I'm SP from the Guinegeek.com show, a weekly geek news podcast that is part of the guinegeek.com network. Just like the show you're checking out now, shows on the network are individually owned, and opinions expressed may not reflect others. Find other amazing geek shows@getageeknetwork.com.
Sam and welcome to Play Comics, where once again, we are here looking at a video game based on a comic property and how well it represents that source material. And today, I think we're just gonna have a smashing good time. And not in the British way at all, because I have Matt Storm here who broke into my head and said, hey, how do I wiggle my way back into the show? Like, literally, as I was already thinking, hey, I need to try to get Matt back on the show, so.
Well, thank you for having me back.
I mean, I think I have to now because otherwise you would have broken into my head and destroyed me somehow.
Somehow with my secret superpowers. Yeah, I'm happy to be back. I love the show. And any opportunity to replay games from my youth or games that I thought were from my youth, we'll get to that for the show. And it's always a good time. I had a blast doing the Wolverine episode. I got to revisit a game that I hadn't thought about until I saw it on your list, because I probably hadn't played it since I first played it. And so to come back for another one of those kinds of games is always exciting. So thanks for having me.
And today we are looking at Hulk ultimate destruction. This is one, somehow that I just hadn't played, and I have no good reason for that. And honestly, I think that's half of why I'm doing the show now, because there's all these games that I just never got around to playing, and now I have to, because I decided that I have to.
I mean, that's why we all do podcasts, right? To do the things that we've been avoiding in life. It's like, right? That's like mission statement of a podcast.
I literally have to read comics at lunch for podcast research. And that is the worst part of my day. I actually wish that was true, because if that was the worst part of my day, it'd be pretty good.
It'd be pretty good. That would be a pretty good low bar, because that means everything was just up from there.
I know, right? So what was it? Was it anything from the Hulk side, like the comic side of things that made you say ooh look, Hulk game. Or do you just really love this game so much that you said, I don't care what it is, I want to talk about smashing things?
Well, so, funny story, it's neither. So I do like the Hulk comics. I admittedly haven't read one in a while, but I loved some of the older runs. I also watched the original TV show with my dad a lot, the Lou Ferrigno Bill Bixby show. So there's a lot of Hulk love. There's. But. So I picked this because. And I have to caveat. I have played this as a kid. I remember when this first came out. I played it and I liked it, but I had confused this with a game just like it. So Hulk ultimate destruction, for those who don't know, is a Grand Theft Auto. Like in the sense that it's an open world in this city. You can run around as the Hulk and smash stuff and get star, you know, star levels and then the cops come after you and the army comes after you. Like, it was in a long line of, like, games inspired by Grand Theft Auto. And I did play it and I remember enjoying it. But what I thought this game was was actually a game that came out a few years later, I believe, called the Incredible Hulk, which was by a different studio, actually, but it was another Hulk ultimate destruction style game, but based on the Ed Norton movie and with the cast from the movie doing basically that plot with some extra stuff. And so when I picked this, I thought it was that game. It was the game that was based on that film, but also based on some of the comics. And then I booted this up and went, wait, that's not Ed Norton. Oh, this is something else. And then it kind of all came back to me. This was like the first of several Hulk games that were just based on smashing stuff in the city. And so while I do still have some childhood nostalgia for it, I had really picked it because I thought it was that Xbox 360 game. So. But I committed to it. Still. Still played it, still revisited it. And some of it did come back to me as I played it. Like, oh, I remember what this game was. So ultimately we got there, but it was a little roundabout.
You were right earlier when you said you had a funny story to go with this one.
Yeah, I did. Don't get old, kids. It sucks.
Oh, we spent way too long and scared a few people at the comic store telling the new 20 year old kid about how our bodies are breaking. Yeah, I mean, it's not like I have Ever gone on the show and watched the wrong crow movie? Talking about one of the crow games.
That'S going to haunt you for the rest of your life, I think.
I mean, I was going to watch them anyway, so it's relatively fine. I just had to cram it in earlier than I wanted to.
And so you haven't played this one. You came to it fresh for this episode?
Yep. Completely fresh on this one. Obviously, I know my Hulk stuff. Hulk is one of the next five to 10 options, depending on what day it is and everything, for my next tattoo. And, yeah, I just have way too many options and not enough money to get them all. Like, this is not the truth. I know. This is one of my characters that I just love. I'm getting basically everything I can at the comic store. I'm, like, first in line on their list of, hey, if there is one Hulk thing that's coming, Chris is getting it.
That's amazing. Well, I, I. And it's funny. I picked it not even knowing that. I. I feel like it may have come up before, but I didn't quite realize. I think this is such a great game also to pick because it's written by a comic writer, which not every comic book video game obviously is. And so always nice when someone who's actually written for comics writes the story for a video game.
I think for this one, it's a really, really good touch because this one is not based on any particular Hulk run. It's. I mean, honestly, it's something that could be a comic itself. It would probably be a few issues stretching out for what you get in the game here, but it's an entirely original, as original as comics get, you know, because you got to recycle things just to keep the continuity fresh. But, you know, you're getting something here where this isn't something that has happened, but it very easily could have happened or could be happening next week for all we know.
