Most of the time, movies do not translate into games very well. This is an exception to that rule. Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong (Widescreen Edition) comes to life in spectacular fashion with this game. Beautifully rendered graphics and fun gameplay make for a wonderful gaming experience.

The game takes place almost exclusively on Skull Island. You play as Jack Driscoll, and for those of you that have not seen the new film, he is now an educated and well respected playwright, not the he man hero first mate of the previous film.

As Jack, you are sometimes alone and sometimes with other characters from the film as you make your way through this hellish island to save Anne from Kong. The left and right shoulder buttons control your weaponry and this can take some time getting use to. But after a while, it becomes second nature.

There is no HUD on this game, so you can't tell by looking at the screen how much life you have left or how many bullets you have. The only ways to tell is by your breathing and heartbeat, which gets faster as you become injured. When the screen goes red and silent, you're dead.

There are a host of weapons to use, but it is realistic in the fact that you have a certain number of bullets and once you're out, you're out until you find another box of weapons that has been air dropped at various points around the island. For the most part, you will be using spears and the bones of dead animals as your weapons. It is important to master using these, because if you don't, you don't stand a chance.

Every few levels, you actually get to play as Kong. This is quite jarring (in a good way), as you now have the power that you lack as Jack. You can attack full force and kill your enemies. Repeatedly pressing X revs you up and gives you a temporary power boost. You must battle dinosaurs (lots of them) all while keeping Anne safe. This is the most fun part of the game and these are the levels that you will most likely go back to replay as each level is available to replay after you finish it.

After the island levels, you are Kong in New York. This is particularly fun as you get to rampage through the city on your way to the Empire State Building. Of course you die at the end, but that's really not the end of the game.

After you beat the game, you then go back through levels that have points available to score. You unlock various extras along the way including the "old movie" mode, where your screen resembles the 1933 film, King Kong (Two-Disc Special Edition). Of particular note is a Peter Jackson interview regarding the making of the new film.

The ultimate unlockable is the alternate ending, which you can unlock after achieving 25000 points. This is fun as you get to save Kong and give him a happy ending.

All in all, this is a great game. I would have liked more levels as Kong, or maybe an option of one or the other, as well as playing as other characters. The game is also rather short for an adventure game. But it has a great replay factor. These are minor quibbles though.

What is King Kong?
It is a great action game based on the movie.

What do you do in King Kong?
You can play in as Jack and as King Kong. Jack can use weapons in the environment like spears, sticks, and fire, but he can also use guns brought from Hayes and crates you find around. You solve puzzles and defeat enemies in multiple ways. The first person makes things look realistic. You can swim and use various guns. It's a survival combat game. It has no health meter. If you get hurt after you already got hurt, you will lose. Sort of like Halo. You spend most of the time as Jack. As King Kong, you play in a third person veiw. You can fight enemies with plenty of moves, jump, lift, smash, and much more with Kong. It's a fun treat after all of that first person combat with Jack. Though, you won't spend most of the game playing as him. It's fun. You paid to play as Kong.

How are the graphics?
Best graphics out of all PS2, Xbox, and GC games. Xbox 360 version has the best graphics though.

How is the sound?
The sound is great. We have Dolby Pro Logic II. It sounds as atmospheric and realistic as ever, but the breathing noises the character can make can get really annoying.

How much lasting value does this game have?
It doesn't take much to beat it. But, there are extras and the game is fun which will keep you going. Kong fans will want to keep this forever.

I enjoyed King Kong the movie... Will I enjoy this?
Yes. It's one of the best licensed ever and it's worth checking out, Kong fan or not.

What are the cons about this game?
There are some programming bugs. Some so small you can laugh at and some so big you have to restart the level. A short game. Kong parts are short. Other than that, it's amazing.

This game has got to be one of my best for gamecube. There is plenty of amazing levels and adventerous gameplay.I was a little hesitant on buying this game since I bought the ds version and found it to be way to difficult if not impossible to get passed the 2nd level. But once I started playing there was no stopping.Take my word of advice and go treat yourself to one of the best games of the year for gamecube

Its a great attempt, my faults towards the game are as follows: it looks terrible on game cube, try looking at it on the computer, it's like two different games. But game wise, the spears you throw become annoying and you spend most of your time praying for a tommy gun so you can blast the Velociraptor gnawing at your leg. Also, playing as Kong, to me, was the damn funnest part of the whole game. Playing as Jack was annoying because you feel weak and helpless against the ancient dinosaurs chewing your head off. So the welcome feeling of immense strength is very satisfying.

Kong's control issue: I think kong has enough moves and is as responsive has he needs to be. I mean come on how fast do you think a 100 foot tall, 1000 lb gorilla is gonna be. I think the controls fit the giant ape perfectly and, i had no problem snapping T-rexes jaws left and right. Plus you can beat your chest and go into matrix style mod, which is so much fun.

However, I have no idea why people rush out like idiots and pay 50 bucks for the game when all you had to do is wait till that idiot decided it wasn't a good enough game for 50 dollars and traded it in so you could buy it for 10 dollars. F@#$%ING MORONs.

The lighting, sound, are as everyone has said, amazing it's just that it seems a little rushed in the game play department. I feel like they could have made more monsters, made the levels feel more free etc... you know where I'm going with this. All the things most gaming companies fall short on last minute due to budget, time, etc... etc... Even though you can replay the game for extras, it doesn't even come close to adding extra points to the overall game rating....the replay value sucks(just a little)

Bottom Line, Rent it or get it used for 10 bucks

King Kong is a great game, full of adventure and excitement. It van be confusing sometimes, but if you're patient, you'll find a solutin to your problem. The screen can be very dark at times: the creatures are a dark gray or black, the rock is dark gray or black, you are usually in a cave so there is little light, the plants are ususlly darki red or green, and your weapons is gray or brown(if your using a spear. So it can be very difficult to see. You'd think that carrying a torch would help, but the flame on;y gets on your way.
King Kong is a reat 1st person sooter, despite the flaws mentioined above. Playing as Kong is fun but it too is complicated. He only has on "hit" button and he caan also grab the enemy, and then use the two in a combo, but thats about it.