The Hulk – XB – Review

“You don’t want to see me
when I’m angry,” Doctor Bruce Banner says to General Ryker, the villain of the
game and the recent summer blockbuster by Ang Lee, as his anger begins to boil
deep inside him.  Banner, having been the victim of accidental exposure to a
tremendous amount of gamma radiation, feels the Beast in the back of his mind as
it struggles to break free of Doctor Banner and come out.  And when the beast
does come, it becomes a force that can’t be stopped.  This is the Hulk and Xbox
owners will know what it is like to be Marvel comic’s angriest and greenest
hero. 

There have been a number
of comic book inspired games that just didn’t capture the thrill of the films
they are tied to (such as X2: Wolverine’s Revenge and Blade II) but these recent
games have touched on a neat concept.  Instead of taking gamers through a
play-the-movie game, they offer up a new story connected to the film itself.  In
the Hulk, the story begins where the story in the film ends.  You play Doctor
Banner and his dangerous alter ego as they attempts to battle the Leader, an
enemy intent on creating an army of gamma-powered beasts to cause chaos all over
the globe.  To make things worse, Bruce is betrayed by his former mentor and
friend while General Ryker and his soldiers attempt to capture the Hulk.

The game’s other mode of
playing is Challenge Mode that offers a few mini-games such as Endurance (fight
a slew of enemies and see how long you can last), Time Attack (defeat as many
opponents before the time runs out) and Hulk Smash!  The Hulk Smash! feature has
you destroying as much of the environment before the time runs out and this is
actually pretty enjoyable.   However, Story Mode is the main playing mode and it
is also here that you can unlock various surprising cheats for the Special
Feature‘s menu.

Control-wise the Hulk uses
a straightforward control scheme for the combat.  Our mean, green smashing
friend can jump, punch and perform a number of attacks.  He can pick up an enemy
and slap him around, slam him into the ground or throw at other opponents.  The
Hulk also has a powerful attack that comes in the form of a handclap attack that
sends a shock wave that knocks enemies down or a ground-smashing move that does
the same trick.  While there are a few combo moves as well, combat begins to
seem repetitive.  While this could have spelled disaster, gamers will have way
too much fun tossing soldiers or kicking Hulk Dogs around.  Boss fights are also
quite challenging and entertaining.

The weakest part of the
game comes as playing as Bruce Banner.  His missions generally involve stealth
since the good Doctor is neither a fighter or as strong as his alter ego.  While
he is able to silently creep his way through military installations or throw a
few punches when it’s called for, these missions begin to feel identical.  In
fact, they can be a bit boring even with the few door-opening puzzles you might
encounter.  And forget picking a fight with a guard because that only leads to
you getting a savage beating.  It just goes to show that scientists might be
experts in the field of gamma radiation but throwing a punch is too complex a
science.

Visually the Hulk uses a
slightly altered style of cel-shading that actually works well for a game whose
hero is basically a CG character in the film.  Characters such as the Hulk and
beasts such as Half-Life or Ravage look amazing during cut scenes and just as
equally good during the game’s action sequences.  Your surroundings also look
great, although the highlight is the fact that things in the environment can be
damaged or even destroyed.  When the Hulk smashed a wall with a pillar, the
shattered remains of the pillar can be used as a weapon to swat people with or
can be thrown to take down multiple enemies.  Watching the Hulk create a sonic
wave by his handclap attack makes for a great visual effect.  The only problem
with the visuals is the camera that occasionally keeps you from seeing the exit
or who is attacking you.

The score masterfully
gives the game a cinematic feel during the animated cut scenes as well as during
the action itself.  While the score features an original soundtrack, gamers will
find touches of the film’s dramatic score throughout.  While this is great, it’s
the good voice acting and spectacular sound effects that win big points here.
There’s nothing quite like hearing the Hulk’s mighty and frightening roar as the
giant behemoth smashes walls into crumbling debris or tossing a soldier like a
screaming missile off a building rooftop.  It’s also pretty cool to hear Eric
Bana–the actor who plays Banner on the film–do the voice of Banner on the
game.

