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Peter Jackson's King Kong for PlayStation Portable
Peter Jackson's King Kong for PlayStation Portable alternates survival as Jack Driscoll with Kong's strength. As Jack, you look through his eyes while making your way across Skull Island. The vegetation hides insects and predators, and ammunition is not unlimited. You use firearms, spears and the environment to clear passages. Sometimes distracting an animal helps more than wasting your last bullets on a large predator.
The food chain plays a practical part in this. Small animals or a carcass can attract other creatures, giving you room to move on. A burning spear can set vegetation alight. When you control Kong, the perspective changes and you see his whole body. You climb vine-covered walls, swing across ravines and fight large opponents. Blows, grabs and bursts of rage give those fights a different rhythm from Jack's cautious journey among the predators.
You follow the solo story along a compact route that was shortened and adapted for the handheld. Not every scene and route from the console versions was retained. In the pause menu, you save your progress to a Memory Stick Duo; after loading, you resume at the last checkpoint. You can select previously reached chapters again. There are no permanent ammunition gauges on the screen: Jack tells you how many bullets he has left when you check his supplies.
Region and language
Our PlayStation Portable games are European editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
You receive the physical UMD edition. You need a PSP with a UMD drive to play it; a PSP Go cannot play this disc.
Manual
Peter Jackson's King Kong for PlayStation Portable includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Peter Jackson's King Kong
Ubisoft released Peter Jackson's King Kong in 2005 alongside Peter Jackson's new film adaptation of the giant ape's story. For the main project, the publisher worked with the filmmaker and the team around Michel Ancel at Ubisoft Montpellier. The aim was not only to show the world through film scenes, but to make the contrast between a vulnerable human and a powerful animal playable. That alternation between Jack and Kong was retained in the PlayStation Portable version.
The PSP adaptation arrived in late 2005 and was adapted with help from Phoenix Studio. The original manual explicitly thanks that studio for level design and adapting the game content. The result is not an unchanged copy of the larger console game. The route through Skull Island is more compact, and sections involving other characters were simplified or left out. Recognisable events therefore follow each other faster, placing greater emphasis on Jack's own actions, alternating with separate sections in which Kong takes the lead.
The PSP edition appeared in December 2005, shortly after the home console versions. The handheld adaptation therefore still formed part of the original film launch. The difference lies in its structure and pace: the same film world was condensed into a shorter adventure alternating between Jack and Kong.
Similar games for PlayStation Portable
God of War: Chains of Olympus for PlayStation Portable, like Kong's sections, features large creatures, powerful attacks and fights that revolve around timing. Kratos, however, remains the constant focus throughout the adventure and uses his own weapons and powers. King Kong alternates that physical strength with Jack's vulnerable first-person perspective. You therefore change not only your attack, but also your scale and your position within the food chain.
Prince of Persia: Revelations for PlayStation Portable combines combat with climbing, jumping and routes along walls. Kong's movement across vine-covered walls and ravines has a similar spatial character. The prince, however, uses acrobatics, swords and time powers within one continuous character. King Kong interrupts climbing with Jack's spear and firearm combat, continually alternating cautious survival with brute strength.
Iron Man for PlayStation Portable is also a story adapted into film in which, alongside humans, you encounter a much more powerful playable hero. Tony Stark in his armour remains the centre of the action, using flight, energy and ranged weapons. King Kong instead puts two very different play styles side by side. As Jack, you try to survive threats with limited resources; as Kong, you fight large beasts with your hands.
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters for PlayStation Portable mixes gunfights, jumping and large enemies in a three-dimensional adventure. Ratchet builds his approach around a growing arsenal and equipment. Jack is more concerned with making do with what he finds on Skull Island, such as spears and limited ammunition. The Kong chapters also add a second scale: there, you grab opponents rather than continually keeping your distance.
MediEvil: Resurrection for PlayStation Portable combines exploring dangerous areas with fights against unusual creatures. Sir Daniel uses medieval weapons within a dark, comic fairy tale. King Kong chooses cinematic menace, a jungle and prehistoric predators. While MediEvil always follows the same hero from an outside perspective, King Kong alternates between looking through Jack's eyes and viewing the surroundings from behind the giant ape.
