The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction

Written by Nick Doukas  on September 15, 2005

Review: Puny Human...

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The Hulk is yet another in a long line of iconic Marvel Comic's characters to get the big screen and videogame treatment in the past few years. While I personally loved Ang Lee's vision of the character, the movie met with mixed reviews from both critics and fans alike. The same could be said of the licensed game that arrived alongside the film in 2003. However, the latest videogame adventure to feature the big, green wrecking machine captures everything that is the essence of being Banner's curse. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is the consummate superhero game, allowing the player to free roam in huge open playgrounds, as well as tackle both challenge and story specific missions. It's all about being Hulk, with a plethora of amazing moves and creating millions upon million of dollars in property damage with virtually every step you take.

Truth be told, this really should be the template for all other comic book games from now on. I mean, the sandbox style, open-world play suits just about every superhero. Give them a home base - a hub if you will (the Batcave, Fortress of Solitude, the Baxter Building) all their toys and vehicles, then turn them loose in a huge, living city full of random events to get involved in. Throw in a solid story that can be tackled at anytime and you've got a recipe for success. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction perfects this formula and truly captures the quintessence of being the character, then distills it down and enables the player with an incredible move-set that's as intuitive as it is complex. The simple joy of locomotion (similar to the fantastic web-swinging mechanics of Spiderman 2) immediately puts you right into the persona of the Hulk Ц super-jumping over rooftops, running up the side of a building and launching yourself 10 blocks to land on a city bus is instantly thrilling and an absolute blast. I can't stress enough just how perfectly the character controls, with nice little touches like the huge hunks of brick and mortar Hulk tears up when he climbs the side of a skyscraper, or the way he pinwheels his arms as he's flying across town high above the streets below. Very nicely doneЕ

The plot of Ultimate Destruction involves Dr. Banner's attempts to rid himself of the Hulk's influence once and for all. With the help of his friend Doc Samson, Bruce holes up in an abandoned church (this will be the hub from which you'll tackle missions, both in the city and out in the Badlands Ц which is a similar locale to the environments Hulk battled through at the end of the film) and attempts to find a cure, all the while fending off the advances of Emil Blonsky (aka The Abomination) and General Thunderbolt Ross. From the church, you can use jump points (you'll find these around both play areas as well and once you activate them you can use them at any time) to instantly access the city and eventually, the Badlands. Both are huge, free-roaming sandboxes that feature markers scattered about where you can choose to either continue the story missions, do side missions (which consist of checkpoint races, destruction rampages and other assorted objectives) or just leap around the city creating havoc wherever you go. As you fill your life meter Ц either from fallen enemies or just by picking up icons as you cruise around Цyou store extra power for Hulk's critical attacks, which are massively damaging special moves. However, his regular moves include power punches, ground slams, devastating sonic-claps, punt kicks, elbow smashes and other attacks too numerous to mention. All of them are outstanding and look as impressive as they sound and of course, they're devastating to your adversaries.

While the story missions are quite fun (consisting of fetch quests, escort operations, search & destroy and some wicked boss fights) and you can always find interesting distraction in the challenge missions as well, it's the sheer volume of destruction you're free to undertake at any given time, coupled with the incredible move set that makes Ultimate Destruction the flawless Hulk experience. When you do complete story missions, you'll gain access to new moves that can be purchased at the church with smash points. You'll earn smash points all over town as you wreck everything in your path while free roaming. You can also find smash point tokens scattered about the map, as well as hidden comic book icons that unlock bonus items. Smash points are also earned for completing missions. New moves are available after each chapter in the game, and the response of the strike teams during free roam (cause enough chaos and they call in the troops on you) increases and expands the further you progress through the plot. First it's helicopters, tanks and ground troops, but it progresses to include Hulkbuster robots and mobile missile launchers. Of course, you have the power to beat the holy hell out of them and the tremendous amount of moves, coupled with the game's amazing physics engine and fully destructible environments, make for some absolutely awesome moments of Hulk combat. Leaping off the side of a 50 story building to grab a chopper and batter it to the ground is simply amazing, not to mention that the feeling of slapping a tank shell right back at its owner with your bare hands and watching it explode in a tremendous fireball of debris is insanely satisfying. Trust me, it never gets old. Hulk is also capable of УweaponizingФ objects Ц he can rip a car in half and make steel boxing gloves, grab a light post and use it like a giant bat, or make a shield out of a city bus. You can also grab vehicles and other objects, target enemies and hammer them from afar, as well as hurl missiles at choppers and jets. All Hulk fun, all the timeЕ

Visually Ultimate Destruction looks great. The game supports 720p widescreen, so gamers with 16:9 hi-def sets are in for a real treat. A smooth color palette, razor sharp textures and nicely modeled environments, not to mention excellent special effects and outstanding physics, make this Hulk adventure his best-looking yet. The sound is equally impressive with booming footsteps, crashing vehicles and other assorted noises coming together to create a cacophony of destruction. The plot is well voice-acted by Ron Perlman, Neal McDonough and Richard Moll among others, and the script holds up pretty well. The camera operates nicely, allowing you a full 360 degree view at all times and any move you want to make is just a flick of the wrist away. Run straight up buildings (carrying a bus if you want) leap across a desert canyon, charge up a super-jump and sail 40 city blocks or throw a police car at an attack chopper. Whatever Ц you're only limited by your imagination.