E94: Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

Peter Jackson made history with the release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but as far as he was concerned he was just getting warmed up. A mere two years later saw him remaking King Kong, with the marketing department splashing his name all over the place so there could be no doubt that this was indeed a Peter Jackson film.

Like with the LOTR hack and slash games, a video game was developed at the same time as the film with the actors reprising their roles, and it even released a few weeks before the movie premiered. It's an adaptation of the film, a weird retelling of events that focuses on the gameplay experience rather than spend an hour wandering around a boat as a slow romance blossoms. Developers Ubisoft Montpelier wanted to bring Kong Island to life, from the giant monkey to the dinosaurs, so it’s not long before you’re spearing insects and other native wildlife.

Does King Kong accurately capture the spirit of dense and haunted Kong Island? Does the focus on telling a cinematic story clash with the gameplay of shooting and spear throwing? Or does King Kong, in trying to unite these ideas, fail to make the most of its medium?

On this episode, we discuss:

• King Kong was praised by critics on release for its gorgeous graphics, minimalistic UI and reactive sound effects. Have these elements held up in the wake of modern advancements in cinematic storytelling in video games?
• King Kong boasts some fascinating gameplay systems - the spreading of fire, how your spear interacts with bait, and the way animals eat each other in a deadly ecosystem. In what ways does King Kong utilise these systems to create a deeper gameplay experience?
• How well does King Kong capture the aesthetic and spirit of the movie? To what degree does Jack Black carry the story?

We answer these questions and many more on the 94th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

King Kong OST: Chance Thomas

King Kong Widescreen and FOV fix

This only works with the ‘Gamer Edition’ of King Kong, not the regular version

The excellent Nintendo DS version that we didn’t play for some reason

How does the King Kong movie (2005) stand up when compared to the other King Kong films? Are the other versions on different consoles worth playing (particularly the gba one)? Did you find Jack Black as hilarious as we did? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!