The Incredible Hulk (2008 video game)

The console and PC version of The Incredible Hulk (top) is an open world action-adventure game, while the Nintendo DS version (bottom) is a side-scrolling platformer

The Incredible Hulk is an action-adventure game in which the player controls the Hulk in an open world recreation of Manhattan.[1][2] The Hulk has various attacks and abilities that unlock and improve as the player progresses through the game and completes certain tasks (for example, jumping a certain distance or defeating a certain amount of enemies). The HUD features indicators of health and rage. The Hulk's health decreases if he is attacked, but he has the ability to regenerate it; health can also be refilled by collecting green canisters scattered throughout the city. Rage increases when the Hulk inflicts environmental damage and attacks enemies, or if he himself is attacked; it is also possible to replenish rage by collecting red canisters. The Hulk can perform more powerful attacks that require a certain amount of rage to execute.[2]

All objects and buildings in the city are destructible, and their fragments can be used as a variety of weapons and devices; for example, a pole can be used as a spear, and wall fragments can be used as a shield. Causing destruction attracts the attention of the military, who will attack the Hulk with weapons and machinery. The Hulk's threat level, which is displayed on the HUD, increases as the Hulk causes more destruction. This results in the military using more powerful and sophisticated equipment, such as armored vehicles, tanks, helicopters, and Hulkbuster robots. In addition, the city can be attacked by members of the Enclave organization and a team of villains named the U-Foes, who, when faced with the Hulk, will attack him as well. In some battles (boss battles in particular), a quick time event system may be implemented.[3]

Various tasks and collectibles can be found throughout the city. The main missions essential to completing the game involve searching for a cure for Bruce Banner, confronting the military, and fighting the Enclave organization. In addition to the story-based missions, there are minigames that involve such objectives as running through checkpoints in a limited time or playing darts; for their successful completion, a gold, silver or bronze medal is given depending on the result. Icons depicting landmark buildings can be obtained by destroying the buildings they are contained in. Obtaining collectibles, completing main and side missions, and accomplishing other achievements unlocks comic book covers and cosmetic skins.[1][2]

The Nintendo DS version of the game is a side-scrolling platformer in which the Hulk must traverse through 30 levels spanning Alaska, Brazil, and the United States.[4][5] The Hulk's health does not regenerate, and can only be replenished by collecting first aid kits. This version includes a multiplayer mode accessible by linking two Nintendo DS consoles through a special link; in this mode, players compete to inflict as much damage as possible upon the environment and against enemies.

Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is a scientist who became a fugitive after gamma radiation exposure afflicted him with a condition that causes him to transform into a savage beast known as the Hulk (Fred Tatasciore) whenever he is angry or stressed. In Brazil, Banner evades the forces of Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) – a soldier serving under General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) – and arrives in Manhattan as the Hulk. He saves the life of Rick Jones, a teenager who had been captured by soldiers working for an organization called the Enclave. Its four leaders, each with their own private army, use Manhattan as a giant test site. Subsequently, the Hulk further protects Rick, and the two become friends. Banner soon starts working with Dr. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), who had been his contact in Brazil. Banner goes to talk to Simon Utrecht, a ruthless businessman whose research is similar to his own and is planning to test radiation on himself and three other participants. The Hulk battles an army sent to capture him, but is then confronted by a team of villains named the U-Foes. The Hulk manages to beat them, though the U-Foes vow revenge. Under Sterns' direction, the Hulk retrieves special nanites for use in his research.

Major Glenn Talbot dispatches the Army to take down Hulk with total disregard for civilian casualties. Hulk fends off an army attack led by Talbot, and Rick destroys their computer targeting systems while the Hulk defeats Blonsky again. The Hulk then thwarts the Enclave's plan to siphon energy from the city as well as their chemical weapon attack. Talbot goes into hiding after the Hulk attacks a military base, during which Talbot's forces fire on the press as well as the Hulk. The Hulk rescues Rick when he is captured by Talbot, and Rick tells Banner that he needs data for a countermeasure against the Enclave's massive mind-control device. Working together, the Hulk and Rick manage to destroy the device. Enraged, the Enclave unleashes the robotic monster Bi-Beast, which is destroyed in a battle with the Hulk. The Hulk subsequently destroys the Enclave's earthquake generators, laser turrets, and control dish for an orbital laser cannon. Sterns then informs Banner that a Gamma Charger can be built to cure him, and the Hulk successfully acquires the items needed to assemble it.

Banner heads to the university to retrieve his old research data, only for General Ross's daughter Betty (Liv Tyler) to get the data before all of it is deleted by her father. When General Ross's soldiers grab Betty, Bruce turns into the Hulk and attacks the army's deployment points. Hulk then engages in a third fight with Blonsky, who has received treatment that enhances his physical capabilities. Hulk manages to defeat him and escapes with Betty. At Betty's request, the Hulk secretly helps her father attack the Enclave. Sterns then tells the Hulk that they can test the Gamma Charger if the Hulk can obtain a genetic simulator from the Enclave. The Hulk uses the Gamma Charger to disable an Enclave bio-weapon, leading Sterns to conclude that the cure works.

The Hulk then has to guard a truck containing an experimental weapon that General Ross is having transported. When Talbot steals the weapon, Hulk retrieves it and gives it to Rick so he can destroy it. When Talbot has Betty kidnapped, Hulk fights a Hulkbuster machine to destroy the generators trapping her in a cage. Once the Hulkbuster pilot sees who he has kidnapped, he orders his troops to retreat. General Ross sends his troops to arrest Talbot, who is now piloting a special nuclear-powered Hulkbuster. The Hulk joins the fight and defeats Talbot, whose Hulkbuster explodes. Despite everything Banner has done to help, General Ross still captures him and takes him and Betty away. During this time, Blonsky forces Sterns to inject him with Banner's gamma-irradiated blood, transforming him into the monstrous Abomination, who then rampages through the city. Banner, seeing that he is the only one who can stop the Abomination, jumps from a helicopter and transforms into the Hulk. After a lengthy battle, the Hulk defeats the Abomination and flees the city. Betty tells her father that she hopes his efforts were worth it.

The Nintendo DS version of The Incredible Hulk was developed by Amaze Entertainment.[6]

• Official website
• The Incredible Hulk at IMDb
• The Incredible Hulk at Curlie
• The Incredible Hulk at MobyGames