‘The Incredible Hulk’

‘The Incredible Hulk’

(Sega) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC, PS2, DS

Genre: Action; Rating: T

Grade: D-

What would you say are the odds that a movie-licensed game would be a successful effort for gamers? Three-to-one? Eleven-to-one? A gazillion-to-one?

With “The Incredible Hulk,” unfortunately, it’s closer to the gazillion end.

At first, it’s enjoyable. Here’s a classic character of comic-book lore who loves to smash and destroy everything. And sure enough, the game lets you do exactly that. Want to toss a bus into the side of a building? Try it out. Feel like ripping a taxi in half and beating up pedestrians with it? All systems go.

But beyond that, you’ll find a thin gameplay that has little to offer beyond the pure thrills of smashing and bashing everything in sight.

The story is drab, and most of the missions you will partake in revolve around protecting a regular human while annihilating all comers. It gets highly repetitive before long and the game never builds to a crescendo of any kind.

Graphically, the game is just mediocre all the way around. Sure, Hulk himself is muscular, green and cool, but everything else is bland, to say the least. New York City doesn’t look good at all when you’re jumping from rooftop to rooftop (your primary means of travel), and down on the ground level it’s amazing you don’t get lost since every street looks the same.

“The Incredible Hulk” just doesn’t stay incredible for very long. You may find yourself wondering if you need a strong dose of gamma rays to get worked up enough to find some enjoyment here. This game is best rented, so you can have fun crushing stuff for a couple hours and then be done with it.

— Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard