Before actually playing the game, all I could mentally compare King Kong to was the previous Jurassic Park games which graced everything from the Sega Genesis to the original PlayStation. Those games took a somewhat similar theme and setting, and similarly utilized the whole "play as man/play as beast" gameplay feature found in King Kong. What Ubisoft has put together however, with the help of Peter Jackson's Wingnut Films and WETA Digital, is both more playable and satisfying than any of those JP titles. The game follows the plot of Jackson's screenplay very closely, and to make it especially authentic, all of the leading actors in the movie have voiced their respective game characters. Never before have a movie studio and game developer worked so closely in order to provide such an authentic videogame adaptation of a motion picture, and the quality really shines through.

If you've never heard of King Kong or saw the original 1933 movie, the basic plot of both the remake and the game is as follows: Over ambitious filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black's character in the movie) has fallen on hard times due to the depression, and decides to mount an expedition to the mysterious Skull Island to find another showpiece. He takes along adventurer and playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), and the down-on-her-luck gorgeous blonde actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) with him to spice up the show. Arriving on the island, they discover it is home to gigantic beasts like dinosaurs, mutant insects, and natives, and ruling over all is Kong, a 30 foot tall gorilla. The natives kidnap Ann as a sacrifice for Kong, and the other crew members head into the dangerous island interior to rescue her.

As mentioned earlier, one of King Kong the Game's hooks is the fact that you get to play as "Man" and "Kong". For most of game, you play as Jack Driscoll in what at first appears to be your typical first person shooter. There are also a number of stages, however, where you get to become King Kong and see the storyline from a slightly different perspective, literally. As Jack, you begin the game on a boat off the coast of Skull Island, along with Carl, Ann and the remainder of your exploratory crew. Rough seas suddenly get the better of the little rowboats, you all crash onto the beach, and your adventure begins.

King Kong is arranged into a sequence of chapters, each of which is completed in a linear fashion designed to push the story along. While you have full control of your characters and there are a number of simple puzzles and action sequences in each, the game always pushes you in the right direction; whether you realize it or not. The environments may look large and expansive, but an open ended adventure/platformer it is not. It also doesn't take long to discover that King Kong isn't exactly your typical FPS. By default there is absolutely no on-screen GUI at all; no energy bar, no weapon icon, nothing but a pair of hands. As Jack, you can walk around, reach out and grab items such as spears, guns and levers, talk to other characters in your party, and perform some basic actions. In order to know where to go next, how hurt you are, or even how many shots you have left, you need to pay close attention to audio and visual cues the game throws out. These are not be terribly obvious at first, so Ubi also provided the option to at least turn on a small weapon gauge to help keep track of ammo. While "first person" does describe the point of view, the camera the game employs along with the way in which the other characters look at and speak with you, provides for one of the better first person experiences I've come across. King Kong really provides the feeling of looking through the eyes of Jack while playing the game as him.

For most of the game in which you play as Jack, King Kong sticks to a simple team-based system. Yourself, along with Carl, Hayes, Ann and others, usually need to work together to get through each stage. Although you can neither play as nor control those characters, they are all bit more intelligent than you would expect. They mostly do a great job in thinking for themselves when navigating the environment, fighting viscous prehistoric beasts, or helping you solve a puzzle or open a door. They'll even backtrack to grab a particular item when one is needed, trade weapons with you when you are low or unequipped, and help point you in the right direction when you get lost. The A.I. is surprisingly well thought out, and it plays a hand in making King Kong stand out amongst your typical FPS and movie-licensed games.

While working your way from point A to point B, Jack and his party inevitably get ambushed by a number of dinos, ranging from smaller Raptor-like beasts, to prehistoric representations of bats and crocodiles, to the fearsome and near invincible V-Rex. A good portion of the time you're stuck with a nearly empty weapon, so besides running and hiding, resorting to throwing spears or close-range stun attacks are needed. The developers also found a way of mixing in bit of strategy when dealing with the beasts as well. You can use fire and light up spots of brush to scare off and kill attackers, for example. They've also worked a simple "food chain" system into the game. By using freshly killed dinos, or smaller creatures such as larvae and large dragonflies, you can distract the rampaging V-Rexes or swarming giant bats for just long enough to hide, sneak around them, or set up an ambush.

