I've been playing through King Kong on the Playstation Portable and it's been a surprisingly satisfying experience so far, albeit one with a few issues.

Having played the game on both the Xbox 360 and the Game Boy Advance I knew to what dizzying heights and subterranean lows the game could go. So I started my PSP experience with a mostly open mind.

The first thing I noticed was during the lengthy intro I no longer had control over Jack. While this wasn't a big issue, I could stop thinking why they hell they decided to do that, it was so very distracting. And the bizarre kept a coming.

Shortly after landing on the island I noticed that unlike in the Xbox 360 version, I had no companions. While again, this wasn't a deal breaker, it made for a much disjointed story. Especially later in the game when I have to chase after a damsel in distress that I never get any screen time with.

The third thing I didn't like about the PSP version was its odd level display. Because the game was missing most of its cutscenes it was hard to tell during the saves where you were in the game.

Despite these relatively minor short-comings, I really enjoyed playing this title. Jack's controls were customizable enough to make play relatively painless and the looks of the console version translated well to the PSP.

While you're not going to mistake this portable version for its big brother, you will likely still find worth playing through. The one exception is the relatively short fight sequences with Kong. Fighting with the great ape is mostly an exercise is button mashing, though I friggin loved swinging through scenery.

I don't see myself replaying King Kong after I beat it, but I will certainly take the time to finish the game.

UbiSoft's King Kong game has already had its price cut Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube. The price was hacked back to $29.99 for those versions. The Nintendo DS version remains $39.99 and the 360 is still standing guard at $59.99.

I just finished Peter Jackson's King King for the Xbox 360. Not a bad game. And I didn't find it that hard or frustrating, as some have claimed the game to be. It took me about 20 hours, and I didn't rush through. The hardest aspect of the game was figuring out how to master using spears as weapons. Without extensive use of them, you have no hope of having enough ammo to finish levels.

The game did have a couple of weaknesses:

I didn't like the switching between Jack, a human character who has to stay alive by using weapons, and Kong, who goes around kicking dinosaur ass with his bare hands. While you're playing as Jack, the combat system and the camera movements are pretty solid. But when you switch to Kong, the camera usually moves in front of Kong so you see his face — not over his shoulder as you would expect most action games to behave. This forces the player not to reverse combat and camera moves, which makes the game more difficult than it needs to be.

The other major flaw is the ghastly rendering of human faces. Sorry, but the graphics in this respect sucked (Chris Kohler touched on this). The faces look harsh, all polygony-ee angles and unrealistic shadows. And the features are badly drawn. This becomes distracting.

But, like I said, not a bad game. Still, I wish I hadn't played it. The game reveals some major plot points in the movie. Oh well.

Peter Jackson's King Kong [Official game site]

I like atmosphere as much as the next guy, but apparently UbiSoft is admitting that they went overboard and made King Kong for 360 so atmospheric - it's hard to play. By atmospheric I mean "dark" and by hard to play, I mean "really damn hard to play." Crecente didn't run into the darkness issues while forming his impressions of the game, but UbiSoft is recognizing that it is an issue.

TV Glitch Mars Kong Game [BBC]
King Kong 360 Hands-On

I love this game, though it doesn t seem to offer much more in the next-gen package than what you get in the current gen version.

I ve seen it on three systems now and in everyone the game is gorgeous. The lush jungle environments, craggy rocks and variety of monsters are all incredible looking. The cast, not so much. It s not that they are angular or poorly rendered it s just that they still aren t dead on and the 360 version of the game doesn t quite live up to the people inhabiting other 360 titles. The most unsettling bit of animation was when Anne wakes Jack up early in the game and talks to him. Her face takes up much of the screen and some kink in the graphics makes it looks like she s doing some sorta sensual freaky thing with her tongue while she s talking to you.

Despite the occasional bump in the road, the mechanics and seamless transition from full motion video to actual gameplay combined with a great storyline and jumping between Jack and Kong make for a great game. I almost look as forward to beating this game as I do reading a good classic book. I may know what s going to happen, but I still can t wait to experience it again.

I give King Kong three and a half out of five.

