May 23, 2003 - With videogames based on summer blockbusters selling like hotcakes (X2: Wolverine's Revenge and Enter the Matrix have both done extremely well despite a flush of mediocre reviews), it's really no surprise to see that Vivendi Universal has dipped its own foot into the pool with the digital reenactment of its parent company's impending hit, The Hulk. Developed by Radical Entertainment (best known for the snowboarding adventure Dark Summit) and powered by the full cooperation of Marvel Comics and Universal Pictures, The Hulk could potentially be just as big as its predecessors -- and even bigger if the movie draws the type of numbers its supporters are expecting.

From the personal standpoint of the videogame world's biggest Incredible Hulk fanatic, (sure it's self-professed, but go ahead and try me -- I've got the chops) I can undoubtedly say that the gaming community has been waiting for a title like this for quite some time. Permanently inundated with shoddy interpretations of the green goliath on other platforms for years prior to this one, it was only natural to go into the new adventure with a skeptical eye and an expectation of defeat. With the opportunity of mixing two of my favorite pastimes in the history of the world, however, (The Hulk and videogames) I realized that I'd be crazy to pass up the chance to give The Hulk an official IGN spin. And to my pleasured surprise, I'm glad that I did. It seems that someone has finally understood what it takes to make the perfect Incredible Hulk videogame -- or should I say, almost.

Gameplay
One of the best aspects of playing Hulk is that it's not an actual adaptation of the movie but rather a sequel to the film. Instead of carbon copying the events of a picture that's not due in theaters for another couple of weeks, Hulk tells a new tale altogether. Drawing on his comic book roots, the Hulk's enemies this time around consist of the dastardly genius known as The Leader while bringing in several more contemporary foes for him to battle with (Madman, Flux, Ravage, and Half-life to be specific). Just like Activision's X2, this approach helps keep the mystery of the film while still allowing us to feel a part of it. It's an idea more movie adaptations and comic book translations should keep in mind when moving to the videogame world.

Broken into two different types of play styles, Hulk allows you to play as both Bruce Banner and his emerald alter ego across 30-plus stages. Instead of having some sort of transformation element that pits you as both characters in every level, however, the game has divided the adventure into specific Banner and Hulk missions. For every couple of Hulk spots, you'll get a single banner objective, and then the process repeats itself and so on and so forth. It would appear that the developers attempted this division to break up the monotony of smashing through everything that gets in your way, but that's where the problem lies: smashing your way through everything in front of you is what's fun.

At their best, the Banner missions are pretty excruciating. Made up primarily of stealth-like crawling and hiding, the whole objective as Bruce is to infiltrate some kind of facility so that he can learn more about his story and find a way to get himself out of the mess he's caught up in. Unfortunately these stealthy objectives are drawn out for far too long and can get pretty frustrating in the latter stages. Though the number-puzzles and lever/switch-goals aren't that bad on their own merits, it's getting arriving to them without being spotted and manipulating the objects around you that turn out to be the real pain in the neck. In the second Banner stage, for instance, there are several areas where the player has to pull and push boxes next to taller structures in order to climb over them. While it's a good idea on it's own, the sloppy Banner control scheme makes it difficult to climb the things you want to climb or grab the things you want to grab. Adding even more frustration to these levels is the fact that the camera isn't as dynamic as it is in the Hulk stages and can't be controlled. This results in pre-set camera angles that can make it difficult to see what you're doing and even harder to locate off-screen guards. While it's certainly commendable that the designers tried something different, the Banner mode just doesn't work as well as it should.