The Incredible Hulk has never really been the most popular Marvel character. Despite being the star of his own comic run, Hulk is often sidelined when it comes to Marvel team-ups in the comics. However, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Hulk has been one of the founding members, appearing in his own feature film straight after Iron Man. And with his latest appearances in Thor: Ragnarok, Infinity War, Endgame, and now She-Hulk, the Incredible Hulk has become a much more likable hero. But the Hulk is still a rarity when it comes to Marvel's video game output, having only appeared as a playable character in Marvel's Avengers in recent years. For the Hulk's future in video games, Marvel should look to the past to remaster one of the hero's most beloved titles: The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
Releasing right around the height of the licensed game boom in 2005, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction allowed players to take control of the titular hero as he leaped his way across deserts and cityscapes, obliterating everything in his path. Ultimate Destruction may not have been the most complex superhero game, but it's certainly one of the most enjoyable, and a remaster would be like a breath of fresh air in the modern-day market.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction Needs a Remaster
Developed by Radical Entertainment, the same studio behind The Simpsons: Hit & Run, another beloved licensed game, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction released in 2005 for the original Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. Technically Ultimate Destruction is a sequel to the 2003 game Hulk, which itself was based on the Ang Lee movie of the same name, but the two games are very distinct from one another in terms of both gameplay and art style.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction adopts a comic-inspired art style, with character models and buildings having a light cel shaded look to them. Gameplay-wise, Ultimate Destruction puts player-freedom above all else, dropping players into a surprisingly large open-world, and leaving them to wreak havoc of their own accord. While Ultimate Destruction does have a fairly solid story, revolving around Bruce Banner trying to calm his alter ego for good, it's the gameplay that really takes center stage.
Widely considered to be the first game to really get Hulk right, Ultimate Destruction allows players to use just about every one of the hero's iconic abilities. Unlocked through a skill tree system, players can stomp on the ground, pummel through tanks, and unleash a powerful shockwave with just one clap. Players can also leap and bound across these large open maps with ease and can scale up buildings in moments. They can even pick up lampposts to use as a bat and rip cars in half to use them as makeshift boxing gloves.
Just a year prior to The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction's release, Spider-Man 2 came out. Still considered to be one of the best superhero games ever made, one of Spider-Man 2's best features is its open-world. Everything about Spider-Man 2's open-world perfectly compliments its gameplay and Spidey as a character. Tall buildings make web-swinging feel fast and epic, while the world's side activities emphasize the type of friendly neighborhood hero that Spider-Man is. Ultimate Destruction is essentially the same thing, but for the Hulk. Every building and vehicle is fully destructible, and the game's side activities offer a tongue-in-cheek view of what a day in the life of the Hulk would be like as he attempts to pick up ambulances and carry them manually to hospitals, or play a round of golf with giant balls and clubs.
Nowadays, the Hulk is rarely seen in the video game medium, and when he is, he's rarely the main character. No game before or after has really managed to capture the essence of Hulk quite like Ultimate Destruction, and now would be the perfect time to remaster or even remake the game. While the game isn't too difficult to find nowadays on its original consoles, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction would thrive on new physics engines, and its art style would benefit greatly from modern cel shading techniques.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is available on GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox.