Published by:
Sega
Developed by: Edge of Reality
Available only on:
PC, Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360
INTRO: And so we are faced with
the newest movie tie-in game, The Incredible Hulk. I’m not really sure what
movie this one is based on, but that’s not really important. Hilarity aside,
Hulk here is based on the new Ed Norton flick that intends to erase the
memory of the last lackluster effort (in my opinion, it succeeds
masterfully, but that’s another review- one that you probably won’t ever get
to read). This one is a follow-up to Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, a game
released a few years ago that was a truly definitive Hulk experience. You
will smash your way through NYC as the Hulk himself and face mighty foes, of
course.
GAMEPLAY:
And so we are faced with the newest movie tie-in game, The Incredible
Hulk. I’m not really sure what movie this one is based on, but that’s not
really important. Hilarity aside, Hulk here is based on the new Ed Norton
flick that intends to erase the memory of the last lackluster effort (in my
opinion, it succeeds masterfully, but that’s another review- one that you
probably won’t ever get to read). This one is a follow-up to Hulk: Ultimate
Destruction, a game released a few years ago that was a truly definitive
Hulk experience. You will smash your way through NYC as the Hulk himself and
face mighty foes, of course.
I dig this game, although it wasn’t enough of a worthy sequel to really
be able to stand on its own as a next-gen effort. It’s really quite fun to
play as Hulk, and you’ll be smashing the sh*t out of everything. The Green
Machine just smashes everything in sight, lumbering around and destroying
everything in sight. Cars will flip when you leap onto the ground, enemies
will crash into buildings, and you’ll be picking up many things in the
environment to just destroy other things in the environment. Think of this
as GTA lite, Hulk style. Enemies often have weakpoints that don’t make a lot
of sense, and the Hulk powers take forever with pointless animations
sometimes.
This of course would be the ultimate Hulk experience if the game wasn’t
somewhat broken and unfinished. Throwing things can cause Hulk to lock up,
stay away from the water too because it will make you freeze up. Bad, bad
stuff there with the water issues. Unfortunately there aren’t many
interactive weapons. In the new flick, Hulk uses a police car to make
gauntlets. In this game, it’s not doable- in fact a lot of the little
touches are missing from Ultimate Destruction. Also, you need to level up
your own running ability, which makes the beginning of the game super slow
and a chore to get through. The targeting system in this game is also just
terrible. In terms of comparing the game to the movie, it follows the film’s
storyline relatively well but of course it veers off the path so that there
will be other enemies to face.
Gameplay: 6/10
GRAPHICS:
The graphics are a bit of a mixed bag. NYC looks okay, although the
buildings leave a bit to be desired. The effects are really nice, and Hulk
looks great from afar, as he is quite detailed. The game does suffer from
some nasty pop-in issues, and the enemies can look quite bland at times. The
cut scenes could use some cleaning up.
Graphics: 7/10
AUDIO:
The sound is also not so hot. The score is well done but it’s way too
short and loops endlessly, which is unacceptable for a game with a
semi-sandbox design. The voice work comes from most of the big names
including Ed Norton, but it felt like the cast was sort of sleepwalking
their way through things- not always, but sometimes.
Audio: 6/10
FINAL VERDICT:
At the end of the day, The Incredible Hulk turns out to be just another
mediocre videogame based on a film. The biggest strike against it is that it
had such a great prior game to work with. Unfortunately, this new game takes
a few steps backwards from the last engine which is just a shame. If this is
your only option, pick this up as a diehard Hulk fan. Otherwise, check out
Ultimate Destruction, it’s far superior.
Final Score:
6.5/10