I liked the graphics in King Kong 360 so much I decided to take some more screenshots showing close-ups of some of the characters and some water and fire effects. You can't tell in this picture, but the fire actually has a slight heat shimmer around it. Sweet.

I just received a two-level demo of King Kong for the 360. The official game won't be available for review until next week.

The demo included one level of you playing as Jack and another level of you as King Kong.

I realize Japan Brian got a chance to play through the demoed game at the Osaka Games Festa. But I thought it was worth posting my impressions since it was more of the in-home experience.

I've played around with the game on the Gamecube, back when Nintendo came by my house, and have always been impressed with the amazingly detailed graphics and intuitive control.

I still am. I'd have to see the two side-by-side, but if my memory serves I'd say the 360 version isn't a huge step forward, graphically from the Gamecube version. That isn't to say it's a bad looking game, more than the Gamecube version was unbelievably amazing for current generation consoles.

The Jack level has me trying to keep the attention of a T-Rex away from two buddies as they try to open a gate so we can escape. The lush jungle environment and detailed ambient sounds really helped set the mode for the level.

My first two attempts ended with me as snack food for the Rex, then I found a pointy stick lying around and tried using that to occupy the Rex. At one point I was running circles around this mammoth rock with the Rex chasing me and I had no frigging clue where he was because the entire game is very first-person. I ended up having to side-step and take a peek over my shoulder. Bad mistake, he ate me.

In my final attempt, I tried winging spears at Rex until he chased me to some ruins and then I ducked through an arch. Every time Rex tried to go back to the guys at the gate, I'd toss another spear. They finally got it open and I high-tailed it to through with the Rex on my heels. The whole level wraps up with you cowering in a cave with the two other guys hoping to God the dinosaur can't reach you with his enormous head.

The fact that I was exhilarated by just watching this mostly out of my control scene says something about the power of this game.
In the King Kong level the shoe's on the other foot. Finally, you get to smack the T-Rex around. The fight controls are a bit difficult to master, but that's mostly a product of the realism of the game. A gorilla, no matter how huge, isn't going to be delivering concise jabs and uppercuts.

I found that if I tried to button mash too much it would result in King Kong smacking his chest and roaring into the sky, sort of the animal equivalent of senseless button mashing, so I had to be a bit more careful with my attacks. Once I defeated the initial Rex I got to take King Kong for a spin, sending him zipping through the jungle as he swung from rock outcrop to fallen tree to vine-covered wall. It's amazing that this game can look and behave so smoothly, there were no load times in game and everything just seemed to have a fluid feel to it.

I can't wait to get the final build of this game, I'm certain it's going to be a blast, though I'm still not quite sure what improvements it brings to the next-gen console.

Just received a second batch of 360 titles. This wave includes Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06 and the first two levels of King Kong. I'll try to get the reviews up as soon as I can, but I still have to play all but Madden, so it might be a day or two.

One of the genuine pleasures of the Osaka Games Festa was getting tons of playtime with Peter Jackson's King Kong. While movies based on games usually royally suck, Kong once again proves the reverse untrue. Peter Jackson and his WETA Studios provide backgrounds, and the film's talent lends their voices. I haven't seen the film yet, but the 360 title (and the PS 2 one) seem to be worthy companions.

Why did I love this game? Forget the graphics and even Jack Black's vox. As Kong, players beat dinosaur ass. No shooting or other pedestrian fight scenes, but an honest-to-goodness Kong-T Rex Wrestlemania. The game is a gorilla bitch-slap bonanza. It's simple, but sickeningly fun to go mano-a-mano. For the vast majority of the game, players are Kong. The rest is played as Adrian Brody's character. That's when things start to fall to pieces.

Here is another FPS in which the focus isn't taking out your enemy, but to run around and distract them. Personally, this subgenre irks the crap outta me. I find it not only stressful, but also an exercise in futility. As I was playing through, I kept wondering was this FPS section even necessary? Sure, it looks nice, and the Hollywood voice work is kinda cool. But, it ain't Kong, dagnabit! It's like playing the second-banana, and who wants to do that?

The game is playable at Tokyo's Xbox Lounge starting today.

