Remembering King Kong the video game

If you were a gamer in the noughties, you’re bound to remember and vehemently miss the King Kong video game. Released in 2005, this epic production allowed you to enter the world of one of Peter Jackson’s best films and play from the perspective of one of the most famous fictional monsters in the world – King Kong.  

Today, the game is only available for retro gamers using older consoles, but many are crying out for an updated version they can play using the latest tech. We do get to see the legendary King Kong used in themes amongst different sections of the gaming industry. For instance, discover the best online slots that are themed to your favourite characters, including King Kong. 

Back in the day, people across the world spent hours engrossed in the game’s challenges. Playing Kong himself or as a first-person shooter fighting against other creatures and enemies. 

Feeling nostalgic yet? Join us for a walk down virtual memory lane as we remember this riveting classic. Let’s take a look at some of its best features and discuss why it’s still remembered fondly to this day.

Let’s get into the game

First of all, it’s worth noting that most adaptations of Peter Jackon films are impressive. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers video game, for example, was a hit. However, the King Kong game surely Kong-quers them all. From rollicking around Skull Island causing chaos as Kong himself to shooting gigantic centipedes and T-Rexes as Jack Driscoll – there were so many action-packed quests to go on. 

Characters and challenges

Playing as King Kong was definitely the highlight of the game. You could do signature moves like tearing dinosaurs apart with your bare gorilla hands and use smaller enemies as ammo to launch at bigger ones. The character could also punch, bite charge and grab. Perhaps most exciting, you let out your rage and pound your big gorilla chest to enter into full fury mode. When this happened, the sky would suddenly become tinted with a golden hue and Kong would become more powerful and intimidating as ever, leaving enemies fleeing from the scene. 

As well as shooting and rampaging around, you were also challenged with puzzle games and problem-solving. Burning bushes to proceed to the next stage and luring spiders away with creature bait were fun highlights.

Game levels 

Can you remember all the different levels of the game? There were 40 core missions in total, and one bonus stage that could be unlocked. Here’s a list of them, see if any off bring back some fond memories:

1. The Venture
2. Skull Island
3. Necropolis
4. Scorpions
5. The Wall
6. Sacrifice
7. On Kong’s Tracks
8. Hayes
9. V-Rex
10. Ann
11. Kong
12. The Canyon
13. Millipedes
14. Brontosaurus
15. Jimmy
16. On The Raft
17. Rapids
18. Fight
19. Swamps
20. Chased by V-Rex
21. The Log
22. The Skull Islanders
23. To Save Ann
24. The Cave
25. Venatosaurus
26. In The Mud
27. Call Kong
28. Kong to the Rescue
29. To the Plane
30. To the Lair
31. Kong’s Lair
32. Fight in the Lair
33. Free!
34. Chased by Kong
35. Heading Back
36. Back to the Village
37. Kong’s Capture
38. Kong Struck Down
39. In The Streets of New York
40. Empire State Building/Kong’s Death
41. Alternate Ending*

Different versions of the game 

Different consoles offered different experiences within the game. For example, in the console and pc versions – Jack had companions in most chapters, helping him in fights and puzzle solving. You could also trade weapons in some versions.

For those with a Nintendo DS, Jack only had one companion in a few chapters and to be honest, they weren’t much help. However, that just made the challenge more exciting, as you get to do most of the heavy work. In the PSP version, Jack was a lone ranger and had no companions.

Kong and Jack weren’t the only famous characters in the game either. You’ll also encounter the voices of other major characters. Carl Denham is played by Jack Black and Ann Darrow is played by Naomi Watts. All these key role players got in the booth and recorded new lines just for the game.

Of course, Jackson played a key role in the making of this incredible video game, but it wouldn’t be what it was without Ubisoft and Michel Ancel. Ancel is the creative director who also famously created Rayman and directed Beyond Good and Evil. 

Consoles 

In its heyday, the King Kong video game was available on PS2, Nintendo DS, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PC, so gamers had plenty of options available to choose from. 

Unfortunately for us, the video game hasn’t been released for newer consoles. Our closest option is to play themed games and play King Kong games from there, a popular alternative. Many have pushed and pleaded for the game to be updated and made available for modern gamers but to no avail. 

Conclusion

So that’s it, we’ve reached the final stage of our walk down memory lane. The King Kong video game was definitely a credit to the film. There are countless occasions when a film’s official game is utter let down – and thankfully this wasn’t one of them. The game is missed by all those who were lucky enough to play it back in the day – we can only wait and hope for a remake.