For movie fans the name Peter
Jackson will usually bring up the Lord of the Rings series. When you mention the
name King Kong either the classic black and white version of the original movie
or the tepid 70’s version comes to mind. Now what do you get when you combine
both Peter Jackson and King Kong? Well you get Peter Jackson’s new movie and
gamers are treated to the “Official Game of the Movie.” However, all is not
right in the gaming world. It seems a little system that could, the Game Boy
Advance was left out in the cold. Instead of getting the official game, the GBA
version of King Kong is simply an adaptation of the classic Kong story.
Unfortunately this adaptation falls in line with the 70’s version of King Kong
which is not good.
The story of Kong involves Ann
Darrow (actress), Jack Driscoll (scriptwriter), Carl Denham (filmmaker) and a
gigantic ape. Carl is determined to make his most historic film yet after he
hears tales of a mysterious island with strange and unusual creatures. Ann will
be the star of the film and Jack is along to protect the crew and Ann. But
filming on the island takes a turn for the worse when the giant ape (Kong)
kidnaps Ann. It’s up to Jack and Carl to rescue Ann and get off of Skull Island
alive. It’s the same premise you’ve seen in the previous Kong movies but this
game doesn’t deliver anything new or exciting.
The majority of the game plays out
via a top down overhead view similar to old action-adventure RPGs from the Sega
Genesis & Super Nintendo era. The game allows you to control all three members
of your party (Ann, Jack and Carl) at the same time but with a few twists. Each
member has their own unique ability and specific weapons you can use during
certain parts of the game. For example Jack can use three different weapons
while Carl can move items, throw grenades and use a torch. Ann has the ability
to heal, stun enemies with a scream and use a grappling hook. At anytime you can
change the party leader (the character you’re controlling) at anytime by
pressing the L button. You can even press the select button to remove the leader
from the party and control the leader separately from the rest of the group. The
game even includes an item creation system where you get to combine items to
create new items to use in your adventure.
These gameplay features hint at some
interesting ideas that might come but regrettably the great ideas fail to
materialize in the gameplay. You spend a large portion of the game running
around Skull Island fighting small creatures that attack you looking for items
to use in rescuing Ann and escaping the island. You will also investigate
dungeons scattered throughout the island in hopes of finding even more items.
Even the might ape himself, Kong, gets thrown into the mix allowing you to
control Kong from time to time. But all of these features just feel pointless,
unfulfilling and at times downright boring.
Sure Link runs around Hyrule looking
for items to help Zelda but the gameplay sucks you in with great puzzles and
incredible action. Kong doesn’t have this luxury. The dungeons are fairly easy
to navigate through with some moderate challenges. But sometimes you can explore
a dungeon only to find an item that has no impact on the rest of the game. Even
on the surface of Skull Island I found a few items that had no impact on the
game. These items never showed up in my inventory for me to use, which made me
wonder “what was the point?” The action was mediocre at best with you simply
hacking away as Jack during most of the game. Several smaller creatures would
respawn almost immediately in certain parts of the game, which would cause
unnecessary damage to your party members. Playing with all of your characters in
the party was an inconvenience at times simply because the person behind the
leader would walk into damage frequently. For example certain dungeons walls
would shoot darts at you when walked by. The party leader would avoid the damage
but the 2nd person would get hit. The level designs of the island
made it difficult at times to figure out where to go next in the game. Certain
sections would look off limits due to the graphics but if walked a certain way
you could make it to the next area.
All of these issues are small minor
annoyances that add up to some problems. Even playing as the 8th
Wonder of the World had it’s problems. When you’re controlling Kong you have a
quick punch, ground attack and a guard. But when I tried to use the guard
feature Kong was always knocked over which required me to tap the B button
repeatedly to get up. Kong’s attacks seemed to be in slow motion, which opened
Kong up to damage since the attacks usually wouldn’t hit a creature immediately.
The game even changed how Kong’s segments are played out. Instead of being in a
over the top view the game switches to a side scrolling segment that would
usually last for less than a couple of minutes. All of the Kong segments were
used to move the story along in the game which was counter productive to what
you’re trying to do with Carl and Jack (rescue Ann).
But all is not a complete waste with
this game. The ability to change characters was interesting and offered some
unique challenges in some of the dungeons. I did enjoy a few of the puzzles that
required you to break up your party in order to move to the next part of the
dungeon. One character would have to solve one part of a puzzle in order to have
the other character move. But you can’t leave the other characters completely
behind to explore solo. The other character will whine about being left behind.
The item-creation system did allow you to keep in inventory essential items
(besides health items) simply by combining common items found.
In the end Kong for the GBA isn’t
what I would call a must-have title. The action of the game didn’t offer much
that was impressive and some of the exploration felt pointless. Playing as Kong
never made it seem as if I was a controlling a gargantuan ape. Instead
controlling Kong made me feel as if I was in charge of a stuffed toy ape covered
in sticky candy. But the ability to control up to three different characters in
the game and switch the characters on the fly in an action-adventure game was
interesting. Separating the characters to solve different puzzles was a nice
feature that would have been better if the characters didn’t complain when you
tried to leave them behind. If you’re looking for a must-have GBA title you can
skip Kong. But if you’re dying to play the game because of the new movie then
give it a try but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Review Scoring Details for Kong The 8th Wonder of the World |
Gameplay: 5.5
Controlling Kong and the three characters in the game is a nice feature. However
discovering useless items is not what makes a great game. The game never seemed
to get me hooked into the game. It made certain parts of the game feel like a
chore instead of a fun and entertaining experience.
Graphics: 6.0
This game comes straight from 1992 with the 16-Bit era graphics. Don’t expect
the powerhouse 2D graphics you’ve come to expect from the GBA.
Sound: 6.2
The sound effects and music in the game are passable but nothing that will
impress anyone. All of the characters have their own unique grunts they use
during the game. The music did set a nice tone for the game during the dungeons
with some creepy, mysterious tracks.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The action in the game is easy and the game is forgiving when you have to
continue (starting out at your last save game spot). However if one of your
party members dies then the game is over and you will need to continue.
Concept: 5.2
Ok, I have to say it: This has to be a quick cash grab since this isn’t even
based on the same movie or other King Kong games that were recently released. I
know Peter Jackson mentioned in interviews that he was overseeing development of
the other King Kong games. I guess the GBA wasn’t on his agenda. It’s King Kong
and if you haven’t already seen at least part of the original movie then please
check it out before you even attempt to play this game. The game tries to be
creative by offering different abilities for all of the characters in the game
and having the ability to switch between all of the characters at anytime. But
I’m sure most people when they see the name Kong on the cover will think this is
a game based on the new movie coming out. Our loyal GameZone readers won’t be in
for that surprise with this game.
Overall: 5.7
Kong for the GBA isn’t as “King” as it should be. Instead we’re treated to a
16-bit era inspired action adventure game that is based on a classic movie.
Unfortunately for Kong most of the 16-bit era movie based games weren’t that
good and Kong is following the same path.