For about one quarter of King Kong, you actually get to play as Kong. In those instances the game switches to a 3rd person perspective, and the gameplay becomes something along the lines of a beat-em-up mixed with mild platforming elements. Whether you are running, swinging, climbing, solving a puzzle with Ann, or fighting a hoard of dinos and natives, the Kong sequences are nicely put together and a lot of fun to play. The engine that Ubisoft has put together provides for a rather smooth-flowing and enjoyable gameplay experience, which also serves as a nice break from playing as Jack.

Throughout nearly the entire game, King Kong does an amazing job of keeping the tension high. In particular, the instances where you are called upon to distract a number of V-Rexes stand out as some of the most intense and memorable videogame scenes I've come across. Those segments alone are nearly worth the price of admission. There are a couple of less action-packed stages which focus more on adventuring and puzzle solving than fighting dinos, though they usually doesn't last all that long.

Unexpectedly, King Kong only features New York City and the Empire State Building for a very, very short period of time. Peter Jackson's movie version does expand on the Skull Island adventures more so than in the original, and being literally the most recognizable scenes in King Kong I was surprised not to see more time dedicated to them. The NYC chapter is short but sweet, though those looking for more than just Skull Island may be a bit disappointed in the end.

Graphically, King Kong for the Xbox 360 is an enhanced port of the Xbox and PlayStation 2 version of the game. The game's output is in high resolution and there are a number of striking next-gen shader effects at work, though the engine is still decidedly current generation. Seeing how nicely the Xbox/PS2 version as turned out I wouldn't consider this a bad thing at all. Just don't be fooled into thinking the game was created ground up for the Xbox 360. Regardless, Ubisoft has done a great job in recreating the lush jungle environments and its various inhabitants. The rain and wet rock effects, King Kong himself, and the V-Rex dinosaurs all look fantastic and stand out as among the most next gen aspects of the game. Some of the textures, environments, character and lesser enemy models, don't fare as well, however. When navigating through certain smaller environments, due to some texture similarities and the game's overall dark look, it becomes somewhat difficult to tell which direction you are moving or looking in. While exploring a cavern for example, the floors sometimes look no different than the walls and the ceiling, so it's easy to become disoriented. Also the framerate, while more consistent than the Xbox and PS2 versions, only tops out at 30fps and even then it still encounters a few bouts of slowdown. Additionally for 4:3 TV owners the game is forced into a widescreen letterboxed mode. It does provide for a better look at the environments, but the only reason I bring it up is because the previously released demo allows you to configure that option. Overall, the game looks great, though not a whole lot better than the current generation versions.

The audio in King Kong is fan-fricken-tastic. The dramatic and dynamic orchestrated soundtrack was created especially for the game by Chance Thomas of HUGEsound, and it sounds every much as motion picture-quality as the movie soundtrack itself. The various roars and screams of King Kong and the V-Rexes are subwoofer-rattling intense (think Jurassic Park), and the surround sound effects do their job very nicely. The voice acting is of course excellent, and it damn well better be since the actual movie actors performed every line of dialog for the game.

For a linear action/adventure title, King Kong is about of average length and difficulty. The game saves your progress often, and there are a handful of instances that will require multiple chapter restarts, but most average players should be able to get through it in 6 - 8 hours or so. Afterwards, you have the opportunity to play a number of the stages in a ranking-type mode in an effort to score points to unlock extras including video modes, clips, art galleries, and more. There is also a leaderboard on the official game website, though in order to be ranked you need to register on the site and type in a long multiple character code from the game. Besides the 9 unlockable Xbox 360 Achievements, there is absolutely no Xbox Live functionality in the game, which is disappointing. Even a simple battle mode, which pits you and a friend versus some dinos, would have been a welcome addition.

Peter Jackson's King Kong - The Official Game of the Movie for the Xbox 360 is a mostly thrilling ride while it lasts, and is a good example of a well thought out movie licensed game. The gameplay is solid enough, the audio is fantastic, and the visuals occasionally show off a bit of the next gen, but anyone even remotely interested in the movie needs to give the game a rental at the very least.