Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The Incredible Hulk delivers a raw, visceral gameplay experience that puts you in direct control of one of Marvel’s most powerful heroes. From the moment you step into Dr. Bruce Banner’s shoes, you’ll feel the tension of balancing Banner’s fragile human form with the unstoppable might of the Hulk. Combat is fast-paced and satisfying, with a heavy emphasis on crowd control—waves of enemies converge on you, and you must time your jumps, punches, and ground pounds to clear them out efficiently. The game’s combat system rewards experimentation: picking up cars, streetlamps, and foes themselves and hurling them across the battlefield never gets old.

The levels are designed around the Hulk’s destructive prowess. Breakable walls and barricades open up secret passages and shortcuts, encouraging you to smash through every obstacle in your path. Environmental destruction isn’t just cosmetic; it’s woven into puzzle-solving and progression. Finding alternate routes by pulverizing debris can lead to hidden power-ups and health pickups, making exploration as gratifying as tanking a boss fight.

One of the standout features is the four-player multiplayer brawl mode. Each player adopts a different-colored Hulk variant, and the goal is simple: wreck everything and everyone else in sight. The mayhem that ensues is pure comic-book chaos—imagine four Hulks hurling each other through skyscrapers. While the single-player campaign stays focused on Banner’s journey, the multiplayer mode extends the game’s replayability by letting you wreak havoc with friends.

Graphics

Visually, The Incredible Hulk leverages the power of its era’s hardware to great effect. The Hulk himself is rendered with impressive musculature, sweat, and tear stains that underscore the emotional turmoil beneath his hulking green exterior. Character models of civilians, soldiers, and other adversaries are serviceable, though they occasionally suffer from polygon pop-in or stiff animations during cutscenes.

Where the graphics truly shine is in environmental destruction. Buildings crumble realistically, with debris flying in all directions and leaving behind realistic dust clouds. Whether you’re obliterating concrete barriers or smashing through windows, the physics-driven destruction system provides a tangible sense of power. Lighting effects—especially when gamma rays pulse through the city or thunder cracks overhead—amplify the dramatic tension of each level.

While textures can sometimes appear muddy in darker areas, the overall art direction remains true to the comics. The urban backdrops, military outposts, and secret labs you traverse all carry a gritty, lived-in feel. Color palettes shift subtly to reflect the mood, from the neon-lit city streets at night to the sterile white corridors of a research facility. This variety keeps the visuals fresh throughout the game’s 33 levels.

Story

The narrative of The Incredible Hulk draws deeply from the long-running comic series rather than the 2003 blockbuster film. You play Dr. Bruce Banner, a brilliant scientist whose life unravels after a catastrophic accident in his lab imbues him with uncontrollable rage. As Banner, you experience vulnerability, forced to sneak past guards and manage your anger. Once the Hulk emerges, the tone shifts to pure spectacle, and you carve a path of destruction in your wake.

Storytelling alternates between stealth-based Banner sequences and all-out brawls as the Hulk, which keeps the pacing dynamic. Character interactions with allies like Betty Ross and foes such as General Ross and the Abomination are brief but impactful, delivered through comic-book-style cutscenes with voiceover. While the dialogue can feel a bit on-the-nose at times, it captures the essence of Banner’s internal struggle and the world’s fear of his alter ego.

Subplots involving military conspiracies and clandestine research facilities provide context for each mission and a steady stream of narrative hooks. You’ll uncover dossiers and audio logs that flesh out the motivations of secondary characters, rewarding those who explore destructible areas thoroughly. Though the story doesn’t break new ground in the superhero genre, it remains engaging enough to carry you through to the thrilling finale.

Overall Experience

The Incredible Hulk offers a potent blend of smashing action and comic-book drama. Its core strength lies in making you feel unstoppable as the Hulk while reminding you of Banner’s frailty during quieter segments. The transition between these two sides of the character creates a compelling gameplay rhythm that rarely overstays its welcome.

Challenges arise most often from enemy swarms and environmental hazards, but boss encounters also stand out, requiring you to exploit specific mechanics—like luring foes into collapsing structures or using heavy objects to shatter armored plating. These fights break up the level-to-level button-mashing and inject moments of tactical consideration into the otherwise straightforward combat loop.

With 33 levels of single-player mayhem and a chaotic four-player brawl mode, The Incredible Hulk provides substantial value for fans of beat-’em-ups and Marvel devotees alike. While occasional graphical hiccups and repetitive enemy types hold it back from perfection, the joy of tearing through the city as the gamma-powered behemoth more than compensates. If you’ve ever fantasized about unleashing pure Hulk rage in a digital playground, this game delivers on that promise in spades.

Retro Replay Score

6.4/10