The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Cover art by Bryan Hitch
DeveloperRadical Entertainment
PublisherVivendi Universal Games
DirectorMark James
Producers
  • Tim Bennison
  • Vlad Ceraldi
DesignerEric Holmes
ProgrammerChris Cudahy
ArtistMartin Bae
WriterPaul Jenkins
ComposerBill Brown
EngineTitanium
PlatformsPlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Release
  • NA: August 23, 2005
  • PAL: September 9, 2005
GenreAction-adventure
ModeSingle-player

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a 2005 action-adventure video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game is based on the Marvel Comics superhero the Hulk and showcases an open world with destructible environments. The narrative follows the Hulk as he is subconsciously influenced by his human alter-ego Bruce Banner and his psychotherapist Leonard Samson into assembling a device that will mend Banner's psyche and prevent the emergence of a darker personality. Aside from advancing the game's story, the player can engage in side missions and purchase new abilities for the Hulk.

Development of a sequel to Radical Entertainment's Hulk was revealed when the developer and VU Games announced a partnership. Ultimate Destruction's direction was influenced by critical reactions to Hulk, which resulted in free-roaming gameplay that emphasized environmental destruction while omitting stealth elements. Marvel Comics veterans Paul Jenkins and Bryan Hitch were recruited to create the game's story and provide visual design respectively.

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction was positively received, with reviewers praising the visceral satisfaction of wielding the Hulk's powers in an open and destructible environment. The challenge level, controls, move set, character and effect animations, and audio were also commended. The missions and story received mixed responses, and the environments were criticized. The game was less commercially successful than Hulk, which was attributed to its lack of a film tie-in. However, it served as an influence on the subsequent The Incredible Hulk game released in 2008, and it has been ranked among the best Marvel-based video games.