Brockett Blog

If you like more than one pop culture medium, the middle of fall necessitates your transformation into a quivering, overstimulated fan of “Fever Dog” mumbling “It’s all happening … it’s all happening…”

If you like nonfiction books seeped with pop sociology, that has meant shelling out for the latest Malcolm Gladwell white-covered compendium, Chuck Klosterman’s latest batch of essays and ESPN’s Bill Simmons gigantic Book of Basketball (unless Amazon tells you your book will arrive the day of a book signing in Chicago, and you’re all ready to go, and just waiting for the mail to arrive, and the book doesn’t come, and you check online to see where the book might be, and the location is blank, and ARRRRRGHHHHH).

Movie fans can feel the same way, and it’s probably just a few Twilight covers to go until Entertainment Weekly rounds up all the Oscar bait into one freezing night’s worth of reading material. Music fans can track the big holiday season releases, or just wait for every blog’s best-of-the-year lists for downloading enjoyment. And video games wait until the most opportune time to provide an interactive experience that seems like a better option with every family holiday gathering.

So how best to start this home stretch of the calendar year? I heartily recommend The Onion AV Club’s Inventory. The listicle (or charticle, if you prefer to keep your introductory vowels) has developed a negative reputation among high-minded online writers, who view the traffic-baiting nature of an arbitrary list as something akin to taking literary advice from the producers of the E! Network. But the AV Club elevates this fluff to an artform with limitless topics and by diving deep into its staff’s nigh-limitless reserves of pop culture knowledge. For example, the subtitle-mentioned list on “Manic Pixie Dream Girls” identifies a movie trend, then each entry details both what makes this archetype what it is AND how the crazy/unique/free-spirited female character has grown all kinds of stale in all kinds of movies. So you might get the satisfaction of shared knowledge or opinion regarding Natalie Portman in Garden State, while also filing a few new movies to seek out/avoid as you see fit.

Comparative residents of the AV Club’s “heaven” and “hell” on each page, as well as shorter lists from guest listers, keeps the book varied and readable straight through. But most likely, this will be the type of random reading perfect for coffee tables or bathrooms (my apologies for being redundant if you’re a sick creature with a coffee table in your bathroom). And, best of all, the gimmick lives in perpetuity on the AV Club Web site.

After playing through Uncharted 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum on the Playstation 3, the same lifespan might also be in order. Let’s take Arkham first. Super-slick visuals bring Batman’s dance with the Joker in the criminal asylum to life, combining both realism of environments with a comic book’s flair for exaggerated human forms. The game wisely combines Batman’s role as badass with that of a stealthy detective. While you occasionally will be forced to mash buttons to take down a screen full of baddies, that soon will be followed by silently taking down a room full of henchman with guns. In each case, the controls allow for a variety of options to accomplish the objective, rewarding both timing and patience.

Comic fans will love the attention to detail among the variety of characters in the game. And while only some figure into the storyline, the ones that do provide satisfying and challenging boss battles. A few other notes worth mentioning:

• As a casual reader of the major Batman graphic novels, I didn’t give much thought to the Scarecrow. That officially changes a few hours into this game. The awesomeness knows no bounds.
• The collectibles/unlockables are spread nicely through the game, adding an element of open-world exploring if you so choose.
• The extended gameplay arrives in the form of challenge rooms. Both in the form of stealth and pure brawling, these are like the concentrated action parts of the game in easily accessed form. The game rewards sufficient combos in the brawling and specialty take-outs in the stealth, and even after playing through the storyline these standards provide great challenges. Recent downloadable content added some scenarios/challenges, and you’ll scratch your head to figure out how the top of the online leaderboards figured out how to knock out five guys in 35 seconds.

If you have the skill, this game will reward you with replay value. Still, by the end of a week with the game, I needed something to help dissipate the frustration of being good but not great.

