If you grew up in the early 2010s, you probably remember the absolute chokehold the Ultimatrix had on playground conversations. We weren't just talking about regular aliens anymore; we were talking about evolved versions. Heavy hitters. That's where Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Cosmic Destruction stepped in. Released back in October 2010, it wasn't just another licensed cash-grab. Well, okay, it was definitely a licensed game, but it felt different. It felt bigger.
I remember booting this up on a dusty PS2 and being genuinely floored that I could actually go "Ultimate." Most games based on cartoons are, frankly, pretty bad. They’re clunky, short, and feel like they were made in a weekend. But Papaya Studio actually put some soul into this one. They took Ben around the world—from the Catacombs in Rome to the Great Wall of China—searching for pieces of the Potis Altiare.
It’s basically a globe-trotting scavenger hunt with a giant cosmic storm threatening to wipe out Earth. Standard Friday night for Ben Tennyson, right?
The Ultimatrix Mechanics: What Worked (and What Didn't)
Let’s talk about the combat. Honestly, it's surprisingly fluid for a 2010 action-adventure title. The "Quick Switch" feature was the real hero here. Older games made you pause or cycle through a slow menu, which totally killed the momentum. In Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Cosmic Destruction, you could swap forms mid-combo. You could be smashing a Forever Knight as Humungousaur and then instantly zip away as AmpFibian to dodge a projectile.
It felt like the show. That’s the highest praise you can give a game like this.
You get access to a solid roster: Water Hazard, Armodrillo, AmpFibian, Terraspin, and NRG. These were the "new guys" at the time. But the real draw was the Ultimate forms.
- Ultimate Humungousaur: Basically a walking tank with bone-fragment missile launchers.
- Ultimate Echo Echo: Throwing sonic disks that could level a room.
- Ultimate Spidermonkey: Think a gorilla mixed with a spider, but way more terrifying.
The catch? You couldn't just stay Ultimate forever. It was a power-up, a "finisher" of sorts for boss fights or clearing out massive waves of enemies. Some fans hated that limitation. They wanted to roam the levels as Ultimate Big Chill the whole time. I get it, but from a game balance perspective? It made those moments feel earned.
Regional Exclusives and Console Weirdness
One thing most people forget—or never knew—is that the game had console-exclusive aliens. If you played on the PlayStation 3, you got Four Arms. If you were an Xbox 360 kid, you got Rath.
"Let me tell you something!"
Playing as Rath was a highlight because the developers actually captured his unhinged personality. It’s a shame we’re past the era of console-exclusive characters in third-party games, even if it was kind of a pain for collectors back then.
The Plot: Saving the World from an Evil Way Big
The story was penned by Charlotte Fullerton, who actually wrote for the show. This is why the dialogue doesn't feel like a cheap imitation. The stakes are high. You're tracking down an ancient Galvan artifact to stop a "To'kustar" (that’s Way Big’s species) from destroying everything.
The boss battles were the peak of the experience.
Battling a giant, evil, red Way Big while you’re essentially the size of his toenail? That’s peak Ben 10. The game used Quick Time Events (QTEs) for these cinematic moments. Now, I know QTEs are a bit of a meme now, but in 2010, they were the standard way to make a boss fight feel "epic" without breaking the engine.
The locations were a nice touch too. You weren't just in Bellwood. You were at the Eiffel Tower, the Amazon rainforest, and even Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Each level had these "Sumo Slammer" cards and gold/red orbs to collect. If you were a completionist, finding every single card was a nightmare, but it gave the game some much-needed longevity.
Why Critics Hated It (and Fans Loved It)
If you look at Metacritic, the scores are... mid. We're talking 50s and 60s. Critics complained about the short length. You can beat the whole thing in about 5 to 6 hours if you’re rushing. They also called the platforming "floaty."
They weren't wrong.
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But they missed the point. Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Cosmic Destruction wasn't trying to be God of War. It was trying to let an 11-year-old feel like they had the most powerful weapon in the galaxy on their wrist. The "human-quality" of the game comes from its fan service. The way the aliens move, the specific sound effects of the Ultimatrix timing out, the voice acting—it was all authentic.
Hidden Secrets and Cheats
Back then, we didn't have microtransactions. We had cheat codes. Real ones. You could go into the options menu and type in "classic" to unlock Four Arms (if you were on the right console) or "primus" for Rath. There was even a code "cash" that just gave you a million DNA points to max out your aliens instantly.
It was a simpler time.
If you managed to 100% the game on the DS version, you could even unlock Albedo. Well, sort of. It was more like a skin change, but playing as the "evil Ben" was the ultimate flex in 2011.
How to Play It in 2026
Since this game hasn't seen a modern remaster, you have to get a bit creative if you want to revisit it.
- Original Hardware: If you still have a working PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii, physical copies are actually relatively cheap on the secondary market.
- Emulation: This is the most popular route now. The PSP version runs like a dream on modern smartphones, and the PS2/PS3 versions look incredible when upscaled to 4K on a PC.
- The DS Version: Just a heads up—the DS version is a completely different game. It’s a side-scroller. It’s fun in its own right, but if you want the "Cosmic Destruction" experience people talk about, stick to the consoles.
Pro-Tips for a Replay
If you’re diving back in, don’t sleep on Terraspin. His wind-attack is surprisingly broken for crowd control. Also, save your DNA points. Don't spread them thin across every alien. Pick three favorites—one for speed, one for strength, one for ranged—and max them out first. You'll thank me when you hit the later levels in China where the difficulty spike is actually kind of real.
Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Cosmic Destruction is a snapshot of an era where licensed games were peaking in terms of effort. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best "hero" simulator the franchise ever got.
If you want to maximize your experience today, try a "No-Cheat" run on the highest difficulty. It actually forces you to learn the parry mechanics and the specific weaknesses of the bosses, making that final showdown with the evil To'kustar feel like a genuine victory for Earth. Check your old collection or hit up a local retro game shop; it's worth the five-hour trip down memory lane.