The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction

It's I-can't-believe-I'm-having-this-much-fun-being-green good. Give-to-your-best-friend-for-his-birthday good. I know, it's a shock.

It may not be revolutionary from a gameplay perspective, but everything Radical has accomplished here is done with such care and expertise that the game should be recognized as the wonderful achievement that it is.

For once, believe the game's name and hype - this is an almost endlessly entertaining game with tons of fun and gratuitous destruction.

The fluid animations, the massive amounts of destruction, the excellent comic-influenced roots; Radical went above and beyond the call of duty to bring what can quite possibly be considered the best comic book-based video game ever.

The missions are varied enough to keep you going and take advantage of what makes the game fun; if you like classic beat 'em up games like "Final Fight" or "Streets of Rage 2," then Ultimate Destruction is a game you can't pass up; mindless, destructive fun that has never been done better than this.

Comic book fans will love how the game faithfully adapts the experience of being the Hulk, and people who have never even picked up a comic will enjoy the wanton destruction the players are capable of wreaking.

You will be hard-pressed to find a more "complete" game than The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction... One of the best action/adventures of the year and a strong candidate for the best comic book videogame ever made.

The audio design is superb in its relentless ferocity, yet quite detailed and subtle at times as well. Naturally, everything in this title is about the smashing, crashing, and exploding, so those of you with subwoofers will find them getting quite a workout.

They've listened to the criticism and have delivered a game that's full of action - which means it's short on Banner and long on Hulk. This is the best Hulk game ever.

As an action brawler, Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction absolutely succeeds in being a wildly entertaining and challenging game and I cannot think of a single reason not to recommend it to anyone with the slightest interest in the action genre or have ever wished to possess superhuman strength.

Great looks, an amazing array of incredible moves, fully destructible environments and a physics engine that brings it all to life – Ultimate Destruction is the perfect Hulk simulator.

Not only is it a great action title, it may very well be the best superhero game for current-gen consoles.

Pure chaos at it's finest. The non-linear structure of the missions ensures that you can tear around the city all you want without having to settle down and take a mission, and the cool new moves at your disposal are a lot of fun to perform.

My only real complaint is that too many levels are spent fighting tanks and Hulkbuster mechs with too few appearances by familiar Hulk villains. But no matter: This is the first game to make me feel like I am a mindless behemoth. Hear me roar. [Sept 2005, p.87]

You need to buy The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. It's the closest modern science will let us get to actually being the Hulk, plus without the possible side effects of gamma radiation.

It has its shortcomings, like the enemy "swarming" and a camera that sometimes gets blocked by buildings, but there's too much to like about Ultimate Destruction – the feeling of being the Hulk, a great comic book storyline, lots of stuff to do, a deep combo system – to dwell too much on the downsides.

The Hulk has always been described as an unstoppable force and this game really captures that experience. The controls do take a little getting used to but don't really have a negative impact on the game.

The Hulk is a bit of a loner, though, so there's no multiplayer. That's a bit of a shame. I think it would be a blast to play Hulk vs. Villian, raining terror and destruction on the battle arena, similar to the mess Godzilla and whatever mutated monster he's fighting make of Tokyo when they clash.

Quite possibly the best superhero game to date. A slow start soon gives way to "God of War" intensity that takes of and never looks back. [Sept 2005, p.108]

Although far from perfect in terms of pacing or narrative, it provides a huge free-roaming playground in which you can let loose and just have fun breaking stuff with scant regard for the overall point of the game.

The best Incredible Hulk game yet. A fun and enjoyable game which will have any action fan rapt.

This is the Hulk game fans have been waiting for and it could be argued The Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is the best adaptation of a comic book character to game.

Repetition and environmental limitations aside, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a terrific way to pass the time for existing and future Hulk fans. There are more moves to choose from here than in any other game of recent memory and the attention to detail aimed at fans (expect references to Jarella, the Pantheon, and issue #102 among others) is a great touch.

By zeroing in solely on the catastrophic potential of the Hulk (no Banner stealth garbage this time), Radical has succeeded in providing a depth to demolition that similar sandbox titles have yet to achieve. [Sept 2005, p.97]

The storyline, despite being written by former Hulk writer Paul Jenkins, isn't particularly strong or well told, despite the fact that it's more than faithful to the Hulk's comic strip roots.

Sure, the Hulk is really just a one trick pony of destruction, but what a satisfying pony ride.

The essence of the Hulk – his chaotic power and affect on normal civilization – is captured perfectly.

The control of the Hulk is a love/hate relationship.

Sure, it isn't the deepest, longest, or most technically proficient game out there, but fans of the comic book are sure to have a blast smashing their way through every destructible obstacle the game throws at them.

While perhaps not quite as good as "Spiderman 2," The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction still has enough staying power to make all pretenders to the throne green with envy.

There's plenty of reason to keep playing once the main story is finished, aside from the perpetual quest to better your challenge mission scores.

While The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction isn't a long or involving game, what is here is fantastic and deserves a look.

Comic book fans will be enthralled with it, and so will anybody else looking for a cheerfully violent action-adventure. It may not be earth-shatteringly original, but it makes up for this by delivering plenty of earth shattering in other areas.

Radical Entertainment have produced a game which is every Hulk fan's wet dream and even those with little more than a passing interest in this game will be unable to deny that it is fun to play.

Relentlessly enjoyable and hugely entertaining from the first minute to the last. You could bracket it firmly within the '30-seconds of fun over and over' school of game design.

The first superhero game that actually made Gamestyle feel like we WERE the protagonist (unlike wannabe titles such as Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2, which dressed you up in spandex and left you hanging for more).

There may be a balancing issue between the Story missions and the free-roaming fun of bounding across the environments, but Hulk is definitely the most impressive interpretation of a comic-book character's adventures yet.

Radical has wisely left Banner behind this time out and opted for a Spidey/GTA-type free-roamer - Hulk-style - and is it ever a thumping good time. [Sept 2005, p.56]

Sure, it may be worryingly sadistic to grab a passing bus full of schoolkids and use it as a shield to batter a fleet of police cars out of the way, before hurling it into a group of passing pedestrians, but when it's this much fun, who cares? Super, smashing, and most definitely great. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

But it also has a compelling Story mode, written by former Hulk scribe Paul Jenkins, who gives the big guy a reason to use his considerable crushing skills.

It's leaps and bounds above the mediocre, movie-based Hulk game, and smashes itself a niche in the genre.

While the battles can get exhaustingly repetitive, most players will have monstrous fun.

A must for true Hulk fans as it captures the spirit of this green beast to perfection, BUT the game play as mentioned before it repetitive and short lived if you are just going to play the main missions.

The best open ended superhero game to date, despite what the score says. Excellent action sequences, but needs more mission variety.

Our only problem with The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is that, after a while, the brainless stomping does become a little one dimensional, but then again that is the nature of the comic book licence and this is certainly a step above recent titles such as "The Fantastic Four" and "Batman Begins."