A few hours into Uncharted 2, and that kind of frustration was a thing of the past. I bought my PS3 earlier this summer, and had heard good things about the original game while seeking out more recent games worthy of my hardware upgrade. Now I realize the error of my ways. The adventure game plays like the best combination of a James Bond and Indiana Jones mashup. Again, superb graphics immerse you into the world, and near-faultless gameplay keeps you there for as long as you want. The story and level design succeed in making the game more than just a succession of cutscenes amid cliffhanging jumps and shootouts (although there’s plenty of those), but a complete package that led Adam Sessler of G4TV’s X-Play to say it was the best single-player experience he’s ever played. And I’m inclined to agree.

The 24-plus levels of intricate detail would be enough of a tease to play through the storyline again. But the Naughty Dog developers weren’t just looking to hook people recreationally, they wanted full-fledged addicts. So you’ve got a bunch of treasure not related to the initial gameplay well-hidden throughout the levels. And then there’s the online mode. Now I’m about as much of a killer as Barney Fife in a deathmatch, but the game provides some nice alternatives for people like me. The co-op mode allows a group of three online players to play through two different levels, and another feature separates 10 players into teams with the goal of getting treasure into your team’s chest.

I rent most of my games through my Blockbuster Online in-store coupons. And most of the time, I part ways with a game amicably when the game is due. But with Uncharted 2, I will be hard pressed to keep a Bogart-level cool when our paths diverge.

Editor’s note: This review originally was published Nov. 24, 2006.

Standing out on the Web sometimes requires gimmicks … as long as they’re good. So, when Batgirl (http://www.bat-girl.com/) sometimes analyzes the Minnesota Twins situation with Lego recreations, we can accept this. A block-by-block recreation of a bench-clearing brawl somehow seems appropriate given the absurdity on display.

But that’s silly sports. What about the important stuff: our pop culture archetypes? The first Lego Star Wars reminded this reviewer of old-school Nintendo games with the easy controls and quick, fun gameplay. But that was the prequel trilogy — could the original three films withstand this interconnected brick homage?

Well, to use a Jedi persuasion phrase, this is the game you seek.

As much as the original game faithfully recreated events from the three prequels, those scenes don’t resonate as much as jumping through trees with the Ewoks or dropping bombs in the Death Star. In a way, the first game allowed the programmers to get their act together before tackling the most important source material.

Given the changes, they learned that the first game excelled … as a rental. Despite additional goals beyond just completing a level, about 10 hours of gameplay unlocked just about all you needed in the game. This game offers up lengthier levels, new aspects to those levels (you can incorporate a variety of vehicles/animal transports depending on the terrain) and enough unlockables to keep one playing well past a rental due date.

The game retains its simple core. You play as one of the main characters in the saga, depending on the level. Each of these characters features its own strengths in getting through a level. While a Jedi like Ben Kenobi might be great for slicing through stormtroopers and using the force to open up new paths, only Boba Fett can fly to certain platforms to obtain necessary items.

Through it all, the controls remain steady and the difficulty manageable (you can’t die, you just lose some rubies and regenerate), all while incorporating a winking, appreciative sense of humor. As some other Star Wars games grow ever more expansive, these are the games young fans — and those young at heart — should look to after first coming down with droid mania.

Grade: A-minus

Editor’s note: This review originally was published Aug. 29, 2006.

No matter how many years EA Sports’ college football title comes out, I’ll always smile just a bit when the NIU Huskies battle in Huskie Stadium and you can see the odd-looking white water tower in the background. This attention to detail keeps fans coming back year after year, and the 2007 edition manages to add enough intricacies to distract from odd oversights.

2007 arrives on campus with a noticeable new look: that of the Campus Legend mode. More than the addition of spring drills or the spring game (hey, it’s a feature just as boring as its real-life counterpart!), EA stakes asking gamers to shell out another $40 on this addition. And if the travails of a young, scrappy wide receiver coincidentally named Hank Brockett are any indication, the game succeeds.

