I'm not really a 'morning' person either...
So what about the areas all this action takes place in? At first, when I say that there are only two main maps in addition to the smaller training map (which you can revisit to test out new moves), it sounds a tad disappointing. Fear not though, as these maps are big… really big. Hulk sized big in fact. Though I wouldn’t think that either map is as large as Grand theft Auto’s cities, the fact that you move around them on foot rather than on wheels makes the maps perfectly suited for the Hulk.
These aren’t just loads of buildings dotted around on a street grid though. People are going about their daily business, busses cruising along, lorries making deliveries, police buying donuts… and the Hulk is dropped into this idyllic metropolis and given free roaming abilities? Are they mad? Well, yes, they are. Without even bothering with any of the missions you’ll be running around laying waste to all and sundry and, if you’re not careful, you’ll be bringing the might of the police and army down on your head too…
Mission selection is executed through the simple act of walking into one of the glowing star icons and hitting the A button. There’s a wide variety of missions in the story mode, ranging from straight smashing stuff up through to defending something to retrieving objects. Some of the missions are against the clock and can become very hectic as you try and stop the bad guys from destroying or killing your target. Other missions are more relaxed affairs, allowing you complete freedom as to how you accomplish your objectives.
If you don’t fancy doing a story mission, you could always opt for one of the Challenge missions, which a little standalone mini games, designed to highlight Hulk’s basic powers. You could find yourself rescuing people from a burning rooftop or delivering a broken down ambulance to the hospital. Or you might have a more destructive mission where the idea is to just smash up as much stuff as possible. The there’s the really fun missions, such as soldier baseball, where you have a huge spanner and just twat soldiers as far as possible… or kick cars through goalposts or go gliding with a giant inflatable blue gorilla… Yes, you read that right, a giant inflatable blue gorilla.
Which leads me nicely to the little touches of humour dotted throughout the game. Being freely interactive, there’s nothing to stop Hulk snatching up innocent by-standers and treating them as badly as you want… Grab a passing bloke and rather than give him a good pummelling, Hulk just gives him a patronising flick away which is always good for a laugh. Of course, you could be nice, in which case the Hulk will gently set them on their feet and give them a pat on the head for their trouble… It’s nice little touches like this that keep the game interesting.