Ubisoft [Official Site]

"The Official Cereal of the Game of the Movie." I only wish this was real, 'cos I'd actually buy it. And eat it.

Kiddos, More Info Here [Way I Play]

King Kong Game Raises Emotional Stakes [MSN]

King Kong and its upcoming video game article piqued the interest of The New York Times, the article concerns the continuing blur between video games and film. Director Peter Jackson (who is also working on the Halo movie) wants the game to seem as authentic as the movie (as authentic as a movie about a huge gorilla can be, I suppose).

King Kong Blurs Line Between Films and Games [The New York Times] (registration required)
Peter Jackson to Executive Produce Halo Movie

Just got off the Nintendo Van, man that's always an experience.

This time around I got some hands-on time with King Kong on the GBA and Gamecube, Super Mario Strikers, DDR Mario, Shadow the Hedgehog, Mario Kart DS, Mario and Luigi Partners in Time (with the rumble pack in), Animal Cross DS and Viewtiful Joe DS.

I'll post up separate quickies on all of the games, but let me say this. King Kong is going to kick much ass. I only played it for a few minutes, but it was a blast.

Expect to see the previews, much pictures and even some video tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to post any of this stuff up today before I have to leave for work.

This final batch of pics ala The Weazul show some nice images of the many screens that can be brought up with the 360. The above image shows what happens afer you hold down the Xbox button (that's the middle one) on a 360 controller for about five seconds. Pretty sweet, though a little too Windows-esque for my taste.

The other pictures, all after the jump, include the intro screen for King Kong on the 360, images of the different tabs for the 360 interface and a very sweet looking 360 intro screen.

One of my favorite publishers, Ubisoft, is getting a bit of a send off by the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Read Theater. The New York film society is hosting a live multimedia program that features in-game and CGI footage along with behind-the-scenes and making-of material. Semper Ubi: Ubisoft and the Art of Games is being held on Nov. 3 and include a chance to play King Kong in the Player's Lounge of the theater.

Lincoln Center [Upcoming Films]

During their last visit, I got a change to check out a bunch of titles that were later shown off at E3. This time around I get a chance to fondle the holiday fare. I already have a lot of the titles they will be showing off, but there are some pretty amazing exceptions. I can t wait to check out Viewtiful Joe DS, Mario & Luigi and Donkey Kong Country 3, but the big pay-off is going to be Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing DS (both WiFi games). I m told that there s a good chance that I will be able to test out online play.

Here s the full list, drop a comment if you have any specific requests.

Nintendo GameCube
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Battalion Wars
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
Mario Superstar Baseball
Super Mario Strikers
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Mario Party 7
King Kong
XMen Legends 2
Shadow Hedgehog
NHL 2006
NBA Live 2006
Spartan Total Warrior

Nintendo DS
Nintendogs
Metroid Prime Pinball
Animal Crossing DS
Mario Kart DS
Trace Memory
Advance Wars Dual Strike
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Castlevania
Viewtiful Joe
Sonic Rush


Game Boy Micro/Game Boy Advance SP
Mario Tennis Power Tour
Donkey Kong King of Swing
Donkey Kong Country 3
Final Fantasy IV
Tony Hawk
Ultimate Spiderman
Need for Speed
King Kong

The wonderful folks over at Ubisoft are having a hyperbolerific contest for King Kong. They will be giving away 50 mugs, 80 plush toys, 100 key rings, four busts of King Kong and a "life-sized statue". What? Are you telling me that this thing is gonna be 50-feet tall? Cuz if he is I want two, one for my front yard and one to hang off the gold dome of the Capitol building in Denver. Sweet!

King Kong Game [Official Site]

More details are emerging on what is shaping to be the gaming event of the Summer. The Leipziger Game Developers Conference, which runs from Aug. 16 to the 21 in Germany, could well be host to a bunch of stunning announcements. First were the rumors that the Xbox 360's price and date would be announced, now comes word that Nintendo will be on hand to "expand the definition of gaming."

It also sounds like King Kong may be playable at the event. Any German Kotaku readers out there who happen to be attending the event, feel free to shoot me some dispatches and I'll post them up.

GC Germany [Official Site]