It's reminiscent of some Hulk stories and, like, even some of the parts of the story, like, this is during the part of the narrative where there's no acceptance and Banner is trying to get rid of the Hulk because, you know, they're completely separate, like, each other, and, like, there's that at odds within kind of thing. And so this is like your I'm looking for a cure storyline. Like, that's in the movies, that's in the comics, that's been in some of the novelizations, like Hulk has. That's kind of been a constant struggle for Hulk for a long Time. There are now. There are comics now where different versions, you know, the gentleman and other things where he is some kind of acceptance or merge or, like, even in the current MCU where he's, like, in control. And so I always like when we go back to this story because it's just an interesting dynamic to see the Hulk at, like, its beginning point, basically, where there's still a lack of understanding and a struggle to exist.
What are some of your favorite Hulk comic moments?
I mean, I loved when he fought Wolverine. Like, we talked in the last episode. Wolverine's one of my favorites. And so that. That run and, like, that introduction was great. Great. I like a lot of the later stuff, too. I like some of the stuff with the red Hulk. I was jazzed to see him in the new movie or the last movie that came out because I had enjoyed the red Hulk. I always like. Like, it feels very cliche, like, oh, we need another Hulk. Just make that one red. And it feels silly. But, like, there was such a difference among, like, the close association and connection to, like, fire and that. It's. It's a different kind of energy that the red Hulk produces versus the green Hulk. I did like, some of the early gray Hulk run stuff too. Like, to me, I always, as a kid, thought they were different people. It didn't really occur to me that there was, like, some crossover and the color changes and all of that. And then, like, it's impossible to talk about Hulk and not talk about World War Hulk. Right. Like, I just feel like it's one of the coolest stories because it's just. It was felt so far out of left field. I'm glad that in the third Thor movie, we got to touch that a bit. I'm bummed that it was lumped into a Thor movie only because I would love to watch an entire separate movie of just that. And then I love the introduction of she Hulk also. She Hulk is also a favorite character. I was one of those annoying people who were like, oh, Deadpool is the only character that breaks the fourth wall. And I was like, actually, not only is he not the only. He wasn't the first. Thank you. But I think World War Hulk is probably my favorite because I just like the kind of gladiatorial narrative and this learning to live on another planet and trying to make something for himself as the Hulk. It was just such a great story. And I like how that's now kind of been worked into other things. And, like, what was at the end of the she Hulk TV show, we See, we meet the Hulk's son Scar, who is. That's also from the comics. Like, yeah. So I think those are a few of my faves.
It bothers me so much that Universal still has the ties to any like actual Hulk movie because I think honestly that's the only reason we haven't gotten a proper World War Hulk or anything like that.
Yeah, basically Marvel, like Spider man has the rights to use Hulk as long as he's in an ensemble. Unlike Spider man, who can also have his own movies, but those have to be like helmed by Sony, but can be in the mcu. The Hulk, they don't have that kind of partnership. They don't want to share that. And I don't think those rights come up for quite some time still. So I just don't think. Well, it's why we, you know, end up getting she Hulk TV show again. He could be in it, but like, we aren't going to really see him. And I feel like we're going to see him less and less unless they get the rights back. Right. Like finally getting a full blown Fantastic Four movie because they have the rights back. We will eventually get X Men. And it's been rumored that in Doomsday, their previous X Men cast members in the Fox movies will reprise their roles. So. But yeah, I also am bummed. I love, I really love the Ed Norton movie. It's not perfect, but I really like it. And then I've loved his appearance since. But I actually really enjoyed the Ed Norton movie at the time. And I love Tim Roth's portrayal as Abomination. It's probably one of my favorites. Have you seen the new Captain America yet?
I have and I enjoyed it.
Yeah. I mean, the thing that kills me about that movie is that it's a sequel to the Incredible Hulk film without the Hulk. Right. Like everything in it from the spoiler stuff that I don't want to talk about though it was in kind of in the trailers to the red Hulk stuff. All of that is Hulk stuff, not Captain America stuff. I think they did a great job with it. You know, I also really like Anthony Mackie, so that helps because he's pretty charming and like, and. And Harrison Ford was great. He's always great. But like, he was actually great as Ross. I was. I doubted it because I loved the previous Ross who unfortunately passed. And so. But I thought the casting was great. I really enjoyed the film, you know, Was it the best Marvel film? No, but I mean, I think it's in the mid, mid to Lower, like, mid to mid, Upper tier. Like, it was. It was entertaining, for sure.
I just love how with Hulk, you have so many options of what you can be doing. Because you can have, like, I'm just gonna go around smashing people. Or you can have I have to be smart about things. Or the immortal Hulk run that Al Ewan was just doing where, I'm sorry, Hulk can't die. And if he dies, then he's going to come back because he's now Wolverine somehow. But it's really cool. And it's just. Have you read that one at all?
