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His talents are not only limited to film making but extend well into game design. With the assistance of Ubisoft’s Montpellier studio (Beyond Good & Evil), Peter Jackson’s influence can be easily spotted in the cleverly created video game adaptation of King Kong.

Prior to playing the PSP version of King Kong, I formed a number of misconceptions. While the powerful handheld hardware behind PSP has been put to test successfully on more then one occasion (i.e. GTA: Liberty City Stories), there was a severe doubt in my mind as to how well a first-person shooter would pan out. I was not too impressed with Coded Arms which was the very first person shooter game on the PSP. I was also aware that King Kong was simultaneously released on six different platforms (PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 2, Sony PSP, and Nintendo Game Cube). It all sounded absurd and I was getting myself ready to trash yet another lame marketing ploy at increasing the movie sales. After spending several days monkeying around with the PSP version of the game, I must admit that I was quite wrong at my initial view of things.

In King Kong, you interchangeably play as two characters from two distinctly different points of view. In the first person shooter mode you play as the brave Jack Driscoll while uncovering the secrets of Skull Island. In the third person play mode you take control of the 25-foot-tall King Kong as you smash your way through the remainder of the story. King Kong for the PSP is a truncated version of the console game with 15 levels of fun gaming which will give you approximately 7 hours of game play. The story has been also shortened in comparison to the PC and console versions but it is still cohesive enough so it does not feel forced. It is definitely a secondary element provided that most people are already familiar with the film’s plot. The controls on the PSP are generally intuitive. There are several control modes to choose from but the default mode, where the look functionality is set with the analog stick and the movement controls are set with the four face buttons is the way to go. Overall, King Kong offers some clever design elements. For starters, there is no head-up-display (HUD) for either of the protagonists. This ain’t Halo people! As Jack Driscoll, you are only limited to carrying two weapons with limited ammo which eliminates the need and capacity to destroy everything and everyone in your path as you advance through the game worlds. You gauge how much health you have via a screen effect that flashes the screen red when you are injured. On more then one occasion you will be faced with using unorthodox means to advance. Without giving away any plot goodies, I suggest that you play King Kong while thinking outside of the box. The puzzles that you will encounter are not something that you will lose sleep over but they do require quick and creative thinking. King Kong for PSP reflects a fine balance between action and puzzle driven game elements.

The visuals are simply amazing and show the true graphical power that PSP can harness. All of this is delivered over relatively short loading times between levels. The 3d game engine delivers generally smooth frames rates while offering highly detail 3d models of Playstation 2 quality. There are a few minor bugs that are visible in the forms of blinking textures and there is occasional clipping with enemy models (i.e. dinosaurs) and the surrounding environment. Audio in the game sports excellent voice work from the film cast. Animal sounds are simply amazing as well as all of the ambient environmental audio. The game also features a fully original orchestral score that blends in perfectly.

King Kong is strictly a single player game, even though there is a minor multi player mode. In this minimalist mode you and a friend can play through any level of the game competitively or cooperatively. The game keeps score of who shoots first a monster in a competitive mode while in the cooperative mode you play side by side to the very end. The bizarre thing is that in either mode you are unable to see the person you are playing with. The entire multi player mode stinks of effortlessness and it should have not been included with the game.

It is indeed the prevailing creativity that adds King Kong its charm. The game designers could have made a half hearted attempt at making a game that would ride on the success of the movie. Instead, they chose originality as means of delivering the King Kong single player game experience. King Kong for PSP, even in its shorter form when compared to other platforms, can be defined as one of the top games currently available for PSP.