Xbox Magazine's Official Review of The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
The following was originally posted bt Eric H. on ComicBoards.com:
Official Xbox Magazine (OXM)-The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Okay, pop quiz: Raise your hand if you guessed that the best superhero game to come out this summer would be the one not released in conjunction with a summer movie blockbuster. If you did, give yourself a gold star or two-because the The Incredible Hulk:Ultimate Destruction's strong-man position is a not-so-fantastic fourgone conclusion.
Though it has been compared to Grand Theft Auto (due to The Hulk's free-range rampage through a seamless city environment), Ultimate Destruction's gameplay practically clones last year's excellent Spider-Man 2 game-and that's not a bad thing. With a repertoire of over 30 story missions, 40 bonus levels, and a multitude of hint markers and secret coins hidden across the game world, it's a game that Hulksters will want to play and replay for weeks.
The story finds Bruce Banner still on the run from the military. When a Hulk-out turns particularly brutal, he turns to fellow scientist Doc Samson for help in controlling his destructive alter ego. To acquire the necessary materials and stop the questionable machinations of adversaries General Ross and Emil Blonsky (who blames Banner for his transformation into the Hulk-like Abomination), The Hulk is sent on a series of retrieval, protection, and combat missions.
If that's all there was, I would be mildly satisfied. However, Ultimate Destruction goes all out to be the ultimate Hulk experience. Smash Points are earned for demolishing the environment (which is nearly completely destructible) and defeating enemies, which can then be spent on buyin up to 150 new attacks, ranging from classic Hulk moves like sonic claps to catching rockets and throwing them back at your attackers.
My only real complaint is that too many levels are spent fighting tanks and Hulkbuster mechs with too few appearances by familiar Hulk villains. But no matter. This is the first game to make me feel like I am a mindless behemoth. Hear me roar. - Chuck Osborn
The Verdict-
Graphics: Hardly "incredible," but the flat visuals do an okay job of conveying mass destruction and tons (literally) of enemy units and civilians.
Immersion: Except for its 3rd person perspective, Ultimate Destruction could get away with calling itself a Hulk simulator. After a few hours, I became so lost in the role that I started grunting and babbling in baby talk.
Sound: From the Hulk's growls to the rumbling collapse of a building, the sound effets rule. Mix in a believable cast of voice actors and a score performed by the Los Angeles Orchestra andthe verdict is: Me like-y.
Design: Totally elegant-admittedly, the game design may have been "borrowed"- butI appreciate Radical's little touches. For example, you can skip through all the startup logos and be playing your most recent saved game in seconds.
+ Good, - Bad, ? Perplexing:
+ The freedom to go anywhere, smash anything.
+ Tons of replayability.
- Wish there were more superpowered villains and heroes to fight. Couldn't The Thing have been in this game instead of Fantastic 4?
- Enemies become repetitive.
?Considering the casualities and millions of dollars in property damage caused by The Hulk during the course of the game, maybe we're playing the wrong side? Nah ...
8.9 out of 10.0
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