So I read a few of the first issues of that run, but I've not. I'm not. I have trouble keeping up with single issues. But I have been wanting to get. Like, I didn't read Ultimate Spider man until, like, the first couple of omnibuses were out. And then I could just buy the big books and read them. And so I keep meaning to do that with other stuff. I finally just got the full Matt Fraction run of Hawkeye, which is one of my favorites. Man, I really want a first person shooter Hawkeye game. Like, we get teases of that when he's in other games, but I would play that anyway. But, yeah, so I haven't read all of it, but I've heard that it's incredible. Pun intended, I guess.
Thank you. We lean into our puns here and love them. But it's so good. I mean, okay, obviously it's good because Al Ewing is Al Ewing and anything they do is just amazing. But it's just a wonderful take on Hulk. And one of the reasons why I have latched onto Hulk as just one of my characters.
That's awesome. Yeah. And like, talking about this game, I think it's versatile. Right? Like, the idea that Hulk can kind of do anything and that this narrative. I do love the narrative caveat in this game that Doc Sampson has a helmet that Banner can wear that imprints missions into his mind, so Hulk will do them. It's a stretch, but also, we need a reason that the Hulk's gonna follow orders on some level. Right? Like, and do a thing. And so I think it works well enough. It's not any stranger than the other fake science that they do in the comics. So. But it's funny, when I booted this game up, like, again, I was thinking of the MCU movie based game, and so I had a level of voice cast in my head, but this voice cast is actually incredibly stacked. And, like, immediately in the opening scenes, Ron Perlman as the narrator which you find is Emil Blonsky, the abomination. Neal McDonough as Bruce Banner, who has been in the MCU and in D.C. and in all sorts of stuff. He's one of the best working character actors. Daniel Rordon is Samson. Like Cam Clark does a bunch of the soldier voices. Kerry Walgren as Nadia. Like, it's a pretty stacked voice cast and I had completely forgotten that until I started playing it. And I love Ron Perlman and everything because it's Ron Perlman, but I think his portrayal of Abomination and Emil Blonsky in this is great. And also it was a fun twist from Abomination in the comics. Like, sometimes he's smarter than he is, sometimes he's not. It depends on who's penning it. But like in this, he takes control. He takes over the army, basically, like kicks out Ross at one point. I also love that Fred Tatashore is doing the Hulk's voice because he's the current voice of the Hulk in Marvel Rivals. And he's done the Hulk in like a bunch of TV shows and cartoons. And so I love that they like, even in this game, he's still playing the Hulk, which is always fun. Like Steve Blume always playing Wolverine, except in the one game that we played, played the show. I do love, like, when there's that kind of connectivity to other media, that's always fun. But I was really blown away and it got me more invested. And I think it's like, for a PS2 game, it's a pretty good story, right? PS2 games at the time had thin narratives to string together. You having a reason to blow buildings up. And as far as narratives go, it wasn't bad. I'm curious what you thought since this is your first time coming to this game. What did you think of the controls, the gameplay? Like, did you enjoy it? Were you kind of surprised by it? Did it take a while to kind of get your brain around?
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Becausecomments. Those are some great things to check out. But first, let's finish up here. So, Matt, I'm going to make you wait a little bit more.
Okay.
Because I'm a horrible person who does this kind of thing. What we're looking at here is Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction, released in August of 2005. That can't be right.
Yep.
No, that seemed. Yeah, this seems like it should be earlier than that, which is weird.
Yeah. It was towards the end of the PS2's life cycle, I believe.
I don't know why it feels like it should be earlier than that, because it's as good as it is. I would think that me being wrong would be thinking it was later. It was made by Radical Entertainment, published by Vivendi Universal Games. This is the same team that put out the game for the Ang Lee Hulk movie. And then once there wasn't a sequel to that, they didn't need a sequel game to go with it. They got to kind of freeform into whatever they felt like doing because they didn't have to follow a movie plot, which is really good because we end up getting this game and it's just beautiful.
Yeah. And also this is a team that will go on then to do a different open world franchise. The prototype games, Prototype one and two, which were similar, ultimate, like Open World, Smash up the World, superhero antihero stories, ironically, the game I thought this was. That's a different studio that does it. But it's still a similar game. But yeah, I agree. Like, so this also came out. So I played the PS2 version. It came out for the Gamecube and the Xbox as well. I think the versions are comparable. From what I've read, the Xbox version probably looks the best because often the Xbox was the more powerful of the three when it wasn't plagued by bugs and other issues. But yeah, I mean, I agree. I think it's an incredible achievement in video game stuff. And like, this is, I believe after the second Spider man game, which was like, to me the pinnacle of like open world superhero games. But like, coming back to this, I jumped right in and like, it took some getting used to the PS2 controls and like, I was playing it on my Steam deck through totally legal means, as I should, and like it. I mean, first of all, for a PS2 game, it looks really good. Like, I'm not always surprised by that, but like the polygonal era of the PS1, PS2 is hit or miss. Like Final Fantasy 10 looks great because it was one of the more expensive games at the time to make and it was square. Like, who were known for making high fidelity games. But every other game, like it was hit or miss. But this, I think the graphics here look good. I love this design of the Hulk. It's kind of the Neanderthal style look with like the sloped forehead and the long arms. But like, I think it really works for like the kind of blocky style that the polygons for PS2 would be.
I also played the PS2 version partly because that's what I could get the emulator working on the best. I do actually own this game, so it is legitimately legal for me on that one.
Amazing.
I just haven't gotten around to playing it because it's one of those ones I grabbed at the flea market when I was still going and just never got around to playing.
Right.
And PlayStation controls to me always feel the same. And I've just been constantly playing PlayStation things since PS2, so like, the feel for those has just never left me. Getting used to this one was pretty easy. Like, it was weird to me that you didn't jump until you let the button go. There were a couple other little weird things that I had to get used to, but that's just a game by game basis.
Yeah, same. I really, again, this is why I think I confused this with another game. I feel like in the other game you just hit the button and jump, but maybe not, because every game that has the Hulk in it, the height is determined by how long you hold the jump button. Even in Marvel Rivals, because there's a jump button. In Marvel Rivals, when you hold down the jump button, you can do a longer leap as Hulk, but if you just tap it, you just hop. And so it makes sense from the Ark standpoint. But what I really Love about the controls for this game too is they understood that Hulk jumping will be fine and fun, but you need to be able to move quick. And so the fact that you can run, climb buildings and run up and down buildings, which makes sense, right? He's heavy enough, he digs his toes in and can just go. But it made Traversal a blast. And like that's the thing about games like this that fail or succeed, right? Is in a superhero game, when you're in a city sandbox, if the traversal is fun, the game's done. Like it doesn't matter what else is good or bad, you're going to have a great time just running around the city. And this is one of those games for sure. Like once you get some momentum up, you're like careening off the sides of the buildings and jumping on other buildings. Like it works really well. It's not always accurate. And like trying to fight tanks and other smaller targets can sometimes get frustrating, especially on the roofs. But like just hauling ass through the city through New York, super easy and a lot of fun.
That was honestly, I think the best slash, worst part for me because it was so much fun that as I was trying to cram in playing over the past few days, I was just running around the city having fun. So like I wasn't pushing the story along. I wasn't doing any of the other missions you could do in there. It was just, I'm going to go run around and see what's going on. Because they got this city decked out. It is pretty well put in there. Like it feels like an actual city. I was honestly expecting to see Spider man or somebody else out there because this just felt like legit Marvel. This is where things should be taking place.
Yeah, we at this point, Marvel had a pretty good track record for decent to fun video games. DC was more still hit or miss. It won't really be until the Xbox 360 era and the Batman games for sure that they really hit their stride. But Marvel had gotten pretty good. Some of the stuff was. But I mean like I mean even last time we talked about the Wolverine game, was it the best game ever? No, but it was a pretty solid Wolverine game. But this I think Ultimate Destruction, the two Spider man games, even the Activision Neversoft Spider man game for PS1. Like they really had a consistent run of video games that were adapted well from the comics or the movies and they had fun with it. Like I love, not that this is about that game, the Neversoft Spider Man Game is one of the strangest written games. Venom is on hinged in that game in the best way. I think what was great about this era of Marvel is that there was a little less oversight and a little more freedom to just have fun with it. But I can totally see why you would. You would fall into that. I mean, when I played the old school GTA games, which is what this kind of environment is based on, especially GTA 3, I didn't do the missions. I ran around. I stole cars. I, like, got into fights. I, you know, saw what stores I could go into, listened to the radio, drove around the city. Right. It's about the. The making the play in the sandbox. And this game is just as good for that as is the story. I didn't finish this playthrough. I shame myself and my family. I usually finish games for stuff, but same thing happened to me. I would just find myself kind of dicking around and having more fun doing that than the main narrative, which was fine. It wasn't mind blowing, but it was fine. The problem with the missions, I think, was, and I'm wondering if you felt this too, they were either really short or really long. And they were kind of just very boilerplate, like, go get this thing. Go smash that thing. Which, I mean, you're making a Hulk game. You have limits. But, like, I just felt the missions themselves were kind of repetitive. The narrative teases that you would get were great, but the missions themselves weren't that interesting.
I mean, there were really only three missions. There was go get the thing and bring it back. Go smash the thing or keep this thing from getting smashed.
Yeah, and the keep things from getting smashed stuff was pretty hard because you. It's just the momentum and trying to like. Also, I understand why Hulk has a health bar. I understand why he has to die because it's a video game. But also, I don't. Right. Like, there could have been other fail states, but every time I would lose a mission because I ran out of health, which didn't happen that often because as you smash stuff, you get help. I would just get frustrated because I'm.
Like, I'm the Hulk.
Why am I. Why am I dying? The Hulk doesn't die. Right. That's the whole thing. He's indestructible. And so that would get.
If you play on easy, like somebody did, who would be me then? Standing around just kind of naturally replenishes your health.
Nice. That's actually awesome. I usually will do that if I get frustrated, but I Never got too frustrated. Like, if I failed, I'd fail a couple times, figure it out, and then go, you're right. Like, the missions themselves weren't the interesting part. It's the environment, the characters, and the narrative beats when you got them. I'd be interested in going back and finishing it just because I'm curious where the narrative goes. I vaguely recollect, but I think doing what you did, Chris, also, and what I mostly did, which was just kind of play around in the sandbox, is, I think, basically what this game was designed to be. I mean, it's called Ultimate Destruction. Like, they want you to play in the space and the environment. You can destroy any building, destroy any vehicle. Like, I loved how wide the scope of destructibility was. That was also impressive for the PS2.
The one thing that really bothered me, and I know this is getting into gameplay stuff that the show is not necessarily about, but I think I really have to bring it up because it does connect, is, you know, all those great moves the Hulk has and how he can only get them because he goes to the store to buy the thing that lets him use them. Yeah, yeah, me either.
Yeah.
Like, I mean, I get it's a game. I get you have to have things locked out. I get that you have to do that. But I also never have a problem with that hand. Wavy. Oh, I forgot how to do this from the last game that I was in. Can somebody come teach me how to do it again? You know, you just have that and you're fine. Like, having to go by being able to move. I don't like. I think it is way too close to microtransactions. This is still early enough in gaming history where microtransactions weren't really a thing, but you had seen them kind of creeping in and like, I'm fine getting it for art and stuff. That doesn't matter in the scope of the game. Like, the art is obviously important because that's just half of what comics are. At least relatively fine getting it for character bios, although I think that's kind of cheap, but at least that doesn't keep you from doing anything. But, like, I can't do an elbow drop unless I go spend in game currency. That's just weird. And at least they made it really easy to go get the currency. So it wasn't too bad, but it was still there.
Yeah. I mean, thankfully, it's not any real money or anything like that, but yeah, I think in games like this, I like it better when you Unlock like you have this arbitrary level up system and every time you level up, you unlock a few more moves. Like that kind of would have made more sense, like how to have a gamma level. Right. And as your gamma level rises, you unlock these different abilities. Maybe you're absorbing more gamma energy so you're able to do these more destructive things. But I can see that frustration also. Part of it for me was because I was so inconsistent with the missions, I would then forget to go back to the church to buy more moves after unlocking all the currency. So, yeah, I'm with you there too. But ultimately, once you do unlock all that stuff, like the hand clap, the stomp, elbow drop, all that stuff was a blast to do. And like, again, like the first time you level a building by just jumping on feels pretty good in this game.
That's the thing with this one. Like every time there's something bad that pops up, you get to go smash something. And so you just kind of forget about it. And I mean, you say you're probably going to go back and finish it. I'm definitely going to go back and finish it, unless I just get distracted for way too long. But I'm definitely going to go back and play it a lot. This one's just fun.
Yeah, totally. And like, I love that, like, because we saw this, I think in the Ed Norton movie too. Like the rip a car in half and use it as boxing gloves, which he does briefly against Abomination in the film. The fact that they made it a move in this game and that then you could also use certain items as a shield and like run at a high speed with them in front of you. Like, they were pretty clever on how you utilize the vehicles and stuff to like shield yourself or make boxing gloves or other things. My favorite thing about the boxing gloves is you could use them to fight and then if you were frustrated or something was too far, you could fling the boxing gloves at them and then run at them. Like, the creativity in which you get to interact with this sandbox as the Hulk is definitely one of the best. Definitely the best at this time. Like the previous game they did based on the Ang Lee Hulk, which I have complicated feelings about trying to watch that movie again in the CG is like, however you feel about the script, the style of the story, the CG in that movie is terrible. But like that game also, because they were trying to do something different. There were like stealth levels as Bruce Banner and then like there were action stages as Hulk and it didn't really Work. I think I understand why they did it. Want to get to be both characters, right? Because they're basically two characters.
I mean, I don't. I want to be the Hulk, but whatever, right?
Nobody wants to be Bruce Banner. Everyone wants to be the Hulk. And so this was the right answer, right, for a follow up. Because they allow you, like you said, to just play in the sandbox and have fun and it is a good time. And like I always say this on fun and games. Like, story is important, graphics is important, sound design is important. But ultimately the most important thing to me in a video game is the gameplay loop. If the loop is fun, like the triple jump in Mario 64, the exploration, then you're going to keep playing, right? Like I have slogged through terrible stories because the moment to moment gameplay is still fun. It's harder to slog, like unless you can turn it down and turn it off. It's harder to slog through bad gameplay. For a good story, it has to be at least mediocre, passable. But with the gameplay loop like this, like even if the missions aren't great, all the fun stuff you get to do in the missions, like the smashing, the jumping, the running, whatever makes it totally worth it.
As we start to wrap things up here, what do you think are the big highlights for what this gets right? Looking at the Hulk, I mean, for.
