Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a great arcade racer that will definitely appeal to fans of the original arcade game, but for everyone else, 1200 Microsoft Points is a tough sell. The new announcer in HTH can also be a lot more annoying than the old one. There are some decent tracks to race to, but most aren’t memorable enough to stand out after the game is turned off. The soundtrack is also sadly forgettable. Instead of sounding like monstrous speedboats with jet engines, they sound more like really powerful vacuum cleaners. Poor sound effects – For such powerful looking speedboats, the underwhelming engine sound effects were very disappointing. What’s there is decent enough, and should keep hardcore fans and completionists entertained for a while. While these modes certainly have their uses, like showing you shortcuts that you may have never found, they just aren’t as much fun as racing. Quickly and carefully driving through rings or navigating a gauntlet of explosive barrels just doesn’t have the same appeal. Not all game modes are that fun – Vector Unit wanted to make the game last longer and have better replay value, but a couple of the modes besides the basic race just aren’t that much fun. Leaderboards can also add to the competition between friends on Xbox Live, but it would’ve been nice if they tracked more than just fastest times for each course. This adds quite a bit of lasting value to the game, and makes it a great game to play with people who don’t necessarily play many video games. Up to four players can play via splitscreen locally with up to eight over Xbox Live, or any combination thereof. While the ported console versions suffered a bit in this area since they lacked the obvious arcade atmosphere, HTH makes up for this by adding some excellent multiplayer support. Great multiplayer – Besides its crazy level design, Hydro Thunder’s best feature was its intense multiplayer action. Fans will feel right at home when playing this game. It really feels like the classic arcade experience, and the fact that HTH looks so good now on XBLA is a satisfying bonus.
Making the final run to finish line still adds that list bit of adrenaline, with the feeling of relief when it’s all over. The amount of scenery and things happening around you in each course is exciting and over-the-top, along with the huge jumps you’re constantly hitting. Seeing boats transform from their standard appearance to reveal massive exhaust pipes that spew fire provides a lovely and empowering feeling.Ĭlassic arcade feel – Vector Unit captured one of the best things about the original Hydro Thunder in that the tracks all feel like crazy theme park rides. Each boat now has a cool transforming animation once its boost is active. Things like dynamic wave effects look awesome in high definition on XBLA, as do water droplets that form on the screen after a gnarly jump.
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Of course, neat graphical touches remind us that the Hydro Thunder series has been improved quite a bit since the arcade days. Every speedboat that from the original is in HTH, and the inspired courses will evoke feelings of familiarity from Hydro Thunder veterans. When it comes to the basics, Vector Unit nailed the feel of the original, from the crazy courses down to the way the speedboats handle.
Hydro Thunder Hurricane, the first true sequel to the original arcade game, manages to reignite old love for the arcade original. For those with fond memories from the arcade excitement peaked when a new Hydro Thunder was announced for Xbox Live Arcade, developed by Vector Unit. The rush of boosting a fantastical speedboat through intense waters and hitting massive jumps struck a nerve in me that most other arcade games failed to do. The original Hydro Thunder was a favorite in local arcades during the late 90s.
Hydro Thunder Hurricane was developed by Vector Unit and published by Microsoft Game Studios for XBLA on July 28, 2010.