"I wanted the game to be able to take the audience a bit further than what the film could," said Peter Jackson. "And the final climax of the game gave us an opportunity to do something that the film could not do, which was to have an alternate ending -- obviously everybody pretty much knows how King Kong ends."
"With the King Kong film opening this past weekend, Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie features the ending millions would love to see -- King Kong alive and back on Skull Island," said Tony Kee, vice president of marketing for Ubisoft North America. "Michel Ancel and Peter Jackson's collaboration was strong from the very beginning to the very end, so much so, they created an alternate ending where players will experience memorable moments beyond the film."
To unlock the alternate ending, players must complete the entire game and then go back and play through various maps and earn a total of 250,000 points -- which is within reason and definitely worth the effort. Other un-lockable features include several Weta Digital concept art galleries, interviews with both Peter Jackson and Academy Award winner and co-writer Phillipa Boyens, an "old movie" filter, a King Kong theatrical trailer and more.
Michel Ancel, creative director at Ubisoft -- regarded as one of the top innovative minds in the video game industry -- and his team at Ubisoft's Montpellier (France) studio worked with Peter Jackson and WingNut Films to capture the King Kong movie dynamics through a unique video game experience.
"It was an absolute pleasure working with Ubisoft on the video game," Peter Jackson said. "Being able to collaborate closely together from day one was of utmost importance, which is why we gave Ubisoft unlimited access to every creative aspect of our film production. We really wanted the game and the film to be part of the same universe."
"We were amazed by Peter Jackson's creativity and what he brought to the project," Michel Ancel said. "Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is a creation that closely follows the storyline of the movie, yet as video games have the innate ability to do, pushes the emotional tension of the film to even greater depths. Players will experience unprecedented dual gameplay within a movie-licensed game that alternates between Jack Driscoll in first-person and as King Kong in third-person. These contrasting perspectives will immerse players in a journey that features epic battles, tough choices and a dynamic experience within the visually stunning environment of Skull Island."
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, rated "T" for Teen, is available for the Xbox 360 ($59.99), PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, PSP ($49.99) and Nintendo DS ($39.99). Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World (rated E10+) is available for the Game Boy Advance system ($29.99).