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Here is my attempt to get into the guild. I have been running it through ChatGPT to try and clean up the spelling, my grammar is kindergarten level at best, so hopefully it's not too bad.
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The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction Review - Fighting The Inner Demon
But before diving into UltimateDestruction, I should mention their previous game, which was also a Hulk game, simply titled Hulk, from 2003. It was a tie-in with Ang Lee's 2003 film "Hulk", starring Eric Bana. Despite landing in the low-70s on Metacritic with middling sales, it performed well enough to warrant a second Hulk game, Ultimate Destruction.
The approach to Ultimate Destruction came about after the developers noticed the criticism of the stealth sections in their previous Hulk game. As a result, they wanted to remove any form of restriction and make it as open and wild as possible.
Ultimate Destruction is not connected to a movie. It is an original story in the Hulk universe, written by two veteran comic book writers, Paul Jenkins and BryanHitch.
While the story isn't anything groundbreaking, the cutscenes and voice work are generally strong, making it interesting to watch as Bruce Banner's psyche starts to deteriorate under the aggressive and oppressive influence of the Devil Hulk.
The Devil Hulk is trying to escape from Bruce Banner's mind and manifest in the world as a monster of primal evil that is driven to lay waste to anything and everything.
In Hulk lore, Bruce Banner can become different Hulk personas based on his mental state. In the comic books, many variations of the Hulk have been explored, from Savage Hulk to Grey Hulk to Immortal Hulk. All have different traits and personalities, and some can be quite different than the classic Hulk.
While the Hulk is a metaphor for losing control through anger, the Devil Hulk is a metaphor for the darkest aspects of the mind, fueled by self-hatred, representing the side of Bruce Banner that feels ostracized by the world for being a monster. In the game, as events unfold, Bruce Banner starts to unravel, and it gives his alter-ego the Devil Hulk more influence over the Hulk's actions.
To move around the world, you can charge Hulk's jump to leap huge distances, bouncing all over the map, almost like a bouncing ball, jumping from building to building. Hulk is extremely mobile, and he can run straight up skyscrapers with ease. This mobility is crucial to get a leg up on all the things that are hunting you. Your enemies are fast, and you need to move at all times to get the upper hand.
There is also a skill system in place, where you gain currency as you smash things, and you get to use that"smash" currency to unlock more moves. It encourages the player to break as much as possible, increasing gratification for aggression. It's important to consider what to unlock, as some skills can give you significant advantages.
The best part of Ultimate Destruction is the wide array of options you have as the Hulk and how the game is designed for you to use them. Your leaping ability allows you to move in and out of combat at will, and with the wide range of skills at your disposal, the fights become dynamic. For example, you can grab an enemy, scale a building, and throw them at the enemies below, or you can do a huge leap and land right into the enemy mass and thunderclap them, or use a car as combat gloves, wait behind a corner, and smash anything that comes near you. Your arsenal of moves gives you a multitude of options, making your brain constantly analyze a new potential course of action.
It's intuitive and fast, wild and frantic. The range of gameplay possibilities given to the player is impressive among all the chaos.
The Prototype games, released in 2009 and 2012, can be called spiritual successors to Ultimate Destruction, as they use a lot of the same ideas and gameplay, such as leaping across the map and using superhero powers in a sandbox environment similar to Ultimate Destruction.
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The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction Review - Fighting The Inner Demon
The Lead-Up
In 2005, Radical Entertainment released The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. It quickly established itself as one of the better superhero games at the time, with its almost toybox-like open world and focus on environmental destruction.But before diving into UltimateDestruction, I should mention their previous game, which was also a Hulk game, simply titled Hulk, from 2003. It was a tie-in with Ang Lee's 2003 film "Hulk", starring Eric Bana. Despite landing in the low-70s on Metacritic with middling sales, it performed well enough to warrant a second Hulk game, Ultimate Destruction.
The approach to Ultimate Destruction came about after the developers noticed the criticism of the stealth sections in their previous Hulk game. As a result, they wanted to remove any form of restriction and make it as open and wild as possible.