Campus Legend starts as a regular create-a-player option. You run a few button-mashing and joystick-wielding drills to test your basic talent level. Then, depending on your showing, various schools will offer you a scholarship. The truly pathetic might end up at the University of Buffalo, but the first try should yield a variety of top-25 programs to ply your talents.

But don’t think college is just Saturday afternoons, young man! You must pick a major, and success on that level (a midterm and final exam) dictates GPA and whether coach might have to suspend you for a few games. Different majors offer different rewards for good scores on the multiple-choice tests. If you major in “ESPN,” knowing which school ESPN anchor Stu Scott attended will increase your player’s pass-catching abilities. Boo-yah! And don’t be scared off by math — it’s all gridiron (yardage and scoring) related.

The game then offers up the type of calendar they give away at the campus book stores. Each day features the options of practice and an evening activity. While the real Hank Brockett always chose “study” during his freshman year, virtual Hank Brockett spiced things up with a social activity every week. This increases your “campus legend level,” but unfortunately doesn’t involve any additional gameplay. The first beerpong game for the PS2 will have to wait.

All this adds depth to what happens on gameday, and EA Sports knows that’s where the game can’t falter. Gameplay in recent years has surpassed the mighty Madden franchise if you just want to have a fun, competitive game. Passing is easy (so are interceptions), quick reflexes as the ball is snapped will help you rush the quarterback and a field-level perspective on kick/punt returns adds an enjoyable new wrinkle to special teams. On the normal difficulty level, all this means the ability for NIU to go into the likes of Ohio State and Iowa and pull off close victories while bulldozing lesser foes. And it also means Toledo is just as annoying in the game as in real life.

So what, if anything, is the problem? Raised expectations mean any small misstep can be scrutinized.

The superfluous cuts to sideline fans with lame signs can be buggy, with Huskie faithful floating above the stands.

The “momentum meter” in the upper left-hand corner is supposed to have a small impact on what happens during the game. However, a full meter against you turns the gridiron into a circle of hell, where normal runs turn into freakish fumbles. And that makes obscene comebacks possible (for instance, a 30-point second half deficit on five minute quarters against Western Michigan) when the meter eases for the second half kickoff.

The Campus Legend feature doesn’t allow you to participate in the recruiting process. That requires another game mode. So your years on campus will depend on the computer to pick your teammates. That might be true to life, but it led to a bit of helplessness for virtual Hank Brockett. Lucky for him, he clutched his sophomore year Heisman Trophy to ease his pain.

Grade: A-minus

Sidebar: 99 is mighty fine

Gamers familiar with the EA Sports football games know that players earn an overall rating that ranges from 1 to 99. This is used many times in career modes to gauge the development of players and make depth chart decisions. The goal: the elusive 99 rating.

NCAA football games don’t use the players’ real names, of course. That would mean profiting off the likeness of its student-athletes and no one wants that (wink). But it just so happens that the NIU squad has an extremely fast running back under six feet tall wearing No. 1 who earned a 94 ranking. Here’s some other NIU notables, including a few other Heisman Trophy candidates. Notice that, according to NCAA 2007, Coach Joe Novak made the correct call at quarterback.

Phil Horvath 86
Dan Nicholson 74
Britt Davis 80
Doug Free 94
Ken West 87
Larry English 84
Adriel Hansbro 87
Alvah Hansbro 83
Chris Nendik 84

Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn 97
Ohio St. QB Troy Smith 95
Ohio St. WR Ted Ginn Jr. 93
Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson 98

Editor’s note: This review originally was published April 26, 2006.

There are parts of Kingdom Hearts II where you don’t want friends barging in to see what you’re up to. Having mom knock on the door while you’re busy playing BMX XXX might be preferable to anyone seeing you attempt to rescue Piglet from a gusting wind. That’s a Lisa Simpson video game scenario right there, and nothing cool can come from it.

Thankfully, these bits of G-rated fun (and the awkward end-of-a-Thundercats-episode forced laughs that accompany them) don’t dominate gameplay in this role-playing sequel. Any lapses into red-faced embarrassment quickly dissipate in the presence of intricate storyline detail and the variety of means to dispatch your enemies.

