Below is a series that I originally ran on 1UP in 2006. In it I proposed an original video game based on the Incredible Hulk. I called it "The Big Game Idea." Over a few weeks I described the graphics, game play, visuals, and plot from beginning to end, including bonus features. I made a few minor edits, but it is more or less exactly the same as it was almost 20 years ago. I hope you enjoy it.
Back to the game at hand. We are one level shy of the end!
CINEMA: Bruce Banner stumbles out of the bunker where Betty Ross Banner was held. He keeps staring at his hands and shaking his head. He notices a shadow on the horizon. The Abomination is walking toward him.
"Did you finally make peace with your wife? I hope you also made peace with your maker." Says the Abomination as he laughs and begins running at Banner.
Level 7 Middle
Location: Gamma Base.
Objective: Defeat Emil Blonsky, the Abomination.
Learn: Final mega attack, the earthquake.
Unlock: Alternate Hulk colors for game + mode.
Level Design: You are fighting in the middle of Gamma Base, it is a top-secret base with various military vehicles and automated weapons. This level is wide-open with plenty of room for the Hulk and Abomination to throw down. If a player looks carefully they can find the broken gate and minivan that Crawford first used when he first got into the base. Both monsters can make weapons out of the various military vehicles or at the very least throw tanks at each other. Fighter jets and bombers circle the airfield, the Hulk and Abomination can both jump to the larger planes and fight on their wings or take them apart. The large hangars surrounding the airfield can be broken down. Inside the hangars are different types of vehicles. Some have jeeps and tanks, others have helicopters and jets. The largest hangars have massive cargo jets and bombers. Yes, the Hulk and Abomination can lift and throw these at each other. One hangar is tucked away on the far side of the base and can be missed if the player doesn't explore the entire area. The walls of this hangar are thicker than most and harder to break down. Housed inside is a UFO.
Even though the Hulk has been to Hell and back (literally!) and his strength has gone up over the course of the game, he is evenly matched with the Abomination at this point. The Abomination is an excellent hand-to-hand fighter and grappler. He can use weapons but is also a very dirty fighter. The Abomination has always started off stronger than the Hulk in the comics, however the Hulk grows stronger with his anger, has a healing factor and eventually passes up the Abomination. I wanted to give players a sense to the awesome power of the Abomination, who is stronger than any other opponent the Hulk has faced so far, including the Juggernaut and Absorbing Man. When players see him throw cargo jets at the Hulk I want them to be filled with dread.
The final mega attack the Hulk has is the earthquake. The Hulk punches the ground with enough force to cause the entire level to shake for almost 30 seconds. Nearby buildings collapse and opponents fall during the tremor. The Hulk can still run and fight like normal. If he jumps and catches a plane he can actually see the ground shaking and dust being kicked up.
In the comics the Hulk has had a rivalry with a couple of gamma-powered monsters including Sam Sterns aka the Leader and his brother Philip Sterns aka the Madman, however none as epic as his rivalry with Emil Blonsky, the Abomination. The Abomination has always been the evil shadow of the Hulk, the "what if?" character that Banner could have very well become. Emil Blonsky was a genius in radiation like Banner, however he also abused his ex-wives and had issues with control and power. Gamma mutations are represented by subconscious desires and self-image. Those that survive the exposure to gamma rays and have had a normal life mutate with stability like Leonard "Doc" Sampson and Jen Walters, the She-Hulk. Those that are tortured souls become tortured monsters, like Banner and Blonsky. Let's face it, without the Hulk chances are no force on Earth could stop the Abomination. He's always started off stronger than the Hulk and far more crafty. The Abomination has been imprisoned and even exiled to outer space, like the Absorbing Man. Sooner or later they find a way to return to Earth and cause more havoc.
Emil's hatred for Banner was so great that he poisoned Betty Ross Banner with his radioactive blood. Her slow and painful death was lamented all over the Marvel universe. General Ross and Bruce were put at odds and finally reconciled when the truth was revealed. The Hulk and Abomination have fought a couple of times after the truth was exposed. The Hulk bringing himself to within an inch of killing the Abomination, but knowing that if he crossed the line he would become the next Abomination. Banner told Blonsky that if he gave in and both fought as hard as they could, to the death, it would knock the Earth off it's axis... it's not far from the truth!
The UFO in the level is an homage to the classic Marvel stories where the Hulk battled aliens, some of which sided with the Abomination and doubled his strength. If players are foolish enough to throw the UFO at the Abomination then it will make the fight harder. There is also the subtext that the military was trying to crack the secret to alien technology, which seems to be based on gamma radiation. Banner was hired to help bring the military closer to a bomb but also to that cosmic power source. Thankfully no one else in the Marvel universe knows as much about gamma radiation as Banner or has been able to crack his secrets since.
The earthquake part of the mega attack was inspired by the earthquake that players could activate in the Baytown level in War of the Monsters. The camera shook and the rumble went off in the controller as the earthquake was happening. The ground gave way in some parts, exposing pipes and changing the entire landscape. This game is not as detailed but some fissures that the earthquake creates remain for the rest of the level. If and when a character decides to play the game all over again in the game + mode then they can keep all of the moves they have unlocked, including the earthquake. Doing the earthquake in other levels creates interesting results. Atlantis can collapse if the Hulk does an underwater quake. If the player activates a tremor on Nightmare Island then the volcano will erupt and shoot fireballs into the night sky (also inspired by War of the Monsters). What other effects does the earthquake have on other levels? Re-read your favorite levels and use your imagination!
This level marks the second bonus characters players can unlock. In this case it allows players to choose one type of Hulk to play the entire game through with, these are the classic purple-pants Savage Hulk, the underwater blue-skinned Hulk and the bald aboriginal Hulk with snake tattoo pattern. The bald Hulk during the regular play through does not have a tattoo.
Did you have a feeling the Hulk would eventually face off against the Abomination? Tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me
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