The Incredible Hulk (2008 video game)

The Incredible Hulk
Developer(s)	Edge of Reality (console) Amaze Entertainment (handheld)
Publisher(s)	Sega
Composer(s)	Mark Griskey
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Release	June 5, 2008 Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 NA: June 5, 2008 AU: June 12, 2008 EU: June 13, 2008 PlayStation 3 NA: June 5, 2008 EU: June 20, 2008 AU: June 26, 2008 Wii NA: June 5, 2008 AU: July 3, 2008 EU: July 4, 2008 PlayStation 2 NA: June 5, 2008 AU: July 17, 2008 EU: July 18, 2008 Windows NA: June 10, 2008 EU: June 27, 2008 AU: July 3, 2008
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player

The Incredible Hulk is a video game based on the Marvel superhero Hulk and the 2008 film. The console versions were released on June 5, 2008 and the PC version was released on June 10, 2008. Edge of Reality developed the console versions while Amaze Entertainment developed the handheld version of the game.^[1]

The game plays much like The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, because of its free-roam gameplay and its similar controls. The main enemies in the game include Abomination, U-Foes, Bi-Beast, The Enclave, and the United States Army led by General "Thunderbolt" Ross and Major Glenn Talbot.

Edward Norton, Tim Roth, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, and Tim Blake Nelson reprise their roles from the film. Tony Stark is mentioned in this game.

Plot

Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) was a scientist turned fugitive when he was affected by doses of gamma radiation and a suicide attempt fails as he transforms into the beast within him---The Incredible Hulk. (Fred Tatasciore)

Somewhere in a town in South America, Bruce was chased by soldiers led by Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) who were sent by General Thunderbolt Ross. (William Hurt) As the chase ends when Banner heads inside a factory building, the soldiers fire missiles to the building which causes tons of debris to fall on Banner but his life was saved when he transformed into the Hulk instantly. Hulk then makes a quick getaway to New York City.

After arriving in the city, the Hulk confronts and saves the life of Rick Jones, a teenager who has been captured by soldiers working for an organization called the Enclave. It is the brainchild of four scientists, each with his own private army, and use Manhattan as a giant test site. Hulk saves him from Minerva Sector's soldiers who were using a mind control device on him. Soon after, the Hulk further assists Rick Jones by protecting him from Enclave forces twice. The first is when Ceres Sector comes after him when he borrows a tank and the second while fending off Jupiter Sector as he disarms Earthquake Bombs, destroying the Enclave lab where they were made after dealing with the latter, and saves Jones from a giant robot called the Kyklops made by Vulcan Sector. They make friends with each other and help each other many times after this.

Soon after, Bruce Banner begins to work with Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) who was, in truth, his friend "Mr. Blue". Banner goes to talk to Simon Utrecht, a ruthless businessman whose research is similar to his own, and plans to test radiation on himself and three other participants. The Hulk finds the Army coming to arrest him. He stops them and destroys the antenna used to gather energy for his experiment as well as the building on it, preventing catastrophic damage, but finds himself confronted by the U-Foes, a superhuman group consisting of a metallic being called Ironclad, a telekinetic being named Vector, a humanoid cloud by the name of Vapor and an inside-out, radioactive being called X-Ray. The Hulk manages to beat them, though the U-Foes survive and soon vowed to destroy the Hulk once he interferes with them once more. Under Sterns' direction, Hulk deals with an Army radio jammer that is interfering with his lab analyses of his blood sample, which was meant to conceal special nanites from Enclave forces. He is then sent to retrieve the nanites which are hidden in garbage trucks that are also targeted by the Army and the Enclave. After succeeding, Hulk delivers the nanites to an awestruck Sterns.

Major Glenn Talbot then dispatches the army to take down Hulk with total disregard for civilian casualties. Hulk fends off an army attack under his direction, then he deals with missile strikes, avoiding getting hit while Rick finds the source of their computer targeting systems, destroying the source and defeating Emil Blonsky again.