One, the story, I think as kind of average overall it is like you said, it's a comic book story. Like this feels like a Hulk story. The voice actors really sell it. We're in the era of the rise of great voice acting in gaming. We're far Beyond Resident Evil 1 and Jill sandwiches. So it just like that it gets right for sure. I think the, the not just the fun of playing as the Hulk, but the accuracy of smashing stuff and running through the city and being the Hulk feels true to the character. And since no other game had done it quite like this, I think it kind of set the bar. I don't know that we'll ever get another Hulk game for a while because again, just like with universal rights, like Marvel kind of scaled down their X Men comics. When they couldn't have the rights to the X Men, they started to downplay other things. Like I don't think we'll get a Hulk video game anytime soon. But even in his being featured in other Marvel ensemble games, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Marvel Rivals Other stuff I've mentioned, I still think this game gets the character best because it's focused on what he does, which Destroy things. Even if we like the Hulk and he's a hero, that's what he does, whether he really means to or not. He destroys things. And they really kind of nailed that to a T with how they laid.
Out this game and building off of that. It's not just, I'm going to straight punch everything. You get so many different ways that you can destroy things. And while you're destroying things, you have to be smart about it. You have to pay attention to your environment. Hulk isn't somebody who's just going to blindly smash everything up most of the time. He's also somebody who's paying attention to what's going on, trying to make sure that what he smashes is what he actually wants to be smashing. You know, not going and destroying his friends houses or anything like that. And so when you get something like this, it is just great. And then the other thing that's really good here that we haven't even mentioned yet is in with all of that unlockable stuff that you can buy in the store is different skins for things. So yeah, you get dumb little things. And I say dumb because it's just dumb fun. But like, it's dumb. There's no other way to put it. You can get like patriotic pants for different countries, which I think is really cool. That it's not just American pants. You can get pants from other countries, but you can also get other Hulks and play the game as other Hulks. And I just think that is such a good touch. And I saw on some videos I was watching to get ready for this, that radical entertainment wanted to do something where they had a bunch of different Hulks in there. So not only is that a big aspect of who the Hulk is and just the character history of stuff, you also get a way for them to not waste the time and the resources it took for them to get those character models made.
Yeah, and the character models had different voice actors too, which not usually in most games it's just they slap on a skin. But this, each Hulk was a different Hulk and you were playing as a different Hulk. The grunts, the. And the effort noises and the word like the small phrases were all with a different voice actor for each costume. Which also is cool. Not like the different pants, but like grey Hulk. And I forget. I think the gentleman is one of them.
I know Joe Fixit was in there.
Oh, Joe, fix it. Yeah, Joe fix it. And devil Hulk is one of the other ones. And like they all have different voice actors. And I love that. That's such a nice small touch.
What do you think this one really gets wrong looking at the Hulk?
That's a really good question. I don't know that it gets a whole lot wrong. I think that, I mean, the thing I complained about before the dying, right? Like Hulk's basically impervious. I think like maybe stunning the Hulk. Like maybe if your health runs out, you're stunned or you do less damage for a short period of time because the Hulk's gotten fatigued for sure and run down. But rarely is he just straight up died. And so that was a little frustrating. It takes me out of it. It's why no Superman game really works, because Superman's invulnerable. And if you're playing a beat em up game on Super Nintendo and you die after four hits, it's like, well, that's not very Superman. It's the same kind of idea here. The regeneration is helpful and I do like that. If you do get away from an enemy or stand still for a while, you will heal and that's helpful. And I think the other thing that doesn't really work for this game is kind of how Bruce is. The voice actor's great. I love his, you know, Neil. It's Neil McDonough, right? Yeah. Neil McDonough is a great character actor. I love his work. I think it's more that Bruce doesn't really get much to do here. Like once we get to the plot device that he's wearing this helmet to give him orders, that's kind of it. And then it's just them chatting a little bit about the mission parameters before the mission starts, which is fine. But like, I think Bruce's characterization in this is fine. He's a little snarky. It's kind of reminiscent of the Ed Norton and Mark Ruffalo ones. But I think the characterization is okay. We just don't really get enough to do as Bruce. I don't want to play as Bruce, but like, I would like a few more narrative beats of him doing something that may come later because I didn't finish it this time through. But at least of what I played the first half of the game, I was a little disappointed with Bruce and Dr. Sampson just kind of chatting a bit and then you play as the Hulk. But that was the purpose. So as much as it doesn't feel like they got it quite right, I do understand why they did it. Disservice the gameplay stuff.
I think for this one, the only things that I can really think of are I wish that there were more characters in here. Hulk has friends, and you don't really see much of that. He's hanging out with Doc Sampson, doing the stuff, and that's about it. Hulk has a bunch of enemies, and you're pretty much stuck with the same ones for a nice chunk of the game. On the other hand, that's the thing that I'm complaining about. So I think that's pretty good. And that's more of. I've gotten spoiled by games just having a ton of different enemies. And this is more like playing a single story arc of a comic where you're going to have that same main bad guy for the whole thing. So.
Right.
It's just one of those things where transferring across mediums makes things weird.
Yeah. And I think that's always going to happen. And I think weird is okay. Even if it doesn't quite work. At least they tried something. I mean, you can't complain about this game not feeling kind of innovative for the PlayStation, because it definitely was.
And if that annoys you, just go smash things. Because that's what you're playing this game for anyway.
Correct.
