Adding to our list of Peter Jackson related reviews -- including the film which opened last week and the Xbox 360 and PC versions of (found here and here respectively; and you can buy the PC version right here on GameShark to boot) is today's review of the Xbox version of Peter Jackson's King Kong Official Game of the Movie. The first and most important thing to note is that there's obviously there's not too many real differences between the Xbox 360 version of the game and the Xbox version, save a few graphical changes and a $10 lower price point (obviously the game is cheaper on Microsoft's first generation console). So what's the best version of the game to buy at this point? If I was hard pressed to give you an answer i'd say this version is the best bet - it's $10 cheaper, it plays the same as the Xbox 360 version and doesn't have the technical headaches of the PC version (with certain ATI cards).

The game itself is a lot of fun, offering a combination of first-person shooter action as the main protagonist, , and some awesome third-person action as the irrepressible Kong. The game was built by Michel Ancel, best known as the creator of the Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil. His talent really shines through in the game, offering wonderfully vibrant environments to explore, masterful character design that looks absolutely amazing, and action gameplay that is actually fun to play. While the developers have the film's story to fall back on, Ancel does a great job of bringing it to life in a way that makes it compelling to play through and extends itself beyond its source material.

The game opens with Jack, Ann, and crew attempting to land on Skull Island - only to be sidetracked right at the start and knocked for a loop. You wake up as Jack and find yourself in the jungles of the lonely and apparently heavily populated island. Most of the game will be played out as Jack in first-person as you avoid or fight its prehistoric inhabitants and attempt to find the elusive and mythical Kong.

While playing as Jack you'll have access to a gun and a limited amount of ammo that is sensibly placed throughout the island (sensible because the game doesn't put ammo everywhere, and there's always a logical reason to find it where you do), along with things like spears and dinosaurs, while some of your ammo is limited, some of the more mundane objects can be used repeatedly like the spear. Aiming is very easy in this game - where you aim is where you tend to hit, and that nice gameplay element makes the game easier to play. Health is handled by a flashing screen similar to Call of Duty 2 - the screen flashes when you take serious damage. Like COD2, players simply need to retreat and wait for the flashing to subside. Ammo is also handled by verbal cues from Jack, as opposed to some visual indicator on the screen. King Kong has no Head's Up Display (HUD) of any kind, and it doesn't need one.

Playing as King Kong is just as much fun as playing as Jack, but there's just not enough of it in the game, a great slab of the action is from Jack's perspective. But when you do get to play as Kong, the gameplay is intense violent and fun.

There are two basic moves you can do with Kong - swing through the jungle and smash prehistoric antagonist to bits. As Jack these monster are quite formidable, but as the gargantuan Kong these baddies don't stand too much of a chance. Kong can use punches and grabs, some combo moves, and finishing maneuvers that involve Kong grappling an opponent once they are down. These moments are visually exciting and really put the game on the map.

Beyond the combat there are a number of puzzlers that players will encounter, and while they aren't anything intricate they add nicely to the overall game. For example, players might search for an object to open a door, or burn something to find the solution to an obstacle. The puzzling in the game is light but it adds a little bit of depth to the overall presentation.

One of the biggest flaws of the game is that there just isn't enough meat on its bones; you don't get to play Kong as much as you should considering that the game is all about this gargantuan primate. Players will find that they'll spend more time as Jack Black's character doing mundane things to solve puzzles. One of the cooler play areas, New York City, just isn't long enough either, and that's a real shame because this game is just shy of being stellar because of decisions like this. Despite the game's short play time (6 -7 hours), Kong takes a hit, despite great play mechanics and an absolutely awesome overall presentation.

In the end, Kong is a game worth purchasing if you liked the film or if you are an action adventure fan in general. The game captures the magic of Jackson's film (and steps a little beyond it), looks great and gives you a gameplay ride that is lots of fun. If you can't buy it, at least give it a rental. It's a game worth experiencing.