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The Eighth Wonder of the World is one of the most famous iconic characters in all of pop culture. There have been dozens of movies surrounding the almighty gorilla, and one of its best films is the adaptation from Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson. Not only that, but its King Kong 2005 movie video game counterpart is an absolute 10/10 masterpiece compared to the newly released Skull Island Rise of Kong.
Everyone was sure Gollum would pick up the Razzie award for worst game of the year, but it appears as though King Kong will now pick up that trophy. Skull Island Rise of Kong is absolutely bananas with fans gobsmacked by the poor graphics, janky cut-scenes, and horrible sound design all compounded by horrific gameplay. It’s fun if you revel in playing terrible video games, but it has the audacity to ask for $39.99/£44.99 on PlayStation.
There really is a shortage of King Kong video games, so it’s a massive, albeit expected, shame that Skull Island Rise of Kong is so terrible. And, unfortunately, it’s not as easy to pick up and get the amazing video game adaptation of the Oscar-winning Peter Jackson film.
Remembering the King Kong 2005 movie game
The King Kong 2005 movie video game was developed by Ubisoft before they became synonymous with Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. It was a complete adaptation of the Peter Jackson film, and it ingeniously put you in the shoes of one of the crew exploring Skull Island following Jack Black’s director character, Carl Denham. And yes, Jack Black was an official voice actor along with the film’s other A-list stars including Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts, and Andy Serkis.
It was one of the first new releases on the Xbox 360, and its excellence can be attributed to the dream collaboration between movie director Peter Jackson and Ubisoft’s Michel Ancel, the creator of the legendary Rayman. Presented mostly in first-person view, it plays exactly like an FPS. However, battling the monsters of Skull Island, was remarkably intense and actually quite scary. At the time, it was a great action game with slight elements of horror. In addition, there were also levels in third-person playing as Kong. These were epic moments that, as the meme goes, made you feel like King Kong.
Of course, its graphics have dated significantly, yet it still looks incredible compared to Skull Island Rise of Kong. It has actual direction, the dark and gritty atmosphere hides quite a lot of the outdated visuals, and the character models are still fairly decent for the time. The sound design remains fantastic, and it has a really good story presenting an unseen side of Skull Island. While the movie focused a lot on the relationship blossoming between Miss Naomi Watts and the Eighth Wonder of the World, the game had you battling terrifying beasties unseen in the film. It was a rare instance of a great movie game complimenting the film rather than straight-up mimicking every plot beat.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was one of the best movie and licensed video games. Now we are spoiled with fantastic licensed video games such as the upcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, but back in the 2000s most licensed adaptations were horrifically bad and quick cash grabs. It’s a shame picking up King Kong 2005 isn’t easy as it’s not available to buy on the PSN or Steam store, and physical copies are outrageously expensive. Not only that, but you also need to have kept your older consoles. Still, while Skull Island Rise of Kong is justifiably roasted by everyone online, it’s good to remember the King Kong game that was actually great.
