The Incredible Hulk

"HULK SMASH REVIEW!!!"

The Incredible Hulk, A massive green ‘monster' with endless power. If I play this game will I feel that way? Let's find out. I will be rating this title from 1-10 in a few different categories; Graphics, Gameplay, Controls, Sound, Difficulty, and Overall Fun.

Graphics: 8/10
The Graphics are amazing, don't get me wrong. Nothings better than standing on a roof top over looking New York City, but that's where it ends. Besides the Hulk himself, everything else lacks depth, the enemies seem to just be molded, and show no detail unless in a cut scene. The buildings look pretty good until you get up close to them and realize every window is just a T.V screen. And no matter how far the hulk falls, he only leaves some cracks in the ground. The Graphics really shine when it comes to the Hulk though, you can see every muscle he has, ridges, everything. He's a real piece of art.

Gameplay: 7/10
The gameplay has no real flaws, but it has nothing to make it stand out either. For those of you who played Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, You might find the combat in this game lacking somewhat. The hulk has only a few unarmed combos, which are generally the same moves in different orders, ending in either a Thunder clap, or a Ground slam. There are no moves like the punt kick, elbow drop, head-butt, stomp, or any other creative moves, this time around the hulk can only punch. Of course he can grab and punch to, but that's only certain enemies, like a solider. Boss's can no longer be grabbed, and for some reason, you have to knock them out for a short period of time before you can even hurt them. And I'm not sure why, but enemy vehicles can't be picked up unless destroyed first. There are several upgrades that you can unlock through out the game which will aid you somewhat, like combos with weapons, upgraded super moves, or jumping abilities. The game is fairly easy to complete, the hardest missions being ones where you must protect something. And I have to say, through the entire game, I never felt like the Hulk, He seems weak to me, His jumping capabilities seem very hindered, and he just doesn't feel like the hulk should feel; It left me wanting more of what I never got. This game is also short. I got it two days ago, and I've beat it and am pretty close to finishing up all the extra stuff.

Controls: 9/10
The controls of the Hulk are very well done, there not complex at all. L-trigger targets, X and Y punch, B grabs/throws and A jumps. And once unlocked, Y-B performs a selected Super move, X-A create a shield and holding RB while running makes you sprint. That's pretty much all there is to it, there are some combos like XXY or something of that nature, but it's pretty straight forward. Some times the targeting can be difficult but that's nothing major.

Sound: 6/10
Sound…There not much sound to be rated, hence the low rate. The Hulk doesn't make any sound when he walks, but neither does anything else. The cars in the game only make a sound when they crash into a building, or explode, occasionally they'll honk there horn. There is some nice Background music to hide all of this. What really got me is the people, they have no sound whatsoever, There are no screams of terror, sometimes a guy will yell “were all gonna die” but that's it. When ever the hulk unleashes a super move, jumps, or gets hit hard, he lets out a grunt or roar. On the plus side, nearly everything you can run the hulk into makes a crushing sound, which is nice. And when the Hulk lands, there's an impact sound. And, what really made the sound bad for me, on some missions it goes completely insane, and Makes very loud glitchy noises, and after a while of hearing it, you'll play on mute.

Difficulty: 6/10
This games not even close to hard. There's only a select few missions which can be challenging, and those are just the Protection ones. Missions that test the hulks strength are very easy. The boss fights, also easy, I was disappointed with them. I was hoping for epic boss fights between larger than life creatures, instead I got the hulk knocking something out a few times and just dropping a few super moves on it to kill it.

Overall Fun: 8/10
The Incredible Hulk is a fun game. I know my review may make it look kinda bad, but never the less, it was an enjoyable game to play, and even though I bought it at the price of 60 dollars, it's not let me down. Sure if may have frozen on me a few times, or the sound went out, but it's still a fun game. I really enjoyed it despite its problems. I loved going around finding all the real life buildings and dropping them to the ground, or taking a solider and slamming him into a car.


OVERALL RATING: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/09/08

Game Release: The Incredible Hulk (US, 06/05/08)