Kingdom Hearts II continues the story from the much-loved original, with a spiky-haired upstart joining forces with Donald Duck and Goofy in a world filled with familiar Disney and Square/Enix characters. Under the rule of King Mickey, places like Ariel’s seascape and Hercules’ coliseum become playable worlds dotted with more familiar cameos than a Will and Grace episode. The hero, Sora, wields a key-shaped blade that slices through enemies just like a sword, but allows the game to play both to the animated films’ fans and the RPG nut who likes to level up his weapon with 10-hit slashing combos.

For those who haven’t played the original (this reviewer included), the first couple hours of gameplay provides plenty of head-scratching moments. Limited missions slowly introduce new elements of gameplay before fully pulling the curtain up on the wild world. But figuring out who you are and who you’re fighting most likely will send the open-minded gamer to an Internet plot synopsis. Eventually, the motivations reveal themselves, but when you’re dealing with light, darkness, hearts and the heartless, I guess nothing’s easy to explain.

Once freed of these shackles, a linear storyline features emerges, with the flexibility of an old Mega Man game — you can choose different sequences for your worldly visits, but a preferred way reveals itself. The difficulty level seldom wavers in the game, as experience/money/treasure all come at a manageable rate. This allows for more emphasis on enjoying the characterization and voice acting for these familiar animated friends and less on leveling up to take on the next baddie.

True, in many of these instances, the stories recook some of the same conflicts of the original film (and, evidently, game). Disney isn’t exactly a stranger to this phenomenon, given the company’s use of direct-to-DVD for sequels to the seemingly un-sequelable. But in Kingdom Hearts II, any same-old, same-old talk quiets down when, say, Alladin’s story includes fighting Jafar’s minions on a magic carpet ride or you’re taking out bad pirates with Captain Jack Sparrow. For a whole game, these gimmicks might get boring. But in the confines of this well-made RPG, it’s just another well-placed squiggle on this animated cornucopia.

Grade: B-plus

Editor’s note: This review originally was published March 31, 2006.

One of the things you notice as games get more complex is all the people left behind. Not in a “I’ve been shot! Save yourself!” kind of left behind, but in a wistful way like the odd man out of a fifth grade kickball game.

The popularity of the FOX show 24 means it cuts across ages, genders and cultures. With the show’s adaptation to the Playstation 2, publisher 2K Games has put out a game that’s easy to pick up for the non-gamer but detailed enough to give button junkies enough goals to reach. For both ends of the spectrum, a variety of gameplay options and objectives make for an enjoyable game worthy of its source material.

That doesn’t make for a perfect game, however. Just as the show features some subplots that only serve to annoy and fill time — and yes, there are some “save the pathetically valueless Kim Bauer — the game doesn’t perfect the different variety of missions (which include driving, third-person shooting, logic puzzles and a timing game used to interrogate subjects — more on that later). The cars drive as smoothly as a 1988 minivan and when 20 terrorists start raining bullets on your CTU parade, the controls spaz out into a perspectiveless mess.

All these actions take place within the confines of the 24 storyline. These particular events fall between seasons two and three. While that knowledge might help for big fans of the show, it mostly means not a lot of backstory for players new to Jack Bauer and his Jack Bauer-ness.

While no one expects a full season worth of the twists and turns usually associated with a very long day for the Los Angeles Counter Terrorism Unit, this game mixes-and-matches some of the show’s more formulaic storylines into some semblance of a big threat. In a sense, this almost seems like another day at the office.

The came proceeds at a quick pace because each mission advances the ever-present clock. Most of the time is spent on third-person, gun-toting adventures, and the levels present challenges both standard (blowing away five guys and not killing the hostage) and stealthy (taking out a guard on orders from a terrorist without cameras catching your actions). Just when this gets monotonous, some software requires “hacking” and the game turns into a test of both patience and reflexes. This mix, like the show’s blend of Bauer babes and Bauer bullets, is what ends up making the game one of the best rentals of the new year.