Ultimate Destruction is not connected to a movie. It is an original story in the Hulk universe, written by two veteran comic book writers, Paul Jenkins and BryanHitch.
The Inner Demon
The game's story centers on Hulk's struggles with a personal demon that emerges from his mind, called the Devil Hulk, while being chased by the U.S. Military and the classic Hulk villain, "Abomination", voiced by Ron Perlman.While the story isn't anything groundbreaking, the cutscenes and voice work are generally strong, making it interesting to watch as Bruce Banner's psyche starts to deteriorate under the aggressive and oppressive influence of the Devil Hulk.
The Devil Hulk is trying to escape from Bruce Banner's mind and manifest in the world as a monster of primal evil that is driven to lay waste to anything and everything.
In Hulk lore, Bruce Banner can become different Hulk personas based on his mental state. In the comic books, many variations of the Hulk have been explored, from Savage Hulk to Grey Hulk to Immortal Hulk. All have different traits and personalities, and some can be quite different than the classic Hulk.
While the Hulk is a metaphor for losing control through anger, the Devil Hulk is a metaphor for the darkest aspects of the mind, fueled by self-hatred, representing the side of Bruce Banner that feels ostracized by the world for being a monster. In the game, as events unfold, Bruce Banner starts to unravel, and it gives his alter-ego the Devil Hulk more influence over the Hulk's actions.
Playing As Hulk
Hulk can run up buildings, leap huge distances, rip apart vehicles, and do all sorts of actions like throwing tanks at helicopters and elbow-drop from buildings onto the street below. It's a fast and visceral game, a power fantasy.To move around the world, you can charge Hulk's jump to leap huge distances, bouncing all over the map, almost like a bouncing ball, jumping from building to building. Hulk is extremely mobile, and he can run straight up skyscrapers with ease. This mobility is crucial to get a leg up on all the things that are hunting you. Your enemies are fast, and you need to move at all times to get the upper hand.
There is also a skill system in place, where you gain currency as you smash things, and you get to use that"smash" currency to unlock more moves. It encourages the player to break as much as possible, increasing gratification for aggression. It's important to consider what to unlock, as some skills can give you significant advantages.
Presentation
You won't be impressed if you look at some footage from the game, visually it looks like a standard cityscape from a PlayStation 2-era game. But the audio is great, the thumping from the Hulk's footsteps to his grunting and destruction abilities, it all sounds powerful. He animates well, and ripping apart vehicles has a chunky and forceful feel to it.The Good & The Bad
The biggest problem with UltimateDestruction lies in the later missions and their dramatic difficulty spikes. Some later enemies are frustrating, and some missions can feel disproportionately difficult. There are times when you face hordes of enemies swarming you, with relentless homing attacks and constant grabs, that it will leave you swearing and cursing at the game. But it takes a while before it ramps up to that extent, and if you get the correct upgrades before you get there, you will have the tools to handle it.The best part of Ultimate Destruction is the wide array of options you have as the Hulk and how the game is designed for you to use them. Your leaping ability allows you to move in and out of combat at will, and with the wide range of skills at your disposal, the fights become dynamic. For example, you can grab an enemy, scale a building, and throw them at the enemies below, or you can do a huge leap and land right into the enemy mass and thunderclap them, or use a car as combat gloves, wait behind a corner, and smash anything that comes near you. Your arsenal of moves gives you a multitude of options, making your brain constantly analyze a new potential course of action.
It's intuitive and fast, wild and frantic. The range of gameplay possibilities given to the player is impressive among all the chaos.
Legacy
The developers, Radical Entertainment, were at their peak following The Simpsons: Hit & Run. And after Ultimate Destruction, they went on to develop Scarface: The World Is Yours, Crash Tag Team Racing, and the two Prototype games. Yet, despite their well-received games, poor sales led to their eventual transformation into a support studio for other Activision titles.The Prototype games, released in 2009 and 2012, can be called spiritual successors to Ultimate Destruction, as they use a lot of the same ideas and gameplay, such as leaping across the map and using superhero powers in a sandbox environment similar to Ultimate Destruction.
