(Xbox, PS2, Gamecube; $49.99; Rated T for Language/Violence; hulkultimatedestruction.com)
(four and a half stars)
With successful video game translations of the hottest comic-book properties like “Spider-Man,” “Batman,” and the “X-Men,” it’s hard to believe that there was a time when the description “Comic-Book-Based Game” was analogous with “Don’t Buy Me!”
With a game like “Hulk: Ultimate Destruction,” if you didn’t go out and buy this game, I would say that you wouldn’t know fun if it came up and Gamma-kicked you in the purple pants.
In a superhero game, the ultimate goal is for players to feel like they are living the life of that hero. “Spider-Man 2” gave us that feeling by being able to web wherever we wanted to in Manhattan, and as great as “Spidey 2” was, “Ultimate Destruction” tops it. This title does the greatest justice to a comic character the industry has seen to date.
What makes “Ultimate Destruction” so good and distinct from previous Hulk games, is the free-roaming, near-total destructibility of the environment. Building off of (and obviously paying homage to) what was established in “Spider-Man 2,” “Ultimate Destruction” takes the angry, green giant and plops him in the middle of multiple environments to explore and take on missions that further the story of the game, or just play around with multiple side-missions to earn extra experience points that unlock destructive moves.
These side-missions are not only more varied and enjoyable than the ones in “Spider-Man 2,” but are also done with a sense of humor that shows the developers didn’t just make the game, they had a fun time doing it too. My favorite side-mission so far? Police baseball: as S.W.A.T. jump out of a helicopter onto the top of a skyscraper, Hulk bats them into the bay with a lightning rod.
The focus on this game is allowing Hulk to do what he does best: get furious and SMASH! Nearly every object in the game can be picked up and used as a weapon- from buses to lampposts to cows (yes, cows). Hulk can also “weaponize” cars by turning them into steel boxing gloves, or crack open a rocket launcher like a pack of cigarettes and use the missiles to take down choppers. Of course, Hulk retains his ability to jump enormous distances, which allows him to cover the entire city in a matter of a few seconds.
Solid cinematics, great voice acting, big explosions, and the ability to punt pedestrians down city blocks makes this a phenomenal game. The only thing keeping it from a 5 out of 5 score is the fact that not every building can be fully destroyed. Although there’s no need for a sequel, it would be great to have the ability to leave Hulk amidst a city of rubble. Now that would be the “Ultimate Destruction.”
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