All this gameplay gets a nice boost from the cutscenes and voice acting from show veterans. This makes the gimmick of the interrogations work, even if it’s just another approach to requiring a button push at just the right time. A meter tells you if you need to be more forceful, more sympathetic or on an even keel to get information out of a suspect. It will be interesting to see if other games take this approach and further its variable conclusions.

And, in a nice little touch that you might not notice, you can pause the game during a cutscene if you happen into a marathon playing session. Much like the show’s DVD sets, just one hour is seldom enough.

Grade: B

Editor’s note: This review originally was published Feb. 24, 2006.

Torino 2006 brings together huddled masses of sports too small or too simple for their own title, hangs five colored rings on them and calls it a game. And while its legacy won’t last even as long as a Bode Miller drunk-skiing reference, the game’s quick learning curve and subtle skill requirements make for the rare recent sports game that can bring together players of all experience levels. As Bob Costas might say, it’s a testament to the Olympic spirit.

The game sets up 14 events as battles for inches and tenths of a second. Like a baseball player considering participation in the World Baseball Classic, you get to choose your country representation. And, if several trials are any indication, picking countries like Sweden or the United States gives one no prohibitive advantage or disadvantage (fringe nations do not compete in this game, so the video game adaptation of Jamaica’s bobsled team will have to wait another four years).

Going through the events takes about one hour, if your aversion to Finland’s finest celebrating in spandex on the medal stand causes you to skip that feature of the game. Of the 14 contests, they can be broken down into five main groups: downhill skiing, cross country skiing, ski jumping, going down icy tracks in space age contraptions and speed skating. And, don’t worry, that list of 14 includes biathalon. Each event sets up simply, as a pause of the game reveals the general controls for that event. From there, it’s just a matter of mastering the exact moments to tap the joystick or press the “X” button.

For a game so dependent on its controls, Torino 2006 comes through strongly. The simplicity of the games allows for an equally strong-but-simple approach to the graphics. The fastest segments of the bobsled run ratchet up the tension without loss of gameplay — in fact, it’s the no-glitch gameplay that makes things seem so fast. And the slalom ski events require almost as much sensitive movements as a real trip down the mountain.

But once you’ve blown through the events and broken the hearts of virtual Russian fans, there isn’t much to bring a gamer back to Torino (at least in the single-player mode). The game reduces enjoyability to besting one’s records. And while that might have been fine for F-Zero on the Super Nintendo, these days we expect more. And you get the sense there could have been much more to the game — for instance, in a world where people pile up trick points on Tony Hawk, can figure skating or moguls be hard to recreate? To say nothing of curling?

Grade: B-minus

Editor’s note: This review originally was published Jan. 26, 2006.

Some things in sports seldom change, even amid the consistent personnel churn. The Oakland Raiders will draw their share of penalties. The Princeton hoops squad will try a few backdoor screens on you. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will fail in their quest to not stink.

This is where reputations go to be etched in stone, busted only with the highest highs and lowest lows of athletic competition. Coming into MVP NCAA Baseball 2006, gamers knew that EA Sports used an intuitive baseball engine that nicely complemented its extensive dynasty and creatable features. With college players taking the place of where pros used to roam, the MVP franchise manages to show it’s the best baseball title out there — whether their virtual players get virtual paychecks or not.

Last year’s deal struck by Major League Baseball and its Players Association granted Take Two exclusive access to video games depicting the likes of Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter. So EA headed to campus, where you’re stuck playing with guys like 1B #5 or SS #23.

Even with this handicap, developers have adapted the game to suit the college ranks (and not just by exchanging the crack of the bat for a TPX “ping”). The great players still can reach the fences of a handful of general stadium designs, but a few batters behind him might be a guy who strikes out more than a balding hipster on ladies night. And the players make errors, sometimes at the most random junctures.

