Peter Jackson's King Kong
Ages: Teen

Millipedes, crabs, and bats -- Oh my! Peter Jackson drops you into the fetid jungle of Skull Island. The graphics are of such superb cinematic quality that as you wander through dense jungle, swamps, treacherous bridges, caves and waterfalls, you feel as though something crawly will drop down your back any minute.

Carl Denham, a producer wants to make a film about the mysterious Skull Island. He has put together a team -- Jack Discoll, writer, Ann Darrow, actress and Hayes, an ex infantry man to explore the island. You play as Jack and the team fluctuates between assisting you and needing you to save them. The creatures you must fight are as important as the characters -- you see a lot of them. The megapedes are a mix between giant centipedes and scorpions; giant crabs are mostly claws and occur only near water; the Venatosaurus hunt in packs and that means you; and the V-Rex is too big for anyone but King Kong to fight. I haven't finished yet -- there unnamed flying creatures, unnamed things in the streams and more unnamed creatures on land that attack you. Besides creatures there are the natives of Skull Island who do not greet you with flowers. Are you beginning to get my point? You have wandered into dangerous territory and you are fighting to survive.

The fighting is credible to the situation you are in. In spite of occasional air drops of weapons and ammunition, you must fill our your arsenal with spears and bones which actually work quite well. Besides fighting, you learn to avoid predators by distracting them with fresh kill. Fire is also your friend and sometimes it feels that you are scorching the entire island.

And then there is Kong. You get to play him too and what a relief that is. No more skulking around throwing spears and bones at creatures, Kong just slams and smashes through barriers, tears up animals, climbs, swings and jumps his way through the jungle. You know the ending -- which the game doesn't spend much time on but he does get to smash up New York.

Ubisoft and Peter Jackson have brought a new dimension to the shooter, survival game. It will be awhile before anyone tops this.

Reviewed by: Editor - 12/05