The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction

"You'll play this game until your heart stops."

Video games based on movies (and vice versa) are never particularly well-received, let alone those based on comic books. And yet The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction works so well. For a week or so.

Story:
What? There was a story? Apparently so, and it's something about the Hulk, believe it or not. Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk) is working to try and eliminate the Hulk from his body. Hence he travels around the city and ‘Badlands' desert to acquire parts for some sort of machine. The government's also on his case, using robots and army tanks to try and bring Hulk down. I must admit, I didn't pay attention much, so please excuse this rather weak category. All in all, though, the story is very bland and generic, and it's really only there because it has to be.
4/10

Sound:
Very in-your-face. The explosion sound effects certainly don't hold back, neither does the screaming, pounding of footsteps, grunting etc. The voice acting isn't anything special, but then again there's not much of that in the game anyway. One thing I did like about the sound was how the city actually felt like a city. Standing atop a skyscraper, you can hear sirens and car horns blaring away down below. It's almost...calm. Then, seconds later, in the midst of a rampage, the city has reverted into a state of panic, and it certainly felt that way. Something that I appreciated, and I'm sure others will too.
7/10

Graphics:
They're actually sort of...diverse. The city looks like a brim, dull grimy city, as expected, while the desert area looks like a colourful, bright desert. It doesn't sound like anything special, but I thought it was a nice addition. Aside from that, everything is where you would expect it to be. The explosions are nice and meaty, enemies are nice and diverse-looking, and buildings aren't as generic as you'd think. Destroying one of this is not only fun, but the screen literally fills with debris, and all that's left is a small, dull pile of rubble, sometimes with the tops of trapped cars peeking out from the now-smothered roads. The animation looks spot-on, the Hulk lumbers his way around the streets as innocent citizens tremble beneath him. Not only that, but there's cows in the game. Instant-win.
8/10

Gameplay:
Bearing a striking similarity to Spiderman 2 (another great game, may I say) in a nutshell, you control the main hero as you jump around the city, which acts as your very own playground. You can pick up people and hurtle them at the nearest taxi, use an ambulance as a shield from enemy fire, surf the streets on a bus (seriously), spear the police with telephone poles, and clap your hands to bring down the army. It's so much better in action, believe me. In a nod to GTA, more destructive armed forces are deployed based on the amount of destruction you have caused, ranging from police, the army, and government robots and choppers. Playing more of the game and destroying more of the culture earns you destruction points to be spent on ‘moves' to be used on your enemies. These include cannonballing, hurtling tanks around by swinging them from their barrel, running up walls, and grappling your enemies, ehich enables you to through them at others to cause maximum pain. Nothing feels better then catching a missile fired at you from a military jet, throwing it back, picking up the burned chassis and throwing it at a robot, which in turn explodes. All while stood on top of the games tallest skyscraper. Sadly though, there's next-to-nothing in the replayability department. After your first playthrough, you'll stomach the same waves of the same enemies about five times before you get tired. If you're lucky, you'll be able to dip back into it now and again. Overall though, good stuff.
9/10

Final Verdict:
It's much more enjoyable than I first thought it would be. If you're still not convinced, let me tell you that a small GameFAQs review doesn't to the action justice. The only way to truly experience it all is to play it. And enjoy it.

Overall:
8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/07/06