The Rest -
Peter Jackson, the man who directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is remaking the classic film King Kong set to be released worldwide on December 15, 2005. Much like in the original film, the oversized ape Kong is taken by a bunch of explorers from Sumatran Skull Island to New York city to be used as a freak show. Just like in that movie, and in Peter Jackson’s remake, Kong will eventually break loose and wreak havoc in New York City in Ubi Soft’s game.

The video game version will have sequences relatively close to the ones found in the film. In the demo shown at E3, King Kong ripped open the jaws of a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex, causing blood to rush out from the seams - this was actually in the original 1933 version of the film. Also, we’re supposed to see the damsel in distress as Kong carries her away in his clutches. It won’t be any surprise that you will get to take the massive ape to the top of the Empire State Building either, just like in the movies.

The game will offer 1st and 3rd person points-of-view, which can sometimes determine much about the game play, so it’s nice to have both as an option. So far, there won’t be any HUD displays in the game either giving it much more of a cinematic appeal. But, this means no health meters, maps, or guidance arrows to lead you through the game. I can imagine that this game will be challenging with plenty of puzzles, but let’s hope they don’t get too carried away and make it unbelievably difficult.

There is not much information out on what weapons you will use as a human character, but we know there will be a pistol, a machine gun, and a spear. But reportedly players will actually be able to take control of the great ape himself. Players will have to assume the role of the movie’s protagonist Jack Driscoll and our Simian friend in order to progress the storyline.

King Kong is looking pretty impressive at this point let’s just hope it doesn’t take the same nosedive that many other movie modeled video games do.

Posted: June 7, 2005