Upon release, the console and PC versions received positive reviews, with critics praising the game's cinematic quality, environments, and ability to play as both Jack and Kong.

In the game, the player assumes the roles of both New York scriptwriter Jack Driscoll and the giant gorilla, King Kong, as they struggle to survive the threats of Skull Island in 1933.

[11] Interspersed with human adventure are levels in which the player controls Kong himself, traversing Skull Island's unique geography, battling various giant monsters while defending Ann.

[13] Many of the Kong sequences fulfill the role of boss fights, as the giant ape is able to effectively battle the gigantic creatures that Jack's weapons cannot harm.

[14] 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.

Carl hires playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) to write his script and plucks a starving, out-of-work actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) to play the part of leading lady and a tramp steamer called the Venture to take them to the island.

The party progresses forward, meeting up with the second lifeboat containing Preston (Colin Hanks), Jimmy (Jamie Bell) and Lumpy (Andy Serkis), although it cannot land because of the strong current of the sea.

The team continue traversing the island, battling many vicious predators such as giant megapedes, scorpio-pedes, and Terapusmordax and are eventually forced to split up as they make their way to a massive wall looming in the distance.

During the dangerous journey through the jungle, they have an encounter with pack-hunting Venatosaurus, and at one point Jack has to rescue Carl when he gets abducted by a Terapusmordax matriarch.

Jack skillfully navigates around the Brontosaurus herd to acquire a fire to clear their path forward, being chased by Venatosaurs the whole way through.

Jack eventually saves Ann from a V. rex, and the party attempt to find a long stretch of water of which Englehorn's seaplane can land on.

The player will switch to Jack using the seaplane's machine gun to take out the searchlights, and shoot down the remaining biplanes to protect Kong.

The second PC version, known as the "Gamer's Edition" (originally only available with select graphics cards and later offered on game download services), also includes these improved features.

The signature edition also comes with a Topps trading card of King Kong, a code for a downloadable ringtone, and a cover signed by Peter Jackson.

[17][18][19][20][21][b][22][c] Symptomatic of early seventh-generation console games, the Xbox 360 version is only set up for HDTV, leaving the image on standard-definition TVs very dark and unsatisfactory for gameplay.

The retail PC version utilizes the StarForce copy protection system, which may cause unforeseen difficulties for players, especially those using Microsoft Windows 7.

However, the Nintendo DS version was widely panned by reviewers because of bugs and glitches, poor level design and enemy AI.

The New York Times gave it a favorable review and wrote that "the sense of immersion is increased by the game's first-person perspective and an absence of on-screen clutter.

[62] The Sydney Morning Herald gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and said of the game: "With a rather abrupt final sequence it does seem to rush to its climax, but despite its brevity, this is an unforgettable trip through the realm of Kong".

[63] Detroit Free Press gave the Xbox 360 version three stars out of four and called it "a decent effort", noting the game having cinematic feel and production values of a big-budget film.

[64] Maxim, however, gave the PSP version a score of four out of ten; the magazine commended an addition of a two-player co-op mode, but was critical to its controls.

[65] King Kong has seen lasting positive reception, particularly when compared to other film tie-in games, and is considered by some to be ahead of its time.

[17][19] Polygon's Xalavier Nelson Jr. called King Kong "the most innovative game of its console generation" through its cinematic quality, gameplay systems, minimal HUD, and focus on player freedom within scripted sequences.

[17] Jade King of TheGamer concurred, writing the game was in many ways ahead of its time, including its "willing to usurp trends and try new things".

She commended the "constant mixture of horror and action" gameplay as having "a profound sense of immersion [...] that still feels refreshing despite the game pushing two decades old."

Conversely, she felt the Kong levels devolved the game into "a scrappy brawler with dodgy platforming or combat arenas conquered through mashing whatever buttons feel right".