If you somehow knew somebody who didn't know who the Hulk was wanted to get into the Hulk, would you give them this game first, or are you going to give them other stuff and make them earn this game?
I mean, the way the question is usually formed, I think it's a good primer. I do think you're right. I think any Hulk fan should earn the right to play this game. I'm kidding. No gatekeeping. But, like, yeah, I think reading a couple comics might help before playing this, but in like the first five minutes, they set up the whole premise. Guy on the run. Guy becomes monster. Guy needs help being monster. Like, also, I feel like the Hulk is as ubiquitous as spider man because of what I referenced before, like the old TV show with Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bigsby and like, there was a cartoon in the 90s. I feel like he is up there with Iron man and Spider man as ubiquitous Marvel characters. Arguably, Iron man became more ubiquitous after the films, but I feel like the Hulk, because he had that early TV show and because he's been depicted in other things, he is one of the longer running Marvel characters that he's pretty well known that I think you could absolutely give someone this game and go, oh, you want to know about the Hulk? Here, play this game. Because I think like you said, even though it's kind of a pretty original story, it feels like a comic book story. And I think anyone who likes comic books generally and wants to read a comic about the Hulk, you could give them this and it would be a good supplement because it has the same vibe.
I definitely didn't mean to sound gatekeepy when I was saying that.
No, no.
I was like, I know, right? But I want to make sure that everybody knows that too here because this game is just so great on so many levels. It is a great introduction to the Hulk. It is a great game that at least for old people like us. And I hate saying it like that, but those are the games that we grew up on. So having something like that doesn't feel archaic to us. Those were still games that came out a few years ago. And so having this one, it's not really like I think you should earn it as much as I really want to make sure that you're going to appreciate it. Because if I give you this and you don't like it, you are just breaking my heart.
I'm glad I brought a game that you deeply loved so much. Like that's what I want is for. These are the best kind of comic book games, right? The ones that really resonate, especially with fans of the series. And you were pretty primed. I almost feel like I have to come back then when you eventually get to the Xbox 360 game because I feel like you're going to love that one too. But this one, I'm glad you enjoyed so much, especially on a first time playthrough so many years after. 20 years after I say out loud and turn to dust.
How could you do this to me? I was pretending that it wasn't that long ago.
I know, yeah, we're old, but it's fine. But yeah, I agree. I couldn't agree more. I think it's. This is a. This is a gem in the pantheon of comic book video games for sure.
The horrible part for me on why this one is so good is that I have very recently run across what I think are like the best examples of. This is your golden standard. And like Snoopy tennis is the golden standard for this game. Is horrible for teaching you about Peanuts and the characters, but it's a really good game. And this one, along with a few of the other games that I've done recently are really turning. Turning into these gold standards of this is a really good game and is also really good about teaching you about the character. Because even in a lot of these older games where, yes, that PS1 Spider man game that everybody loves that I get asked about Doing, like, almost every time I ask somebody if they want to be on the show. That game is great. And there are so many weird things about it that you would have to unteach somebody about. Spider Man.
Yeah.
But we're starting to get to that era of things where that just doesn't happen as much anymore.
Well, this game is also an era where narratives and games became more elaborate and grew. I mean, like, I think about GTA 3's story versus GTA, Vice City's story and then San Andreas story. It's like night and day. And that's all on one console generation of, like, storytelling, voice acting, and building a world. And this came within that run. So I agree. I think it's absolutely the gold standard for what it's like to create a narrative in a video game based around a comic book character, because it really does teach you from start to finish. And also, it continues my run of bringing on either pretty good or great video games, which I've done pretty well so far. Maybe it's because I don't want to really play the bad ones, to not spoil it, because I'm sure it'll come up eventually. I was given a choice between this and one other game, and you let me choose, and I chose this one. And then watching footage of the other one, I went, oh, I'm glad I chose this one, though. I think that game actually was a precursor to some stuff we talked about that will come up later on the show. But, yeah, I agree. I think it's a gold standard for a Hulk game, for a Hulk narrative. You know, again, it's not the most in depth, complicated Hulk story. You'll get those more in the comics. But to get someone started on the Hulk, absolutely could start with this.
And finally, I mean, you know, we have the Hulk. Big old rage monster Hulk. I'm gonna go smash everything. But I'm gonna restrict this. And I usually don't restrict this part. But specifically, which Sesame Street Muppet is going to take that Black Widow role? Take any of the romantic stuff out of it, because I don't want this to get weird. But who's gonna take that Black Widow role and be able to calm him down?
Oh, yeah, you did change the question. And I like this caveat. I mean, I feel like for comedic purposes, it has to be Miss Piggy. Right. Because he's big and green. Like, I just think that dynamic will be great. Also, she's not typically a calming voice. Trying to think if there's another one that would be just as Good. Or maybe. Or Janice from the. From Dr. Teeth's band. She'd also be fun to have as the Black Riddle role because she has that weird Southern accent. Man, I can't even do it. So those would be my 2. But I think I gotta stick with Miss Piggy. She's just classic. And it would be very funny to see her as Black Widow. But funny is like, we're all in on the joke. Not laughing at Miss Pig Piggy because I think, you know, also, Miss Piggy's a rage monster. Like, there's a lot of irony here. I actually, the more I talk about it, the more I like this answer.