Rick gets word that the Enclave's Minerva Sector has created machines that siphon energy from the city and its people. Hulk goes to destroy them at their key locations. After the machines are dealt with, Hulk eliminates the Ceres Sector's chemical bombs by throwing them into the saltwater. But this was merely a diversion so they could plant dozens of smaller bombs which go off and poison sections of New York, then Enclave soldiers occupy the contaminated areas. Hulk clears them out of the areas in the initial bombing, after which they try again, putting energy siphoning machines into the areas this time. Then, Hulk heads to Empire State University to obtain a scrubber machine from Sterns that can finally clean up the contamination, foiling Enclave's plans.

Hulk then takes the fight to Major Glenn Talbot by attracting press helicopters to expose his true colors. After an attack on a military base, during which Talbot's forces fire on the press as well as the Hulk, Talbot goes into hiding as Rick Jones tracks his helicopter. Hulk gives pursuit of Talbot's helicopter. After attacking another base, Hulk learns that Major Talbot has captured Rick and is using him for bait. Hulk rescues Rick and Talbot goes on the run.

After escaping Talbot's soldiers, Rick tells Bruce that Enclave is creating a massive mind-control device and needs the data to create a countermeasure. Hulk fights Enclave soldiers shielded from the device to obtain the data and attract Enclave soldier reinforcements so that the shield around the building can be dropped and Rick can sneak in. By attacking nearby Enclave property, reinforcements are sent upon the shield dropping. As Hulk battles the Enclave soldiers, Rick successfully infiltrates the building and sets off something upon his departure. Hulk then destroys the building to prevent it from exploding. Enclave then goes after them and Hulk fights the Enclave robots to buy Rick Jones some time to get away. When Enclave tracks the device to the building that Rick Jones has the data in, Hulk defends the building to buy Rick some time to get it out. When Rick does escape, Hulk makes his way to Empire State University to see Samuel Stern. With the help of a countermeasure, Hulk heads toward one of their buildings to find them luring mind-controlled civilians into an energy siphoning machine. When the shield surrounding the antennae is dropped, Hulk heads up to the roof. After Hulk destroys the antennae, the leaders of Enclave plan to use Bi-Beast to battle Hulk. Upon receiving the news that Enclave is placing a bigger control antenna in Time Square, Hulk heads there and fights the Enclave soldiers under Bi-Beast's command. After the antennae is destroyed, Hulk engages Bi-Beast in battle and destroys it, before ripping off its head and revealing its mechanical insides. This causes Jupiter Leader to take charge after Ceres and Minerva's failure.

This time, Enclave targets the Hulk directly using Jupiter Sector's earthquake generators, which Hulk then destroys on top of buildings to stop the earthquakes. Then, Vulcan Sector builds laser turrets with firepower enough to harm the Hulk, but this also fails. The Enclave then targets Hulk with an orbital laser that is synchronized over Manhattan. With the help from Rick Jones, Hulk scales the building that has the control satellite dish which Hulk destroys and follows its crash toward Central Park. Bruce is then contacted by Sterns that they can try to cure him, if they can obtain three items to build a Gamma Charger to elevate his gamma levels for the cure. One lies in a shielded Enclave warehouse, the second in an army transport, and the third in a secret Enclave base. Hulk successfully retrieves all three of the items.

Rick then locates some stolen equipment of Sterns and sends Hulk to that location. Enclave plots to use the equipment to boost their mutant troops. As Rick disables them from his helicopter, Hulk clears the area for Rick to land. Bruce Banner then heads to the university where his old research data is only for Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) to get the data before all of it is deleted by her father. Bruce sighted Emil Blonsky stating that General Ross' army is here. When Ross' soldiers grab Betty, Bruce turns into the Hulk and attacks the army's deployment points. Hulk then ends up in another fight with Emil Blonsky who received treatment that gives him enhanced abilities. Hulk manages to defeat him and makes off with Betty. With Emil still alive, General Ross gives orders to give Emil some medical attention.

