Comic
characters have all but become mainstream in popularity the past few years with
the help of big name directors and even bigger name celebrities to play the
roles on film. Some of the most easily recognized comic book icons have leapt
onto the big screen to try their luck against mainstream attention. The biggest,
baddest, greenest character of all is due up, and he plans to hit a homerun in
the box offices. Of course, with
comic book-to-movie releases come movie-to-video game reiterations, and the new
Incredible Hulk movie is no exception. Edge of Reality decided to take on the
gargantuan feat of shrinking the green monster down to television size.
Unfortunately for Edge of Reality, The Hulk wasn’t as generous to them as he was
to the movie theaters.
The initial
idea behind “The Incredible Hulk” was to provide a storyline that walked in
tandem with the movie release, depict The Hulk as he should rightly be viewed,
and provide a fully destructible environment for players to smash through. EoR
was able to do all of these, but none of them were executed with exact
precision. The lack of sharp edges at completion left me only with a sense of
wanting more from the product.
The Incredible
Hulk’s storyline was slightly structured in a positive manner, but did a very
poor job of maintaining a course alongside the new movie’s stellar path. The only
portions of the video game that seemed to fit in with the movie’s concepts
revolved around small snippets of recreated scenes that only lasted a few
seconds at a time.
The main
campaign only lasted around 8 hours before completion. Each mission seemed to
use the same types of schemes, ranging from protecting an individual to
destroying the enemy and fetching a specific item. The blandness of each mission
really makes the overall experience seem drawn out and mundane.
Fortunately for
customers, there are other ways to occupy your time in the vast world of The
Hulk besides playing through a mildly entertaining storyline. Players can play
in a multitude of mini-games, as well as go searching through the streets for
200 power-ups. You could also rampage over buildings and destroy everything in
sight, but that’d probably get boring pretty quickly.
On a visual
level, The Incredible Hulk looks watered down and sponge dried. Edge of Reality
made the mistake of attempting to compress the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the
game for the Wii. This mass of data simply did not transfer well into the Wii
version. Instead of seeing massive travelling environments, such as those found
in Grand Theft Auto, the player only sees a vast haze lingering in the distance.
If the player climbs to the top of a building and intends to scope out the view,
all he or she will see is a foggy area covering any locale below you.
The graphic
downfall does not stop with depth perception. Nothing in The Incredible Hulk
stands out for the player to drool over and even though the environments are
fully destructible, they are not attractive while being dismantled. If EoR
would’ve scaled down the Wii version slightly, the overall product may have been
much more enjoyable on the eyes.
The lack of
attention paid to the Wii version of The Incredible Hulk does not stop with
visuals. The control scheme also seems botched because of this. Actions were
more-or-less matched with buttons in hope that everything would balance out. Wii
owners expect motion, and The Incredible Hulk offers very little via the Wiimote.
The Incredible
Hulk offers an enjoyable experience, but only one that will last a few days. For
the avid Hulk fan, simply being able to run around and smash things up might
please your inner green rage. But for the avid gamer, this installation in the
Hulk franchise might leave the player feeling a bit… enraged.
|
|
Gameplay: 5.0
Although a few of
the boss battles are slightly interesting and challenge the player, the bulk of
missions present little change in gameplay.
Graphics: 5.0
Graphics are mundane
and bland when compared to other iterations of the game on other systems. The
haze outlying the character’s plane-of-view gets very annoying at times.
Sound: 6.0
Celebrities from the
movie lend their voices, but unfortunately their skills are non-existent, as the
voices sound as mundane as the graphics look.
Difficulty: Easy
As stated before,
the missions get repetitive, as well as predictable. This formula creates little
room for any form of challenge.
Concept: 5.0
Destructible
environments are nothing new to video games, and The Incredible Hulk does
nothing new with the concept to make it feel fresh.
Overall: 5.0
If you love The Hulk
franchise, as well as destroying environments in Hulk-like fashion, then The
Incredible Hulk is worth checking out. The short replay value should cause any
gamer to question purchasing this game though.
