Hulk

Set after the events of the 2003 Hulk movie, the game follows Dr. Bruce Banner and his powerful alter ego, the Hulk, as they confront the villainous Leader, who seeks to harness the same gamma radiation that created the Hulk to build an unstoppable army of giants. Players alternate between controlling the stealthy Bruce Banner, who sneaks through levels in a style reminiscent of Splinter Cell, and the rampaging Hulk, who unleashes over 40 devastating attacks to smash through enemies, buildings, and obstacles in third-person beat ’em up action across various platforms including Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube.

Hulk: Review

Introduction

In the summer of 2003, as Ang Lee’s brooding take on the Hulk stormed theaters—blending Freudian psychology with blockbuster spectacle—the video game world received its own green-tinted companion. Hulk, developed by Radical Entertainment, wasn’t a rote retelling of the film but a bold sequel, thrusting players into a world where Bruce Banner’s rage-fueled alter ego battles gamma-mutated horrors and corrupt military forces. As a game journalist with a penchant for dissecting superhero adaptations, I’ve revisited this title amid a resurgence of Marvel nostalgia, and it stands as a curious artifact: a visceral power fantasy wrapped in comic-book flair, yet hampered by the era’s design limitations. My thesis? Hulk excels as a cathartic beat ’em up that embodies the character’s raw fury, but its repetitive structure and underdeveloped stealth segments prevent it from smashing through to true greatness, cementing its legacy as a fun, forgettable tie-in in the early 2000s superhero gaming boom.

Development History & Context

Radical Entertainment, a Canadian studio best known at the time for the snowboarding adventure Dark Summit (2001), took on Hulk after securing the license from Universal Interactive in early 2002. The team, led by director Mark James and producer Tim Bennison, faced a high-stakes challenge: adapt Marvel’s emerald behemoth without alienating fans of the comics, the impending film, or the medium itself. Original designer Michael Skupa laid the groundwork, with Eric Holmes refining it into a hybrid of beat ’em up brawling and stealth infiltration. The studio drew heavily from the film’s script, sets, and Industrial Light & Magic assets, ensuring the Hulk’s design echoed Eric Bana’s portrayal—hulking yet anguished—while infusing comic-book elements like the Leader and Half-Life for broader appeal.

Technological constraints of the sixth-generation consoles (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube) and early-2000s PCs shaped the game’s scope. Radical’s Copperhead engine, a proprietary tool from Touchdown Entertainment, prioritized cel-shaded visuals for that signature comic aesthetic, but it struggled with dynamic destruction and AI complexity. Levels were linear to manage memory limits, and stealth segments echoed Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell without their depth, as hardware couldn’t handle sophisticated pathfinding for Banner’s evasion tactics. The PC port, handled by lead Katrina Archer, added minor optimizations like higher resolutions but inherited console quirks, such as limited save slots (only five) and no mid-level checkpoints beyond blue orbs.

The gaming landscape in 2003 was ripe for licensed superhero fare, following successes like Spider-Man (2002) and amid flops like Enter the Matrix. Movie tie-ins were rushed cash-grabs, often criticized for shallowness, but Hulk bucked the trend slightly by serving as a narrative sequel—set a year post-film—rather than a direct adaptation. Universal pushed for a multi-platform release on May 28, 2003 (Windows shipped a day earlier), timed perfectly with the film’s June debut. With 247 credited contributors, including voice director Michael Donovan, the game blended Hollywood polish (Bana’s reprisal as Banner) with arcade sensibilities, reflecting an industry transitioning from 2D brawlers to 3D action amid the rise of open-world experiments like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

At its core, Hulk‘s plot is a gamma-soaked revenge thriller, expanding the film’s psychological torment into a globe-trotting saga of betrayal and redemption. Picking up post-movie, Dr. Bruce Banner (voiced with haunted intensity by Bana) is lured from anonymity by his mentor, Professor Geoffrey Crawford, promising a cure via the Gamma Orb—a device to siphon Hulk’s rage energy. What unfolds is a web of deceit: Crawford, wheelchair-bound and desperate, betrays Banner to steal Hulk’s power, mutating into the feral Ravage. This sparks a chain reaction involving General John Ryker’s militaristic grabs for gamma tech and the enigmatic Leader (Michael Dobson, delivering a chilling, intellect-over-muscle menace), who commandeers Alcatraz as a mutant factory.

The story unfolds across 30 missions, alternating between Banner’s tense infiltrations and Hulk’s rampages. Key beats include Hulk’s sewer chase of Ravage, the Alcatraz hostage crisis revealing Betty Ross (Katie Bennison, evoking quiet resilience) as the captive, and the climactic assault on the Leader’s subterranean lair, New Freehold. Sub-villains like the energy-vampiric Half-Life (a sly, taunting foe) and Madman (the Leader’s deranged brother, a recurring berserker) add layers, their defeats punctuating Banner’s internal war. Dialogue is sparse but punchy—Banner’s introspective mutterings like “I’ve got to control this” contrast Hulk’s guttural roars, scripted by Jeff Houde to mirror the film’s duality of man and monster.

Thematically, Hulk delves into rage as both curse and salvation, echoing the film’s Jungian id exploration but with more pulpy flair. Banner’s stealth sections symbolize suppressed fury, forcing players to embody vulnerability amid gamma-poisoned paranoia; Hulk’s brawls unleash it, critiquing unchecked power through Ryker’s weaponization of the Orb. Betty’s radiation exposure ties into themes of collateral damage from scientific hubris, while Crawford’s remorseful arc humanizes betrayal—his failed post-credits attempt to recreate the Orb underscores the perils of playing god. It’s no literary masterpiece, but the narrative’s comic-book roots shine in cel-animated cutscenes, blending film nods (Betty’s rescue) with Marvel lore (Leader’s psychic army). Flaws emerge in disjointed pacing—Banner’s segments feel obligatory—and underdeveloped supporting cast, like Ryker’s one-note villainy. Yet, the ending, with Banner hitchhiking into uncertainty (his shadow Hulking ominously), leaves a lingering meditation on inescapable monstrosity.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Hulk‘s core loop revolves around duality: Hulk’s destructive euphoria and Banner’s creeping tension, creating a rhythm of buildup and release. As Hulk, players embody godlike fury in third-person beat ’em up arenas, progressing via linear paths punctuated by environmental puzzles—like smashing generators or hurling tanks at helicopters. Combat is intuitive, with direct controls for punches, grapples, and throws; special moves like the sonic clap (a wide-area stun) or ground pound reward rage-building via red orbs. The rage meter, filling from kills and pickups, triggers “Rage Mode” for enhanced damage and thunderclap finishers, adding strategic depth to crowd control. Objects from pipes to exploding barrels serve as improvised weapons, and destructible environments (crumbling walls, toppling buildings) amplify chaos—smashing a car into foes feels viscerally empowering, with physics that, while basic, deliver satisfying ragdoll flails.

Banner’s stealth levels disrupt this flow, tasking players with evasion in overhead or side-view facilities. Crouching behind crates, hacking terminals via symbol-matching minigames, and distracting guards with feigned surrender offer light puzzle-solving, but it’s simplistic—AI is predictable, patrols rigid, and combat (chokes or punches) feels tacked-on. Progression ties to story unlocks, with no robust RPG elements; health regenerates slowly, blue orbs act as limited continues, and the UI is clean but clunky—health/rage bars dominate the HUD, while the fixed camera often clips into walls, frustrating navigation.

Innovations shine in Hulk’s interactivity: over 40 attacks, including missile deflection and “enraged” power-ups, innovate on brawler tropes, predating God of War‘s spectacle. Challenge modes (e.g., timed smashes or survival waves) extend replayability, unlocking Grey Hulk skins or film trailers. Flaws abound, though: repetition sets in after 5-6 hours, with enemy variety limited to soldiers, gamma dogs, and mechs—tanks and choppers escalate difficulty artificially via sheer numbers. Stealth feels punitive, with instant-fail gamma detectors and finicky collision detection. On PC, keyboard controls lag, and no mouse support hampers hacking. Overall, it’s a solid loop for rage-fueled sessions, but lacks the depth to sustain marathon play.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Hulk‘s world is a stylized dystopia of gamma-tainted shadows and urban ruins, blending film’s sterile labs with comic excess. Settings span San Francisco rooftops (neon-lit chases), Alcatraz’s fog-shrouded cells, the military’s desert Gamma Base (bunker mazes), and New Freehold’s psychedelic caverns—each destructible, from shatterable crates to collapsing tunnels, fostering an atmosphere of inevitable apocalypse. Atmosphere builds through escalating stakes: stealthy dread in Banner’s vents gives way to Hulk’s cacophonous rampages, evoking the thrill of unleashing pent-up chaos.

Visually, the cel-shaded art direction is a triumph, rendering Hulk’s blocky musculature and villains’ grotesque mutations like living panels from Jack Kirby’s era—psychedelic edges and bold outlines pop against watercolor backdrops. Environments interact dynamically: debris flies realistically, explosions bloom with particle flair, and lighting (gamma glows, searchlights) heightens tension. Frame rates hold steady at 30-60 FPS across platforms, though PS2/GameCube versions show aliasing and blur compared to Xbox’s crispness. Sound design amplifies immersion—Hulk’s roars (Graig Robertson’s visceral bellows) thunder like earthquakes, punches crunch with meaty impacts, and environmental audio (crashing steel, barking mutants) sells destruction. The orchestral score swells dramatically, blending industrial drones for stealth with bombastic horns for brawls, though it loops repetitively. Bana’s Banner delivers earnest vulnerability (“You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry”), while Dobson’s Leader hisses with calculated menace. Dolby Digital enhances spatial audio on consoles, but PC bugs (distorted samples) occasionally jar. Collectively, these elements craft a Hulk-centric fever dream, where art and sound make smashing feel epic.

Reception & Legacy

Upon release, Hulk garnered mixed reviews, averaging 67% from critics (MobyGames) and 6.5/10 from players—praised for its empowering combat and visuals, critiqued for repetition and stealth tedium. IGN’s Jeremy Dunham awarded 8/10 across platforms, hailing it as Radical’s best yet and a “satisfying” Hulk outing, while GameSpot’s Ryan Davis (7.1/10) noted its brevity suits rentals over buys. GameZone lauded Xbox’s 8.5/10 for smashy joy but docked PS2’s 8.2 for redundancy; Eurogamer’s 4/10 slammed stealth as “frustrating” and the whole as “lowest common denominator.” Players echoed this: Moby users like Oblio (GameCube) called it a “fun SMASH game” for stress relief, but MrSuperGod (Windows) griped about shortness and deviations from comics.

Commercially, it smashed expectations, selling 400,000 units in its first month and over 2 million lifetime—topping rentals behind Enter the Matrix and boosted by the film’s hype. The Xbox demo on the DVD (first-ever game demo on disc) drove trials. Reputation has warmed nostalgically; modern retrospectives (e.g., GameSpot users) appreciate its pre-MCU Marvel vibe, though it’s seen as dated next to Ultimate Destruction (2005), Radical’s open-world sequel reworked from Hulk 2. Influence lingers in destructible environments (inspiring Prototype) and hybrid gameplay, but it highlights tie-in pitfalls—linear, fan-servicey—paving for deeper adaptations like Batman: Arkham. No remaster exists, but its cel-shading endures as a stylistic benchmark.

Conclusion

Hulk (2003) is a green giant of contradictions: a exhilarating outlet for primal rage that falters under repetitive beats and half-baked stealth, yet captures the essence of Marvel’s mightiest misfit in an era of console experimentation. From Radical’s ambitious fusion of film and comics to its cathartic destruction, it delivers bite-sized thrills amid the early 2000s’ licensed-game glut. Commercially victorious and culturally tied to a divisive film, it occupies a middling place in video game history—as a flawed but fondly remembered stepping stone to superhero gaming’s golden age, best enjoyed for its unapologetic “Hulk smash” simplicity. Verdict: Rent it for a rage-fueled weekend; it’s no Incredible feat, but it greens the block.