BG&E team working on King Kong game

By Tom Bramwell Published 13 October, 2004

Presumably Jade is the heroine now.

'BG&E team working on King Kong game' Screenshot 1

Ubisoft has officially confirmed reports dating back to mid April that it is working on a videogame adaptation of Peter Jackson's forthcoming King Kong motion picture remake. The game is due out "on all platforms" in conjunction with the film's proposed December 14th 2005 release date.

Interestingly, the publisher says that its Beyond Good & Evil team based in Montpellier, France - presumably still led by Rayman creator Michel Ancel (sorry: "the genius behind BG&E, Michel Ancel") - is working alongside its Montreal studio in close collaboration with Jackson.

Their collective goal is to create a game "that will reflect the visual interpretation, character dynamics and dramatic narrative of Jackson's epic film," which, unless it's been updated since we last picked up Empire, is a period recreation of the 30s flick, rather than a modern day re-imagining.

"I'm really enjoying the collaboration with these artists, and all the creative possibilities we're discovering," said Peter Jackson, who is directing and producing the film, and also had a hand in the screenplay. "By working closely with the development team, Ubisoft is enabling me to help shape the kind of gaming experience that I will be proud to associate with this new version of King Kong, a story that began my life-long love of film."

Unfortunately we have no idea what the game will be like at this point, but we do have a rather nice picture of Jackson relaxing with some of the Ubisoft chaps. Enjoy. That man's worth 407 Oscars.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (29) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Thamuhacha #1 7 years ago

    Director of some of my favourite films of recent times works with makers of one of my favourite games of last year?

    Optimism levels high.

  • Blerk #2 7 years ago

    Noooooooooooo! It's a license! It'll be arse! :-(

  • tiddles #3 7 years ago

    Have faith, young Blerk.

  • UncleLou #4 7 years ago

    Is it just me, or has Jackson lost a lot of weight?


    Anyway, a King Kong game? I don't know...

  • Sko #5 7 years ago

    I guess the stress of directing a string of successful films must take it out of you. Might explain why George Lucas is such a chubby fekker. ;)

  • Thamuhacha #6 7 years ago

    Blerk - repeat after me "not all licensed games are crap".

    Riddick? The Thing?

    And this has a better chance than most TBH.

    Plus, MONKEYS!

  • Blerk #7 7 years ago

    I just don't see how they can make a reasonable game out of it. The storyline to the film (the original at least) doesn't really lend itself to the videogame format - there's only really one set-piece (the Empire State Building bit). How would you turn that into a game? What about the rest?

  • Pike #8 7 years ago

    Blerk: Maybe by doing what Starbreeze did with Riddick. Make a game where the story doesn't follow the story of the film but instead expands on the movie universe. It could work, considering the people involved with the project.
    Edited by 1 at 13/10/04 @ 11:43

  • Blerk #9 7 years ago

    Well.... we'll see. But I can't quite figure out how they could expand the story. I mean - what is there to expand? Man finds big monkey, man pinches big monkey, big monkey gets arsey and escapes, gets shot, end of movie. The movie is more cerebral than action - it's supposed to make you think about ethics and cruelty, it's not really about filling big monkeys full of lead in your aeroplane.

  • hp_on_toast #10 7 years ago

    I've got a great idea on how to do this game.

    You play the hero of the game (isnt it Jack Black, I know he's in the film somewhere) and you have to race to the top of the empire state building whilst dodging (jumping over AND circle strafing around) barrels, I mean building debris, until you reach the top of the building and rescue the girl >:)

    Failing that, I'm backing this "filling big monkeys full of lead" game idea :D

  • marilena #11 7 years ago

    Michel Ancel is undoutably a genius, too bad he has to work with the over-appreciated idiot that is peter Jackson. Anyway, I do hope the player character is said big monkey, not some puny human.

  • Tiger_Walts #12 7 years ago

    I wouldn't call anyone who performed the herculean task of directing the LotR trilogy, regardless of what you think of the films, as an idiot.

