It's a bad time to for video game characters to live in New York. The city has taken a beating in a variety of games recently, and there may be nothing left of it by the time you're finished with "The Incredible Hulk."
And that's just as it should be.
The best superhero games make you feel like you're the hero. We've seen this with varying levels of success lately. Spider-Man almost always gets great games. Batman and Superman, not so much. The Hulk was treated with the respect he deserves in the last-gen title "Ultimate Destruction." That was a great game, and comparisons between it and the new one are inevitable. I believe the new title, with its release timed to amp us up for the movie, is worth the money even if you've played "Ultimate Destruction." The game is a good time that is rounded out with some excellent voice acting by the film's primary characters. It's always nice to have the A-list stars reprise their film roles in game adaptations. Here, everyone gives their all. If Ed Norton's voice work in the game is any indication of how he approached the character for the film, then the movie is probably excellent. He sells it.
That's what character-driven gaming is all about: Selling it. I've played beautiful games with no soul and I've played homely games with heart. I'll take the heart every time. "The Incredible Hulk" isn't going to wow you with graphics – though they are certainly well-done – but it may surprise you with its heart. For a game that devotes this much time to smashing things and throwing soldiers into gasoline trucks, I was impressed by the subtle ways in which you're reminded that there's a real guy struggling inside the green giant. This is done mostly through the brief but engaging cut-scenes that resonate (again) because of the actors' dedication to the material.
As for the gameplay, it's what you would expect from a solid Hulk game. You can blast across the city using the chaotic but cool jump mechanic that we saw in the first Hulk film and in "Ultimate Destruction." Even more fun is scaling the many buildings of Manhattan. It seems Hulk could out-climb his pal Spidey in this regard as you can quickly make it to the top of the Empire State Building (or any building) in a few bounds. (Keep an eye out for the many hidden power-ups and mini-games scattered around the city while you're jumping and climbing – they add surprising depth to the game.)
And once you've climbed the Empire State Building and satisfied your inner King Kong, feel free to crush the building to rubble. The level of destruction in this game is staggering and, if you're not the nostalgic sort, you can reduce all of Manhattan's landmarks to dust. What's more, the game rewards you for leveling these classic landmarks.
Of course, you can't take out The Daily Bugle building (cool) without drawing the attention of the authorities. In GTA style, the more trouble you cause the more trouble you get. Tanks, helicopters and guys in mech suits will eventually catch up to you if you're too naughty. They're fun battle, especially when you grab one of the mech guys at the top of a tall building and hurl him across the city. But if you want to escape, all you have to do is take the subway. Really. It's an odd choice, but it works. (A note on the game's representation of New York City: It's obviously not as detailed as its GTAIV counterpart. But it is what you would expect a comic book New York to look like. Beyond that, there's even some tongue in cheek advertisements to liven it up. It is odd, however, that the Hulk can stand on the sidewalk sometimes and not be noticed by the citizens. Other times, even cabs and police cars will wreak havoc trying to drive away from you as you stand in the middle of the street and ponder your next move.)
You can spend all the time you want jumping around and tearing things up, but sooner or later you'll want to embark on the missions that make up the game's story. These are standard quests. You fetch things. You protect things. You quell random breakouts from an evil military force that's using the city as a proving ground. They're not revolutionary, but they're mostly a good time.
In closing, this game will certainly bring out some of the haters in the gaming press for some of its shortcomings. It's true that the bar has been set high in this console generation, but I think this game is a blast. Have we become so jaded that we can't embrace a fun game featuring a childhood hero?
I haven't. I'm betting you haven't either.
"The Incredible Hulk"
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Why: What do you want to do in a Hulk game? Smash things. This game delivers. Poor draw distance, fair graphics and repetitive gameplay keep this title from achieving greatness, but "The Incredible Hulk" delivers where it counts.
Published by: SEGA
Available On: PC, Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3
By Victor Paul Alvarez
[email protected]
James writes - "Last month I ventured into the debatable legacy left by the Iron Man video game, which coincided with the monumental launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not long after, the big green angry member of the Avengers received his own video game in tandem with a blockbuster film. Now, ten years on, it’s time to look back at SEGA’s The Incredible Hulk to find out if he lived up to the ‘Incredible’ moniker!"
hulk: ultimate destruction was and is the best hulk game till this day. maybe insomniac can work on hulk after spidey? I wish
Agreed. I still throw it on now and again. Huge comic book gallery in there. Those are the kinda collectibles I enjoyed collecting. Practical things you can look at later, not just orbs/shards/feathers.
It's been too long since Ultimate Destruction gave us a magnificent excuse to cause absolute chaos with the Hulk. Why haven't we seen anything like it since? Click to find out!
All I want is a gory Marvel game. Maybe a Marvel Civil War RPG.
But blood and gore like X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Loved the hell outta Ultimate Destruction. So fun to run around and destroy things.
The team who made Ultimate Destruction are too busy making those Prototype games which... haven't really worked to reel people in the way the Hulk did.
One thing you will never see is a gory Marvel game that doesn't fit the character or the comics. It's because of the target audience being so young, some parents actually monitor what their kids play and so your sales will drop if you make an M rated superhero game. Wolverine's Origins game was great fun, but it was awkward taking your kids to the PG movie, only for them to not be old enough to play the game when they got home.
@VINNIEPAZ
you can say that again
prototype wasn't bad but they did their best work with hulk
Replies(3)
I'm the minority, but I would love a sequel to Marvel Nemesis: Rise of The Imperfects.
I thought the studio that made the hulk games closed?
I know there's others out there that can do a new one..
It would be nice... Also a new prototype would be cool too
Digitally Downloaded writes: "There was a time when superheroes and comic book games were the stuff of legend for how amazingly, spectacularly, incredibly bad they were. I remember buying many a game with my favorite heroes plastered on the front only to be met with the bitter disappointment of how awfully terrible they all were."
i know everyone is going to disagree, but batman arkham city. asylum was astounding though imo
I'm not everyone but i disagree. Although i agree that Asylum was better. :D
I'll probably get tossed out of a moving train for saying this but i liked Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the imperfects. I also liked Superman 64 lol. I was 6 when i played it and i loved anything Superman so i was just happy to get the chance to play as him >_< I remember saying "One day they'll make an awesome Superman game",,,, still waiting.
They will never make a good Superman game because the guy is practically invincible. It's kinda like using an infinite health code in another game. It's fun for a while but then you become bored. Superman games are pretty much like that but you can never turn off the code. They could dumb down his powers but then it wouldn't feel like Superman.
SuperMan 64. I got it cheap at a local video store when I was 13 where I used to live. It was only 25 cents. I got it only because of how bad I heard it was. YES, it really IS that bad.
Also: Anyone remember that terrible Spawn: The Eternal game for PS1? Wow I remember giving my big sister all of my allowance so she could go buy it for me (since I was under-aged), and then when I played it I damned near ripped my hair out. Trash game.
Once you understand that the "fog" is actually kryptonite fog, then you start to realize that it is actually one of the greatest games ever created.
Lol that was just a dumb excuse used to justify the horrible draw distance. Awful game, and im ashamed to say me and my roommate beat the whole game. Couldn't have done it alone tho.
I can tell this isnt an American article, cuz if it was it would include the xbox Burger King games
The King and Ronald are pretty much super heroes here in America. We love our burgers
As a kid I actually thought Superman 64 was good. Man what was I smoking back then?
I was actually fairly critical of games when i was younger. First game i ever played and beat was mario 64, so the bar was set pretty high.