I do too. And like, I. I can see her, like getting super frustrated and getting that little snout all, like pulling in on itself. I'm about to scream. But knowing that she can't because she has to calm down the big green guy. Yeah, and which also makes me. And just imagine super hulked out Kermit.
Yes, exactly. I mean, that's basically where my brain went. Yeah.
Well, Matt, I feel like I know what you're gonna say because you probably implanted it into my head. But for everybody else around the Internet, if people want to hear more from you, where else can they find you around the Internet? As long as you're not invading their brains.
I promise, I only invade the brains of my friends. Consent is important and never optional. So find me. Djstormigan.com is the best place to find all the things that I do. It has both of my podcasts, fun and games and Reignite. It has the Patreon for fun and games. It has my merch store. It has a link to my Twitch and other social platforms. I'm most active on Bluesky now. DJ stormageddon.com on Bluesky as well, because if you've got the URL, you might as well use it. And yeah, those are the best places to find me. Fun and Games is a broad topic based podcast that I do with Jeff Moonan. We also have a subseries in the feed called Sidequest. Chris has done several episodes of, most recently talking about one of my favorite Kirby games, the original Kirby's Dream Land. The debut of the now Pink Puff, then White Puff, and then Reignite, which I host with the incredible Frankie Bradley the Strange. We are currently playing through the Dragon Age series and talking about the choices we'd make in that game as well as who we would smooch. So if that stuff interests you, you can go check that out as well. And like I said, it's all available at my link tree, which you can go find@dj stormageddon.com.
You sound very like you do that all the time, like you're a professional or something.
Yeah, I do. You got to learn to get the pitch down right because you don't want to tell people for 20 minutes your pitch. You want to keep it quick. So I try. For your sake and your sanity, I try and keep it tight.
Well, Editor Chris thanks you very much.
I thank Editor Chris for editing.
And of course we will have links to all that stuff down in the show notes because clicking links is so much easier than trying to remember how to spell things. Like how many Ds are in Stormageddon? I don't know because if I try to spell it five different ways, then I will get seven different answers.
Yes, correct.
But I will make sure that the link is correct because I have time to do that and I will copy and paste the URL so I don't mess it up.
Thank you for having me again. I love coming on the show, Chris. I'm sure I will bug you again in no short order to come annoy you on this podcast. And it's always a pleasure. I love your show. I love that you do this. Specialty shows like this are some of my favorites because it speaks to my unique nerdiness. So thanks again for having me.
Well, I'm definitely going to get you back. We'll see if it's that other Hulk one. It might be something bad, though. Like you might have to pay a price for only picking good games.
It's true.
But those are fun to talk about, too.
That's true. If I have to have that penance on my head, so be it. I will. I will bite that bullet, as they say.
As always, the best place to find me is over on playcomics.com with links to all the social media stuff, which is mostly blue sky because I. I'm a creature of habit and it's where I've been going. So it's probably where I will continue to go. You know, Threads is probably going to pick up because I keep seeing cool things there. But yeah, you know, playcomics.com it's got all the cool stuff. Speaking of cool stuff, there's a list on playcomics.com with what I'm looking to get booked the soonest. There's a link directly to that page down in the show notes. And you know, if you see something on that list that you want to come be a guest on the show for, then Let me know and, you know, we'll make it happen. Or if you have a friend that you think would be a good person to be on there for, then tell your friend to get in contact with me. Or if you're somebody that I'm friends with anyway, like, if your name is Matt Storm, then just break into my head and say, hey, go talk to my friend Sam. Because they'll be a good guest and it'll be great. So, yeah, that'll work out. And you can see where all that is over on Play Comics.com if you want to help out the show, then you can be like Dan McMahon or Ohno lit Class and give the show money because unfortunately, it does cost money to run a podcast. It is also cheaper than therapy and the flea market. So, you know, I'm not complaining about it, but you can also share the show with friends or enemies or random people in the street or anything like that, and just make sure that they know about it, because that's the biggest thing, just getting more people to listen. Don't forget that Play Comics is a part of the guineagee.com network, home to such wonderful shows as Legends of Shield where right now we are getting caught up on episode releases. So, yeah, just go check out whatever we have coming out over there. It's. It's been really fun. If you're waiting for Sugar Spite and Everything Is Fine, where Karen's and Martin and I are looking at the things that we watched as children and wondering why those lessons aren't really supposed to apply to us as adults, then, you know, we're working on it. I probably shouldn't have talked about it out in public as early as I did, but we're working on it and we want to get it out. We just want to make. Make sure that it's good, you know, so, like, I'm not going to give you a piece of crap right off the rip. We're going to make sure it's good. If you like the music that I'm rudely talking on top of right now, then head on over to backing track GG to check out all the great music over there and maybe find something for your own project. But most of all, just grab a game, grab a stack of comics, and go find yourself a new favorite character.