GAME FEATURES
* Survive as Jack in a world crawling with predators and live the legend as Kong.

* Use weapons, traps, and your team wisely to survive in first-person as Jack.

* Break jaws, slam enemies, and throw massive objects in Kong's colossal third-person battles.

NCS Game Notes
* The beginning of the game looks like a movie with the Universal globe and trumpet music that sounds a little off. It's too flat and not as vibrant as the intro one would find on any movie DVD. There is a demo mode which shows off the game if you don't do anything in the game selection screen. Watch dinosaurs terrorize humans and King Kong wreaking havoc against dinosaurs before he moves to the big city and raises hell on an unprepared metropolis.

* After starting the game, movie footage is shown of Jack Black as Carl Denham and friend looking for actresses. They find Naomi Watts who plays Ann Darrow and cast her in the movie. Adrian Brody stars as Jack Driscoll and the ship that the film makers charter sails to an uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean.

* Soon after the movie introduction, the words Venture appear and the game prompts using the R-Anaolog to aim the camera. Gamer soon realizes that he's on a boat being lowered from the main boat and on his way to an island as the sea rages around them and rain pours down. Using the R-analog to pan around, you will see two men rowing the boat and the director Carl Denham speaking to Ann in the rear of the boat. He yells out, "Let's Make a Movie!" and she counters with, "Let's just try landing this boat first, shall we." While the sea boils around them, the director is filming with his camera, seemingly unaware of the dangers around them. There isn't much the gamer can do in the introductory sequence other than watch and wait until rocks fall onto the boat and cause the boat to crash against the rocks. When Jack comes to, a representation of Naomi Watts' Ann Darrow wakes him up. Use the L-analog to move around.

* Although a man is dead from the rock fall, the director Carl is filled with excitement as he slings the camera behind his back and charges deeper into the Island of the Skull. Follow Hayes and the director up the stairs and into the mouth of a cave. Ann will light a torch for light and Hayes will hand a gun to you. To fire, press the L2 to aim and R2 to shoot. A few screaming spiders will rush at the party but they're easily felled by shooting two slugs each into them. Once they've been dispatched, the party will head deeper into the cave. When they exit on the other side, they'll be met with a realistic roiling ocean below. The effect of the waves and surf is beautifully done and would make a great screen saver...

* When the party reaches a barrier, Hayes and Jack push two pillars to open the gate. Instead of helping them push, the director tells Ann to pose for the camera so he can take some shots. In the midst of pushing the pillars, crabs attack the party from the sea and are followed by a king crab that takes over 20-30 bullets to kill. As Jack is taking care of the crabs, Hayes and the Carl will continue pushing the pillars to get the gate open. Once they pass through, the game will prompt you to save your progress.

* The faces of the characters in the game are modeled after the actors that play them in the movie. When Jack Black's character is crouching in one of the scenes and peering upwards, he looks like the stoner from Orange County.

* Later in the early part of the game, Carl may pick up a spear and then light it on fire by waving it across a burning flame. Brambles may then be set on fire so the party may pass. There's a point where massive centipedes attack and it's fairly surreal to watch them slither out and then shoot them dead with a blast from your shot gun. Still later, after the player crosses a creaky plank that shatters, Ann will scale the walls in an attempt to join him. Centipedes will attack her so shoot them down from your vantage point so that they don't kill the heroine of the movie.

* Our first impressions of King Kong: Well designed and executed game that has some excellent effects and above par voice acting. The rousing music helps to accentuate the action when being attacked by creatures or when something is about to happen. The Save anywhere function is helpful but we didn't get why the Special Mode and Horizontal Flip in the video options were Locked. The default Display Mode is 4/3 Black bands but may be changed to standard 4/3 or 16/9 aspect ratio.