''King Kong'' is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

programmed by Karl T. Olinger for the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...

and published by Tigervision in 1982. Based on the licensed

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

character, the game is a clone of the first screen of ''

Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the List of Don ...

''. It was Tigervision's first cartridge release. Tiger Electronic Toys produced a handheld version, licensed to

Tandy Tandy may refer to: Companies * Tandy Corporation (1919–2000), a leather supply company which became the RadioShack Corporation in 2000 ** Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company, name used from 1919 to 1956 ** TRS-80 Color Computer, rebranded as Tandy C ...

, the same year.

Gameplay

The objective is to rescue the girl by climbing ladders to the top of the screen while jumping over holes and autonomous bombs. Magic bombs are worth five times the points of regular bombs when jumped over. As in ''Donkey Kong'', each level has a bonus that counts down. If it reaches zero, a life is lost. There are settings for 1 or 2 players alternating turns, slow or fast bombs, and whether magic bombs exist.

Reception

Ed Driscoll reviewed ''King Kong'' in ''

The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' No. 58. Driscoll commented that "overall, it's a fun-to-play game, with some good graphics. Not bad for a first cartridge!" ''

Electronic Games ''Electronic Games'' was the first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States and ran from October 15, 1981, to 1997 under different titles. It was co-founded by Bill Kunkel, Joyce Worley, and Arnie Katz. History The h ...

'' said that the game "presents a crude imitation of ''Donkey Kongs first scenario and replaces the barrels and flame creatures with what look like old-fashioned toilets, some of which have lit fuses". In a 4 out of 10 review, ''Arcade Express'' considered ''King Kong'' "a poor rendition of the giant ape" and said that it was somewhat easier to play than other climbing games.

References

External links

* * {{King Kong 1982 video games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games King Kong (franchise) video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games North America-exclusive video games Platformers Tigervision games Video game clones Video games developed in the United States