The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction

"A pretty good, but very hard game"

Well, after much frustration, I finally finished The Incredible hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Let me start off by saying that I'm not really a fan of the Hulk. Never have been, never will be. Even when I used to collect comics. I also fell asleep during the Incredible Hulk movie because it was so boring. In spite of this, Ultimate Destruction is a pretty decent game.

For those of you expecting an easy, run of the mill romp through a licensed movie game, you will be shocked at what you find. First and foremost, this game is tough. Very tough. One of the hardest games I can remember playing in recent memory. It's very unforgiving, and it throws some pretty intense objectives at you. Let me break this game down for you.

Graphics
The graphics in Ultimate Destruction are pretty good. It looks great running at 720p, but there will be slowdown when things heat up. Especially during most of the boss fights. The same enemy models are used over and over, and I swear there are about 5 enemy types in this game. Not including bosses, which get repeated too. Yes, you fight some of the exact same bosses more than once.

Sound
The sound effects in this game are great. Every grunt, scream, and smash that the Hulk makes sounds wonderful, and will shake your speakers if the sound is turned up enough. I really didn't notice the music in the game, but it didn't bother me all that much when I did notice it.

Story
The story is okay but kind of drags on. The main story missions are well marked for you to continue the story, and there are tons of special missions which you can do to gain more smash points, or try to hone you skills.

Gameplay
The gamplay in Ultimate Destruction really shocked me, because I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. While sometimes cumbersome in the heat of battle, the controls are good, and it's easy to pull off most of the moves and attacks which can be acquired in the game. There are lots of moves to learn, and getting them and trying them out keeps the game fresh and fun. While I found myself using a handful of them most of the time, it's nice to have the diversity in play mechanics. Being able to grab/throw/destroy almost anything in the game makes the environment interactive, and assures that there is always something to do.

As I said before, the difficulty in this game may turn some people away from it, but completing very hard missions gives you a feeling of accomplishment, and really makes you think out strategies on how to avoid enemy attacks. Speaking of the enemies. Get used to fighting them……a lot. Later in the game, you will fight Hulk Buster after hulk Buster, and it seems there is no end to it. Then you get to fight a boss………..yay, a giant Hulk Buster…………..who would have thought. Most of the bosses are pretty tough, and require you to have a plan to beat them, and not get flattened in a matter of minutes. A perfect example is the last boss. You have to stop the boss from destroying a dam, and if you mess up one time, or do not keep hurling stuff at him like crazy, you will run out of time and have to start over. Many missions have certain criteria which will send you back to the beginning in a second, so you have to be on your toes and know where your enemies are coming from, especially during the “protect missions”.

All things considered, Ultimate Destruction is a good game, and should be played by anyone who likes games with good gameplay. Keep in mind that it's a little challenging. Even if you are not a hulk fan, like me, you will find some enjoyment here.

My Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction review score: 8/10

I scored it slightly lower, due to the frustrating difficulty.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/11/07, Updated 06/12/09

Game Release: The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (US, 08/23/05)