he Incredible Hulk, also known as The Green Vessel of Anger With an IQ Slightly Higher Than Paris Hilton, is back to punch holes in another city. Moreover, he’s returning to show us that he can be a more versatile character than just a moron who throws things. With his friend, Rick Jones, dishing out orders and tagging along to clean up his messes, The Hulk shows us that he could be the next Lassie. “Oh no! Terrorists have planted bombs across the city! Go get ‘em, boy!” This relationship is disturbing, and The Hulk’s docile demeanor is more Bill Bixby than Lou Ferrigno.
The plot, which could crack the Top 100 list for mankind’s greatest narrative failures, gets more confusing by the second, and somehow manages to be far-fetched even for a comic story. Four scientists, dressed head-to-toe in colored Power Rangers-like armor, devise plans within the Citadel of Science to create the ultimate killing machine. Edward Norton accentuates this unintentional camp by channeling a half-awake zombie through his dialogue. The story and characterizations are so bad that they end up being enjoyable for all the wrong reasons.
The only area where this game hits the green nail on the head is in the destruction. The Hulk can knock down buildings, toss puny humans over skyscrapers, and run right through a bus. His untamed power is backed by a stunning fireworks-like display of smoke, debris, and bodies flying through the air. It is such a focus, in fact, that one of the goals requires you to destroy all of the landmarks in New York City.
The entire city is open to you from the outset, and is loaded with striking details and objects that you just want to smash. You are tasked with completing annoying missions that often have timers and numbers on them, but you can always veer off of the story path just to raise your wanted level and see how many tanks you can destroy by throwing cars at them. Outside of the clumsy system of having to press two face buttons at the same time to heal or unleash a super attack, the controls feel great, and will seem familiar for anyone who played the brilliant Xbox, GameCube, and PS2 game, Ultimate Destruction. The Hulk’s move set isn’t as dynamic (or large) as it is in the previous game, but the actions available definitely fit the character. As impressive as his moves are, they don’t always go off without a hitch. Poor collision detection, erratic camera swinging, and laughable AI often put an unintentional comedic twist on the large scale action.
The word “good” should never be used when describing this game, but “entertaining” definitely fits it. Who doesn’t love smashing stuff? The Hulk does it better than anyone, and it’s captured quite well within this game.