Platform: GC, PS2, XB
Genre: Action
Publisher: Vivendi
Developer: Radical Entertainment
ETA: August 2005
Related Links:

Review: Hulk (GC)

Review: Spider-Man 2 (XB)

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If there was a game that took me completely by surprise by how much it didn’t suck, it was The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.  Unlike the game from a couple years back that was tied to the movie – shackled, more like it – Ultimate Destruction is an entity unto itself and feels more like Spider-Man 2 (from Activision) with an open-ended approach and a massive cityscape in which to wreak havoc.

Written by comic book writer Paul Jenkins, the main story, spread over eight chapters and two different environments (city and badlands), revolves around a joint effort between Doc Samson and Bruce Banner to get rid of the Hulk.  Of course, the complicating factor is that in order to assemble the correct components Bruce Banner has to become the Hulk.  That’s not all Hulk will have to do – there are many side missions planned.  (I bet most of them have to do with pummeling things.)

Though, as the subtitle might imply, Ultimate Destruction is more about straight-up action than character development.

Here’s the official word from Vivendi:

Ultimate Destruction - Hulk smashes entire city blocks, buildings, buses and more with his bare hands!

The World is Your Weapon - Unique Hulk-powered ability to “weaponize” any object such as ripping a car in half to use as steel fists or smashing a bus and using it as a giant shield.

Unstoppable Movement - Free-roaming gameplay; run, jump, climb and rampage anywhere as the Hulk; a full playground of destruction!

Authentic Hulk Universe - Compelling storyline written by Eisner Award-winning comic book writer Paul Jenkins (Hulk, 

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Spider-Man), high-quality original art created by signature comic artist Bryan Hitch (The Ultimates) and movie-quality original sound effects created just for this game.

Epic Battles - Fight a ruthless string of arch enemies that dwarf even the Hulk including the Abomination and super-sized mechs.

It should be noted and underlined with a bold red line that you won’t play as Bruce Banner – this is all about the Hulk.  The previous Hulk game from Radical inserted stealth portions where you played as Banner, which slowed down the game.  (In my review of that game I characterized these sections as “completely tiresome.”)  The action is played out with a fluid motion and some really cool Hulk moves including the chance to jump really high and crack pavement and/or rooftops when you land.  Stringing combos together proved to be easy, whether in the air or on the ground and with more moves and combos made available as the game progresses you’ll always have a “fresh” way to destroy things.

Destruction is heavy, with a lot of the environment and the things in it smashable, but buildings remain pretty solid, unless destroying a particular building is part of a mission objective.  Vehicles, which will actually reverse away from the Hulk as he approaches, can also be picked up, used as a projectile, a club or snapped in half to provide the Hulk with makeshift boxing gloves, which add a little more “oomph!” to his punches.

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is scheduled to ship August 2005 and by the looks of it at this point, gamers (and Hulk fans) should get a lot of fun out of it.

- Omni

(May 22, 2005)