Betty then tells Bruce that her father, General Ross, is going to attack an Enclave base, clearly underestimating their power. At her request, Hulk then heads out to protect General Ross and eventually takes down Enclave's forces and the base before he gets the chance. When a soldier reports that Banner beat them to it, General Ross remarks that they did not need his help. Hulk then fights Enclave soldiers to prevent them from getting the Army's Hulkbuster technology built by Stark Industries. He manages to repel them, leaving the armor pilots wondering if General Ross has him figured wrong. Afterwards, Hulk then helps the Hulkbusters fight Enclave soldiers and destroy the Enclave F-POD weapon. After Vulcan Leader's failure, the Enclave leaders conclude that using mere underlings is insufficient and need to take a more personal role in dealing with the monster, or let the Army do the job of eliminating the Hulk for them. Emil Blonsky recovers and General Ross arranges a special treatment for Emil.

Samuel Sterns then tells Hulk that they can test their device if Hulk can obtain a genetic simulator from Enclave. Samuel Sterns then informs Hulk that Enclave has used a bio-weapon on a building and Hulk takes the device to it in hopes that Samuel Sterns can use it to cure the place. Hulk then prevents the building's destruction while Samuel works on the cure. When it is a success on the building, Samuel Sterns concludes that the cure works.

Hulk then has to guard a truck containing an experimental weapon that General Ross is having transported since General Ross does not trust Major Glenn Talbot for the job. When Glenn Talbot steals the weapon, Hulk goes after him. Hulk retrieves it and gives it to Rick so he can destroy it. When Betty Ross has been kidnapped under Major Talbot's orders, Hulk fights a Hulkbuster to destroy the generators trapping Betty Ross in a cage. After Hulk beats the Hulkbuster, Betty tells the pilot in the Hulkbuster that she is General Ross's daughter. This causes the Hulkbuster and the troops with it to fall back as Betty is free. When General Ross is told what happen, his army attacks Major Glenn Talbot who is now wearing a Hulkbuster armor (which is powered by a mini nuclear reactor that will blow up the city if it explodes). Hulk joins the fight and defeats Talbot. When the Hulkbuster armor is about to blow, Hulk throws it into the air where it explodes.

Samuel Sterns has completed the device that will cure Bruce Banner of the Hulk with a chance that it would kill him. Even though it suppressed the Hulk genes, General Ross and his army arrive tranquilizing Bruce and taking him and Betty away as General Ross drafts Samuel to his cause. After General Ross leaves, Emil Blonsky arrives to get more of the treatment from Samuel Sterns. This causes Emil to become Abomination who then attacks the city. Seeing as he's the only one who can stop him, Bruce Banner jumps from the helicopter and transforms into the Hulk to fight Abomination. When Abomination attacks the helicopter that General Ross and Betty are in, Hulk destroys it and continues his fight with Abomination. Hulk kills Abomination and leaves the area. Betty tells her father that she hopes it was worth it.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic (X360) 55/100[2] (PS3) 55/100[3] (DS) 50/100[4] (PS2) 50/100[5] (Wii) 46/100[6] (PC) 33/100[7] Review scores Publication Score 1UP.com C+[8] (PS2) C−[9] (Wii) D+[10] Destructoid 7/10[11] Eurogamer 5/10[12] Game Informer 6.75/10[13] Game Revolution C[14] GameSpot (DS) 7/10[15] 5.5/10[16] (PS2) 4/10[17] (Wii & PC) 3.5/10[18][19] GameSpy [20] GameTrailers 5.8/10[21] GameZone 6/10[22][23][24] (Wii) 5/10[25] IGN 6/10[26] (Wii & PS2) 5.7/10[27][28] (PC) 5.5/10[29] (DS) 5.2/10[30] Nintendo Power (DS) 7.5/10[31] (Wii) 3.5/10[32] OXM (US) 6.5/10[33] PC Gamer (US) 43%[34]

The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, DS and PlayStation 2 versions received "mixed" reviews, while the Wii and PC versions received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Variety gave the game a mixed review and stated: "To be fair, there isn't a word yet for "post-ultimate" destruction, but the lack of a subtitle is appropriate for this flimsier and less ambitious game that's unlikely to set off a rampage to videogame stores."^[35]

References

External links

• Official website
• The Incredible Hulk on IMDb
• The Incredible Hulk at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
• The Incredible Hulk at MobyGames