These last couple of weeks I have been jonesing for a new game. Not willing to wait until Far Cry came out, I traded in Forza, and Destroy all Humans and picked up Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction to tide me over.
You play Bruce Banner a gamma research scientist that was caught in a blast during a gamma bomb test. As a result of this blast, under stressful situations, your inner rage is released and manifests itself as giant, rage fueled unstoppable force known as the HULK.
Gameplay starts with the obligatory tutorial to go over the controls and the actions that are available to you. This is where you learn to charge jump, run, grab and throw items, lock on targets, and ‘weaponize’ items which I will go over later. Controls are straightforward: X =attack, Y= special moves, A=jump (you can charge your jump by holding a), B=grab, L=lock on, and R=run (hold down ‘R’ to do this) After completing the tutorial the actual game starts.
Bruce, as a result of being the Hulk is rapidly losing health and is desperately seeking a cure. His friend Doc Sampson is helping him in his cause. The hub of the game is an abandoned church that has been turned into a lab, and this is where you will get your first mission.
If you have played the Spiderman 2 game, you’ll notice the similarities. Most missions are represented by icons that you can access by hitting your ‘A’ button while standing over them. Question marks on the map denote tips to help you with the game. Most of the missions thus far revolve around breaking things, or retrieving items that will help you find a cure. Also, there are many side missions where you will have to complete certain objectives within a time period. For example, I had to follow a path of icons and touch each one in a predetermined time period. The city is entirely open to you from the get go for you to explore, and more importantly wreak havoc on. There are no moments where you play as Dr. Banner; it’s all Hulks all the time. Unlike the game that was spawned from the mediocre movie a couple years back.
I spent around 3 hours last night rampaging through the city, and I never got bored. Everything, and I mean everything can be picked up, smashed, and thrown. You can rip up lampposts and play civilian baseball by whacking them with the post and sending them flying. I found a giant balloon and was able to grab that and jump with the balloon allowing me to float around. Out of everything that you destroy you will receive green orbs that replenish your health. There are smash points scattered throughout the game also that serve as credits to enable you to purchase more moves (which I believe there are many). Do enough damage, and your ‘rage meter’ will fill up giving you access to even more powerful moves. With the Hulk, there is no need for web slinging as you can thrust your hands in to the buildings themselves and scale to the top. Alternatively, you can also build up a good run and jog up the side of the building. Damage on the buildings is impressive, if you start to slip, you can see the grooves left in the building from the Hulk’s hands. Developers did an awesome job of creating a weight to the character. The controller will vibrate when you land from a jump that will split the ground, send cars flying and flatten any poor pedestrians that happen to be in the vicinity of your landing.
Weaponization is another cool feature that will allow you take items you find and convert them to weapons to increase the damage you can do. So far, I’ve been able to pick up a car, rip it in half, and use the two parts as boxing gloves. I’ve also grabbed a surface to air missile battery and was able to hand-throw the missiles at targets by locking onto them with the ‘L’ button.
I have yet to get to any of the bosses, as I’ve done nothing but stomp around the city terrifying it’s inhabitants.
If you dig open-ended non-linear games you will like this. Personally I got tired of Spiderman fast as the web swinging got old. However, with the moves at the Hulk’s disposal and the fully interactive and destructible environment, ensures that this title will stay in my collection. There isn’t any swearing or lewdness either, which makes this a great game for kids. Who doesn't want to be the hulk?
Gameplay starts with the obligatory tutorial to go over the controls and the actions that are available to you. This is where you learn to charge jump, run, grab and throw items, lock on targets, and ‘weaponize’ items which I will go over later. Controls are straightforward: X =attack, Y= special moves, A=jump (you can charge your jump by holding a), B=grab, L=lock on, and R=run (hold down ‘R’ to do this) After completing the tutorial the actual game starts.
Bruce, as a result of being the Hulk is rapidly losing health and is desperately seeking a cure. His friend Doc Sampson is helping him in his cause. The hub of the game is an abandoned church that has been turned into a lab, and this is where you will get your first mission.
If you have played the Spiderman 2 game, you’ll notice the similarities. Most missions are represented by icons that you can access by hitting your ‘A’ button while standing over them. Question marks on the map denote tips to help you with the game. Most of the missions thus far revolve around breaking things, or retrieving items that will help you find a cure. Also, there are many side missions where you will have to complete certain objectives within a time period. For example, I had to follow a path of icons and touch each one in a predetermined time period. The city is entirely open to you from the get go for you to explore, and more importantly wreak havoc on. There are no moments where you play as Dr. Banner; it’s all Hulks all the time. Unlike the game that was spawned from the mediocre movie a couple years back.
Weaponization is another cool feature that will allow you take items you find and convert them to weapons to increase the damage you can do. So far, I’ve been able to pick up a car, rip it in half, and use the two parts as boxing gloves. I’ve also grabbed a surface to air missile battery and was able to hand-throw the missiles at targets by locking onto them with the ‘L’ button.
I have yet to get to any of the bosses, as I’ve done nothing but stomp around the city terrifying it’s inhabitants.
If you dig open-ended non-linear games you will like this. Personally I got tired of Spiderman fast as the web swinging got old. However, with the moves at the Hulk’s disposal and the fully interactive and destructible environment, ensures that this title will stay in my collection. There isn’t any swearing or lewdness either, which makes this a great game for kids. Who doesn't want to be the hulk?
