If you can only get one superhero game this year, make it this one!
User Rating: 9.4 | The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction PS2
2003's Hulk game was pretty cool, but many things like the annoying Bruce Banner stealth missions, the repetitiveness of the smashing, and other things destroyed a good chunk of its potential. Fast-foward to 2005, where another Hulk game is being made. This time, however, Hulk takes a page from both Spider-Man 2 and Mercenaries' respective books, and ends up being simply smashing, as both a tribute to the superhero in question, and as a full-fledged game on its own merits. Apparently, the story follows Bruce-y as he attempts to rid himself of the Hulk and some malevolent internal force along with some green-haired weirdo called "Doc Samson" (?), all while having to evade the sinister Emil Blonsky's, or Abomination, clutches. The story will probably bring a tear to the most devoted Hulk fans' eyes, but to the rest of us, it is about as relevant as a ninja in a J.C Penneys. The main draw here is the new GTA-style free-roaming, which in reality, plays kind of like Hulk, Spider-Man 2, and Mercenaries mixed into an oversized blender. You'd be hard-pressed to find a game that can let you cause more large-scale destruction and mayhem (at the expense of a bit less detailed graphics), the new running on buildings feature helps make Hulk roaming through the city that much easier, and the new weaponizations make smashing the crap out of an unsuspecting cityscape both a bit more strategic and stylish. Plus, the game encourages thinking outside the preset path rather than frowning upon it, awarding those who have their own ideas of how to beat a mission much more smash points. It seems TIH:UD is flawless, right? Nope. But to the game's credit, the few flaws are very small. The loading times in between jumping to each thing are a pain in the butt, the story missions are a little too repetitive, the camera gets a little wonky when walking on walls, and the Hulk could use a bit more of that ol' HULK SMASH!!! spirit found in the comics rather than just roaring like a very mad deabbihog. But despite these petty flaws, the Hulk is one that should be played. Hulk fanatics will idolize this game just as much as the comics upon which this game was based, those who love to smash everything will find much to savor here, and even those who don't know their Devil Hulks from their M.O.D.O.K.s will have quite a bit of fun playing this. But if you hate the Hulk's guts, you certainly won't be too converted. Overall, this is the best superhero game on the market, no matter how you smash it. Excelsior!!
