, and stellar presentation.

GameBiz

Unfortunately the short length of the game might make this a rental for most but it is definitely worth it to give this game a go.

Computer and Video Games

In terms of sheer hold-on-tight entertainment, this is film-to-game perfection. Beat your chest with joy. [PSW]

GamingTrend

Gives a lackluster performance. The highlights of the game are few and far between, which make its flaws and mediocrity stand out.

GameZone

The puzzles left a lot to be desired, a move that makes the game more accessible to casual gamers but leaves us hardcore gamers wanting more.

TotalGames.net

Playing as Kong is a joy, (see boxout for details) but it's all too brief a flirtation with primal rage - scooping Ann up in his oversized hand and fending-off a Jurassic Park of tyrannosaurs with wrestling inspired moves, after swinging through a jungle canopy with all the grace of Ico is inspiring, but it feels like little more than a cameo.

Game Revolution

Coming it at around seven or eight hours, Peter Jackson's King Kong really does feel like a roller-coaster ride through the film, but once you get off, there's not much of a reason to ride it again other than to unlock some extra art and whatnot.

IC-Games

Sure it looks good and sounds great, but not ‘the next generation of gaming’, in fact given the current availability and quality of FPS games I’m not sure in terms of gameplay it’s even this generation.

Sydney Morning Herald

With a rather abrupt final sequence it does seem to rush to its climax, but despite its brevity, this is an unforgettable trip through the realm of Kong.

GameSpy

Comes off as an uneven experience, but one with plenty of invigorating moments that make the whole thing feel worth it.

Thunderbolt

Despite being an oh-so-easy-to-dislike game of movie, King Kong is a strong effort, and although it never reaches the pinnacle of the sub-genre alongside the likes of the legendary Goldeneye or The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, it can proudly sit on the next tier beneath them.

Cincinnati Enquirer

Beautiful but muddy environments, frustrating puzzles, repetitious opponents and clunky Kong controls.

games(TM)

King Kong is perhaps a redefinition of the cinematic videogame – entirely based on peaks and troughs of excitement, and devoid of any sense of choice. Just like a movie, but interactive. [Christmas 2005, p.98]