EA has kept the analog stick-based hitting style, where pushing up on the joystick will give your hitter an upper cut swing and down will cause a Neifi Perez-like chop.

Pitching closely resembles its real-life situations. Dominant pitchers hit their spots with an arsenal of pitches, but late-game situations increase the margin of error … and the chance of leaving a fat pitch in the hitter’s wheelhouse. Pitching from the stretch also requires a deft touch, meaning that the bullpen isn’t stacked with players just as good as the three-man starting rotation.

Once you try out the hitting and pitching mechanics in the game modes (the same point-based skill competitions found in last year’s MVP), the dynasty mode comes a’calling. Unfortunately for local baseball fans, the MAC isn’t represented in this game, despite some highly rated draft picks coming from the conference the last few years. If state pride wins you over, the University of Illinois features two very good starting pitchers and some strong lefty bats. But even on the easiest mode, the games can turn into low-scoring struggles without previous mastery of the hitting skills. When my third baseman injured himself on a play at first base, the lack of depth bogged down the Illini hitting attack. One scoreless game against Army didn’t end until the 20th inning, on a dramatic grand. Sure, it didn’t sound quite right when play-by-play man Mike “Look out! A line SHOT!” Patrick announced the great play by “the designated hitter.” But playing the game felt enjoyably familiar.

Grade: A-minus

Editor’s note: This review originally was published Jan. 3, 2006.

All right, two jokes about the title to start. Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie has a title so long, I had to save my game right after the title screen! And, really, did it need such description? Were people afraid they might accidentally rent some old wrestling game put out by Acclaim where King Kong Bundy battles Jake the Snake Roberts?

Yes, this is what we must do to justify the corporate hands that meddle in such licensing. When you get past that, though, the PS2’s Kong provides a unique skill-based adventure game that smartly sticks to those aspects of the movie that might be fun to play.

The game features voice acting by the movie’s stars, so you’ve got Jack Black hectoring you offscreen while you deal with seeing life through the eyes of Adrian Brody (unfortunately, the game does not allow you to life in Brody’s Diet Coke world filled with computer-generated commercial carbonation — that would be Adrien Brody’s Bubble Bobble 2006: The Official Game).

This game defines itself with what it takes away from the usual first-person experience. It lacks a health gauge, as well as an ammunitions tally. Instead, two bites from a screeching winged creature spells your doom, while one bite and an escape allows you to recharge and fight another day. And your character verbally updates you on how many rounds of ammunition he has left, and it’s almost always low.

Making your way around Skull Island, with its prehistoric creatures and winding pathways, gives the game designers a chance to fill the screen with lush greenery graphics that give the game texture and allow for its biggest thrill — enemies that rustle just out of sight. Scorpions and other quick-striking creatures are heard before they are seen, requiring quick use of the perspective joysticks to see where the attacks are coming from. Then, it’s a matter of being a good shot with the gun or the spear without the aid of an aiming device — it’s just you, a baddie, a weapon and a prayer.

This allows the game to have some difficulty without requiring wave upon wave of enemies. You never forget that you’re just some screenwriter trying to find Naomi Watts. The game touts the ability to play as Kong, but don’t be fooled — the first couple of hours of gameplay put you square in the everyman’s shoes. An everyman avoiding dinosaurs while trying to rescue an actress from the clutches of a giant ape, but an everyman nonetheless.

Grade: B

Editor’s note: This review originally was published Nov. 7, 2005.

Sports-related video games are a lot like new cars. Both can’t wait to roll out the next year’s models before the leaves change colors. Both can vary in the amount of tweaking to the brand name. And by this time next year, both can be had for low, low prices.

Tiger Woods PGA Golf 2006 maybe adds a spoiler and some extra climate control features, but it’s pretty much the vehicle that thrilled golf gamers looking for a more realistic counterpart to the zany but cartoonish Hot Shots golf franchise. The game assumes this, as by the time you turn on the game the starter’s already waving you onto the first teebox. New players will need to test out all the options just to get a handle on the swing, which uses a back-and-forth movement of the joystick in a way similar to the rolling ball on a bar’s Golden Tee setup.

