REVIEW: The Incredible Hulk

Developer: Edge of Reality | Publisher: SEGA | Format: PS3

Reviewer: Craig Jay Gallagher

Turning a summer blockbuster into a half decent game is a monster task for any developer. The general rule is that the finished product is usually a sub par experience with poor gameplay and a looming sense of regret when you realise that you just lost upwards of 6o euro.

There is the odd stellar title that manages to sneak though, such as the superb Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay which remains this reviewers favourite FPS of all time. The latest cash in is The Incredible Hulk and while it fails to reach Riddick heights of quality it remains quite a decent title which is a lot of fun.

The plot follows the film with a few detours to up the action ante. Bruce Banner is on the run from the US army led by General Ross whom is eager to capture the Hulk and use him to create genetically altered

super soldiers. What follows is a series of fights between you and tanks, soldiers, various villains and the big daddy The Abomination, a kinda anti-Hulk. All this takes place in New York City, which you can pretty much smash up. The city is immense and packed with people, cars and numerous soldiers. The sheer amount of damage that you can do is unparalleled.

You can pick up and throw cars, tear one in half and create home made metallic boxing gloves. The city is an interactive hub with a number of side missions and mini games to complete. Many of these further the story while others are just an excuse to break stuff and cause as much damage as possible The damage that you do to the city allows enemies to zero in on you and try to take you down.

The biggest draw back is the fact that many missions are repetitive with many involving you simply having to bash buttons for a few minutes. The most irritating missions are the ones in which you have to protect buildings as you do far more damage to the building jumping around it than your enemies do when attacking it. At times the ability to just race around destroying stuff grows quite mundane and you find yourself reaching for the off button.

At the end of the day, The Incredible Hulk isn’t going to redefine gaming as we know it but what it does do is offer a number of hours of nonstop mayhem and destruction. While far from the dizzy heights of the Riddick game it’s certainly far superior to last years Fantastic Four game and is worth a cursory rental at the very least.