The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction Xbox Review
Marvel, Sierra, September 15th, 2005
Review by Raffman, September 15th, 2005
It's been a long time since a current game has reminded me of the good ol' days of the NES, it really has. You know what
I mean, when a game had an incredibly easy learning curve and was simple, yet insanely fun to play at the same time. The
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction for Xbox does just that, and this is another beautifully fun game that can't be
described in words, you just have to play it to really understand what I'm describing. It's a massive game at heart and
you have complete freedom in a ginormous city that reminds me somewhat of the Grand Theft Auto series, yet set in a comic
book world. You have the freedom to do whatever the hell you want; whether it's completeing the missions, finding all the
hidden secrets, or just roaming around and decimating anything that falls in your path; whether it be police officers,
public transit buses, or a crowd of lollygagging pedestrians. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is not just a
button mashing action game, it's got depth and so much freedom which easily makes it one of the best comic book video
games to date. Before I really dive into the gameplay and the graphics however, let's get the story and the presentation
out of the way shall we?
Your name is Bruce Banner, and you are working against the clock for a cure. You're running out of time, and the military
is chasing you at every corner; trying to stop you. Finding the cure will save you from your incredibly destructive
alter-ego; more commonly known as The Hulk. Now I never read the comic books back in the day, but just from the opening
movies at the start of the game I was fully engulfed and knew everything I needed to know; even though I had seen the
movie. From a presentation standpoint, the production teams at Marvel and Sierra did a great job at creating a simple,
yet efficient menu system that not only is easy to navigate, but also looks fantastic and really pulls you into the world
of the Incredible Hulk. The only presentation aspect of this insanely fun Xbox title are the in-game movies for the
storyline, along with the dialogue scenes as well. Granted the gameplay alone is enough to purchase this game, but it
just looks kind of sloppy in my opinion, like they just threw them together on a low-budget. Once again, this doesn't
take away from the game unless if you're a Hulk fanatic, but it is noticeable, although I am a reviewer so maybe you
should just ignore me. Overall the presentation from front to back is solid, and well above average. When you pop The
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction into your Xbox, you expect to get pulled into feeling like you're Bruce Banner
himself, and the creators successfully accomplished that task. Very well done.
With an entire major city as your playground of destruction, you'd think the framerate might drop a little bit as you whip
a few school buses down a traffic-ridden city block. Think again. The graphics engine in The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate
Destruction is more than able to handle as much devastation and chaos as you can create, and much more. The special
effects are absolutely gorgeous, and really mold well with the environment; the lighting alone is something to drool at.
Quite possibly the coolest aspect of this amazing engine is the fact that anything and everything in this ginormous
metropolis is destructible; from the buildings, to light poles, and even the people on the sidewalks that are too dumb to
cross your path. But then again, if they were any smarter this game might not be as much fun as it is! My hat goes off
to the creators behind the Hulk's graphics, because for a comic book game to be great, it has to look like the real deal
and Ultimate Destruction once again accomplishes that task. On the other hand, these graphics aren't going to win any
awards, but the gameplay definately could. Let's move on shall we?
Now this is where The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction really shines, because this game is so much fun to play you
won't be able to put it down. You'll have a blast once you get Hulk past the training exercises and into the city,
running up buildings, chucking cars down the street, and smashing everything in sight with complete ease. The game also
features some of the coolest boss fights that I've seen in recent memory, and folks I play a lot of video games so trust
me on this. For those of you who are fans of the comic, you'll definately notice a lot of the bosses as some familiar
faces, or so I hear. The gameplay in The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, to sum it up, is unparalleled, and that
translates into pure bliss. I guarantee many of you would have never even thought about picking this game up if you
hadn't read this review or heard anything about it, because I know I would've. Ultimate Destruction is truly one of the
best recent releases for Xbox that quite honestly no one really knows about, but should. Well hopefully I'm able to get
the word out a little more through this review, and if you enjoyed this game as much as I did, tell a few friends about
it. If you've got $50 in your college budget this month, I highly recommend The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction,
because who doesn't enjoy a friggen awesome action game?
Graphics - 8.7
Sound - 8.9
Gameplay - 9.4
Overall - 8.85 (Great)
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