Since the maxim "If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" has no place in video game journalism, let me begin by stating that The Incredible Hulk - The Pantheon Saga is the worst game I've played in a long while. It's not a flawed title because calling it flawed insinuates that some aspects of the game are good. This game is seriously bad right across the board.
The graphics and sound in The Pantheon Saga are below average. The once proud Hulk looks terrible - his head is too small for his body and his movements are choppy in the extreme (it's a lot like playing a better video game in a strobe light). Backgrounds are even shallower, using one-swatch textures for some of the flattest 3-D environments ever seen. And the between-stage cutscenes? They look no better than the rest of the game - but they at least give you much-needed breaks from the horror of actually having to play. Rounding out this delightful package is a pedestrian soundtrack that can best be described as an irritating blend of dance music and wanna-be goth-rock.
The Incredible Hulk features a confusing storyline worsened by boring gameplay. You're the Hulk (big, green, and angry), and you're transported against your will to a secret laboratory for rehabilitation. The ship that's transporting you crashes and you're set free in the lab. From there you must escape, defeat a few super-villains, and eventually face a meaner version of yourself from an alternate future. Adapted from the comic book, the storyline does not translate well - even after completing the game you'll wonder how the events tie together. What you DO get is a series of three-quarter view levels that will have you punching, kicking, and smashing everything in your sight. And although this may sound like fun, it loses its appeal somewhere near the beginning of level one - about the same time you realize how limiting the play control is. It feels wrong to attack a game for being straightforward, but The Incredible Hulk is just stupid easy. There are no complex problems to solve or secrets to unlock - you just smash your way through each stage until you destroy your main target or flip some switches (which you don't even switch - you punch). Even if you can deal with the game's shortcomings, playing the title from start to finish doesn't feel worth the effort.
Ironically, Eidos (publisher of The Incredible Hulk) also released Tomb Raider, which helped redefine platform and adventure titles to such a lofty point that games like this are now unacceptable. Even before Tomb Raider, however, games with similar shortcomings have had at least one redeeming quality. Sadly though, there is no salvation for The Incredible Hulk - its dreadful mix of low-quality graphics, sound, and gameplay will leave players green with disgust.