But Electronic Arts spends too much money on development just to repackage the same game year after year. This year, putting requires the use of the joystick as well, which can make for a near-buttonless gaming existence. Putting for the (virtual) dough brings to mind the touch required on the real-life shortgrass, as there’s no gauge informing you if your putt is 50 percent of its 60-foot maximum or 75 percent. And those 15 feet can be the difference between birdie and bogie.

The “season” mode starts off with creating a golfer and altering everything from his name-brand apparel to the size of the bags underneath his eyes. As you start, you’re not even a Jesper Parnevik on the landscape, requiring both skill competitions (chipping or putting contests with game characters) or nine-hole match play contests to increase your reputation. Tiger Woods breaks out the DeLorean and hits different golf eras — turn of the century, “baby boomer” — which opens up both clothing and competition options. This also allows the Woods video game character to dress up like an extra in a local production of Oliver.

Then it’s business as usual for the franchise, where each game’s great if you don’t already own the previous year’s incarnation. You beat up on fake characters to tackle the golfers recognizable to any Sunday-afternoon aficionado. By the time the difficulty level becomes too much to bear, the azaleas will be blooming at Augusta National. And the game designers already will have a tweak in mind for Tiger Woods PGA Golf 2007.

Editor’s note: This review originally was published Oct. 25, 2005.

The idea almost sounds like the type of thing writers pitch for weird graphic novels of your favorite comic book characters, like “Superman as a Soviet” or “Thor with a drinking problem.” But The Hulk as a Grand Theft Auto-type mayhem generator makes Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction an immensely enjoyable, button-mashing romp … even if it doesn’t exactly involve Bruce Banner’s alter ego messing with the Haitians.

Radical Entertainment takes The Hulk’s gamma-infused essence and pumps it for all it’s worth. Thus, there’s no awkward “If my life meter gets low I turn back into the puny Banner” transformations; it’s all big green machine here. Button combinations allow The Hulk to kick, punch and jump on just about everything in the game environment — whole buildings can fall with enough supercharged punches. Like GTA, story missions move the game along while side missions test your proficiency in a variety of tasks. And instead of cash, The Hulk accumulates “smash points” that allow for the more extravagant attacks needed to tackle the game’s later enemies.

Given the storyline, these enemies aren’t exactly one-punch-and-done patsies. Banner and Doc Samson are attempting to accumulate enough machinery to remove The Hulk from Banner’s life. The military, however, wants to bring in The Hulk to study the effects of gamma infusion on future supersoldiers. There’s enough story here for motivation, but it’s more for breathers after arduous missions involving large Hulk-smashing robots and rocket-spewing tanks.

The controls and environment complement each other in their open-endedness. Playing for the first time, The Hulk sometimes seems out of control — running up the side of buildings, jumping on everything and generally making like a newborn pup on a doggy-treat binge. But each button (sometimes held down for more powerful effect) has its purpose, and sometimes the enemies just need some well-placed Hulk-punches when they’re not looking. The environment and controls combine when The Hulk picks up a car or bus and “weaponizes” the scrap metal, making metal gloves or a shield (depending on the size of the vehicle).

Visually, the engine must deal with near-constant explosions. And while such demands have slowed down other games, the makers of The Incredible Hulk knows this is the game’s proverbial bread-and-butter. So, despite some graphical glitches when buildings get in the way of your fights, The Hulk can maneuver amid the chaos.

All this culminates with boss battles, which give video game bosses a much-needed dose of hard-as-helltitute. If you’re able to tackle these foes on the first try, you’re a better gamer that I. But quick continues and a little hint makes these longer battles an accomplishment worthy of a fist-pump and a big exhale. Then you’re free to roam about the desert or city environments or stay on the story track, causing Hulk trouble either way — and that’s been the appeal of The Incredible Hulk since issue one.

Grade: B-plus