  • aabyssx #13 7 years ago

    > I just don't see how they can make a reasonable game out of it

    How about jumping over rolling barrels to save the princess? >:)

  • AOFanboi #14 7 years ago

    I have an idea: King Kong, with his friends Godzilla and Wolfman, climb up and down skyscrapers, smashing them to rubble, while snacking on people and avoiding getting shot by the army.

    They could call it... "Rampage"!

  • aabyssx #15 7 years ago

    > repeat after me "not all licensed games are crap"

    It depends strongly on did EA get the publishing rights? >:D

    BTW if 1 of 100 licensed games is not crap it is still 99% waste of game developer resource wich could be used for something good, too.

    DOWN WITH LICENSED GAMES I SAY! >:(

  • marilena #16 7 years ago

    "I wouldn't call anyone who performed the herculean task of directing the LotR trilogy, regardless of what you think of the films, as an idiot."

    I actually don't want to get into a debate right now and probably shouldn't have worded my opinion so strongly, but I don't think it takes much of a genius to perform a task badly, no matter how difficult the task is. And there's nothing that herculean about it, there have been bigger efforts, done infinitely better.

  • aabyssx #17 7 years ago

    > /imagines sub game, throwing barrels at little plumbers

    Oh! You saw this vision, too? ;)

  • IronGiant #18 7 years ago

    I think you'll find millions upon millions of movie goers will disagree with you marilena.. the trilogy has made New Line an absolute fortune and Jackson did something right in providing huge entertainment to people, i for one will miss seeing a LOTR movie this christmas.

  • Thamuhacha #19 7 years ago

    Iron Giant - extended edition of the 3rd DVD should make a decent day's watching.

  • marilena #20 7 years ago

    Ok, if the majority of people disagree with me I have to admit: I'm wrong. Sorry. Stupid little me, how couldn't I see this?

    Hey, get over it. I now I'm in a minority here, but it doesn't change my mind.

  • mash the x button #21 7 years ago

    "I just don't see how they can make a reasonable game out of it. The storyline to the film (the original at least) doesn't really lend itself to the videogame format - there's only really one set-piece (the Empire State Building bit). How would you turn that into a game? What about the rest?"

    You have obviously missed the bit where KK escapes, swims across the ocean to return home, picks up the wrench, swims back to NYC to use the wrench on the safe, where he finds the gold key. This enables him to unlock the door to the theme park, where he must look for the Eagle medallion....

  • MoFo #22 7 years ago

    Hey Marilena, no one's looking to change your mind. We just wanted to confirm that you were stupid. Nice of you to apologise about it though.

  • Blerk #23 7 years ago

    There was a little more to King Kong than a big monkey on the empire state building last time I watched it.

    Yes, there is. But there's little more to it that would translate into a game.

  • IronGiant #24 7 years ago

    In fact i'd much rather they just concerntrated on BG&E2 and left all this monkey business to Free Radical !!

  • Blerk #25 7 years ago

    From this announcement I presume there isn't going to be a BG&E2. Bah.

  • red_shift #26 7 years ago

    i know the film is gonna be a spoof (at a guess with jack black in anyway) as long as the game doesnt take its self too seriously it should be fine, a viewtiful joe approach yay

  • Feanor #27 7 years ago

    It's not you, Lou, Jackson has lost a fair bit of weight and had laser-eye surgery from what I've read in the New Zealand online press. Good on him, he'll live longer.

    I can't wait for the extended edition of RotK to come out. Apart from the 4 hour plus movie and all the extras, I read yesterday that it's going to have a very funny Easter Egg in it too.

    http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/2/1097522738
    Edited by 1 at 13/10/04 @ 15:04

  • Blerk #28 7 years ago

    Laser eye surgery helps you live longer? :-)

  • Feanor #29 7 years ago

    Haha, maybe it does, but losing weight definitely does.

  • #30 7 years ago

    It'll probably be better than the film.