Review by: Tuxxer

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Marvel certainly hasn't wasted time turning its movie franchises into videogames. Spider-Man, Wolverine's Revenge, and now Hulk. Not the Incredible Hulk for some reason, just Hulk. Maybe it's a good thing they left off the Incredible part.

Having played a game or two plucked from the silver screen (see reviews for Spider-Man, and Enter The Matrix), I was looking forward to getting to smash stuff good as the not-so-jolly green giant. The game starts off great. You can hit everything, indentations on the walls, cracked potholes on the ground, and many things can either be picked up and used as blunt weapons, or explode, or both. Not to mention that the puny humans that choose to fight you can be picked up and thrown at other puny humans. The Hulk's brutality is pretty awesome, and there's no shortage of villains. As long as you stay in a certain area, the bad guys will keep coming. The controls are easy to learn, and there are plenty of attack combos you can try. Another interesting feature is the Rage meter. Underneath your health, is a bar that indicates just how angry the Hulk is. The more you fight, the angrier you get. When the bar is full, the Hulk glows green, and becomes even stronger until the meter runs out again.

The plot of the game begins one year after the movie. Dr. Bruce Banner is on the run, and a militant general (get it?) is after him. Not Thunderbolt Ross, either, some other guy whose name I don't recognize. On the lookout for a cure (the plot of nearly every episode of the classic TV show of the same name), Banner returns to help another scientist with a device called the Gamma Orb, designed to absorb Banner's radiated energy and leave him completely normal. The good doctor, however, isn't so good. He deliberately taps into the orb once it's filled, turning himself into a bearded hulk-like figure named Ravage. That much comes from the comic books as well, and it's also where the decent similarities end.

Ravage leaves a trail of destruction as he breaks out of the lab, and it's the Hulk's job to go beat him up. Level after level of pursuit takes place, with the enemies getting gradually stronger and harder to kill. The bosses, however, in most cases, are just stupid. One is even a grenade-throwing, southern-twang spouting redneck Hulk wannabe, and it was a pleasure turning him into pulp. After meeting most of the grunt villains (troops, gamma-irradiated troops, the obligatory robots and over-sized dogs), the game has few surprises left.

The between-level movies are interesting. The CGI is not terribly realistic, and all the characters have a glossy sheen to them, not as if they were out of the comics, more like they were covered in Saran Wrap. Aside from the sweaty complexion, however, Banner does resemble the actor playing him, Eric Bana. This is fitting, since Bana also provided his voice for the game. If only Jennifer Connolly had done the same... Betty Ross makes a cameo appearance, but only that. She is a temporary damsel in distress, and is absent from the rest of the game.

The game does have a few other perks. A cheat list is available, provided you enter the right codes. The usual options are available here, too: Invulnerability, Stronger bad guys, killing a guy with one punch, etc. One unique perk is the option of playing as the Grey Hulk. Fans of the comics know that the Grey Hulk is another incarnation of Banner's suppressed rage, only this one can speak in complete sentences. He is also a complete jerk and enjoys inflicting as much pain as possible. He makes remarks throughout the game, based on what attacks you use, and the bad guys you face.

Also, there are other types of game play. You can just smash stuff without having to play a whole level, and there are survival challenges as well, where wave after wave of baddies will show up no matter how healthy you are.

Sadly, the novelty of playing the Hulk wears off before the game is over. Yes, Hulk smash. Smash good. But Smash get old after while. This game is, however, definitely worth the rental. And, if you're ever in a really bad mood, the opportunity to take out your aggression in a Rampage-esque manner could come in quite handy. I give Hulk a 6.5 out of 10. The score would've been better if the minor enemies had a bit more variety, if the movies weren't so plasticine, and the bosses weren't so frickin' dumb. All in all, a decent game, but nothing incredible.

You can order this game directly from Amazon.com

Check out the rest of our Smashing Hulk Coverage

All images property of Psgamersonline.com unless otherwise noted. Article copyright 2003 MillionairePlayboy.com. The Matrix, Matrix: Reloaded, and Enter the Matrix are property of Warned Bros. Studios