The Hulk is, no doubt, one
of the best games based on the green monster and although there are some things
that could have been done better, the good stuff certainly overshadows that bad
stuff.  While the Banner missions and the sometimes awful camera angles can be a
hindrance, for instance, the intense destructive action and juicy extras more
than make up for these things.  If you are a fan of the Hulk or love smashing
things and people, give this game a try.

#Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7.5
Bashing or tossing foes about can be
quite amusing during the first few missions, but this action can become very
repetitive.  Luckily there are quite a number of combos to learn and
implementing them during the action makes for some great enemy smashing.  When
the Hulk is really enraged, he really lets loose, sending enemies flying back
with his mighty handclap attack or ground-smashing attack.

One of the game’s
noticeable flaws comes in the form of the camera that can obscure certain spots
that might have enemies you won’t see until they attack you.  The Banner
missions, although do add some relief from the Hulk’s smash-and-destroy action,
are not as exciting or well done at all.  To quote the comic book version of the
mighty green beast: “This part make Hulk cry.”

Graphics: 8.5
Not quite cel-shaded, the graphics
are remarkably comic book styled and give the game its own unique charm.  The
animated cut scenes fluidly intermingle with the action enough that the game
actually feels like one long animated feature gamers can control themselves.
The environments are also nicely detailed, although the main attraction is most
definitely the fact that anything can be interacted with and eventually smashed
to pieces the Hulk can use against enemies.  It’s fun smashing into walls,
tearing out pipes and using it against tanks and waves of soldiers.

The character design is
also quite impressive, especially since Bruce Banner looks a lot like the actor
that portrays him in the movie.  It’s also a treat seeing Banner suddenly turn
green as his body begins to take the form of the hulking beast that is so
menacing that–when in full rage–even frightens the troops set on capturing
him.  

Sound: 8.5
Sound-wise, the game is filled with
original music as well as music from the film itself.  The soundtrack perfectly
sets the mood from the very start of the game and picks up during the most
intense parts of the game.  Aside from the great score, the game also excels at
showcasing some pretty stellar voice acting from many of the main characters,
including actor Eric Bana who plays Bruce Banner in the game as well as the
film.

Yet while all of these
things add up to a great sound experience, it is the sound effects that truly
stand out.  The Hulk’s roar is both menacing and loud and listening to him
shatter concrete walls and crack the pavement below him make this game worthy of
pumping up the volume.  If you have a good sound system hooked up, this one
takes full advantage of the Dolby Digital feature.

Difficulty: Medium
While the Hulk is incredibly strong
and seemingly indestructible, he can take enough damage to bring him down.  Wave
after wave of puny humans can make enough damage (especially those carrying
around rocket launchers and electrified force shields) but it is the Hulk Dogs
and tanks that can ultimately bring our favorite green hero to his knees.
However, the source of frustration come more in the weak form of Bruce Banner
whose stealth missions can lead to a number of retries.  The puzzles are few and
thankfully not considerably difficult to complete.

Concept: 8.0
With a new story that basically
picks up where the Ang Lee film ends, gamers get to experience an all-new
adventure while faithfully keeping familiar characters gamers will instantly
recall.  The game also allows gamers to be as destructive as they want, smashing
anything and anyone the Hulk encounters throughout the game.  Challenge Mode
also has a number of fun challenges that are more than welcome and add more
replay value.  And although the Banner missions are more on the boring side and
can be occasionally arduous, it is better than not having them at all.

Overall: 8.5
Hulk fans rejoice!  At last there is
a game worthy of the green beast and you can count the Hulk as one of the best
comic book games available thus far.  While there are a number of things that
could have used some improvement, this shouldn’t keep gamers from enjoying this
engaging smash-and-bash action game.  I recommend picking this one up, Xbox
owners–this is definitely the version to own.