Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction Review

The Hulk will face a huge number of enemies that, while appearing a bit cartoonish, fit quite well into the virtual arena you can explore. Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction provides a realistic fantasy experience gamers will undoubtedly enjoy.

Luckily, the Xbox version supports Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, and (neighbors willing) allows for a room shaking experience when cranked up, allowing for everything to be reproduced with amazing clarity and precision, such as ambient traffic noise to the roar of the Hulk as he tosses a Black Hawk helicopter into a nearby building.

What A Story

The game story, penned by former Hulk scribe Paul Jenkins, chronicles the struggle of Bruce Banner, the alter ego of the Hulk, to cope with and hopefully discover a cure for his destructive inner demons. As if that weren't enough of a challenge, Bruce must subvert and sometimes battle head-on a secretive and corrupt government agency.

The plot is a refreshing return to classic, dark, comic book tales, justifiably allowing for explosions of the Hulk's anger against similarly gamma-irradiated foes and military machines of all types. It's a nice contrast to the not-so-exciting multi-million dollar movie "Hulk" that was more of a collection of Sigmund Freud theories.

Ultimate Destruction is an excellent game providing the best visual representation of the Hulk since Lou Ferrigno first burst through his now famous purple Daisy Dukes. The controls are surprisingly tight and responsive, effectively utilizing the Hulk's strength and agility causing the giant, green mass of Oedipal anger to feel more like your friendly neighborhood web-slinger.

What Gameplay

The game is very easy to advance through, as a player may choose to adopt a "Hulk Smash" mentality throughout the majority of levels, blasting and smashing any and everything with little concern for life and irradiated limb.

However, in later levels one must adapt to progressively complex enemies and rapidly increasing multitudes of military force and might. Fortunately for the player, as the game progresses new moves and abilities are opened for purchase based on points earned for destruction. With over fifty different increasingly destructive techniques for the Hulk to master, the player should have little difficulty laying to waste a swath of enemies.

The Hulk's increasing strength eventually turns him into a walking time bomb of anger, able to flatten multiple enemies and structures with a single blow. One impressive technique is the ability to rip apart a maintenance truck and wield a wrecking ball as if it were a giant yo-yo, knocking helicopters and tanks around as if they were flies buzzing around a picnic.

Hulkamania

Overall, the entire gameplay experience is incredibly fun, and very hard to put down. Replayability is high, as the developer have included numerous challenge missions and bonuses for the player to attempt to complete if he or she chooses to do so, rewarding the intrepid player with bonus production videos, classic comic book covers, and numerous cheats including but not limited to new costumes, abilities, and different modes of play. This game is a must have for any fan of the Hulk and comic books in general, and definitely worth a look for the casual gamer looking to “Hulk Out”!