Too often, races come down to figuring out where you're supposed to be going. Every event really comes down to managing boosts and jumps - some boats are actually better in the air, for example - while avoiding environmental hazards.Īt least, that's what I think the game is supposed to be about. Races are simple affairs pitting you against 15 other rocket-boats to see who can finish first Ring Master events require you to finish a course by your lonesome while plowing through colored rings, while Gauntlet events are time trials on courses littered with explosive barrels. The game takes place on 8 different courses with a number of different boats, which are unlocked by winning races in three different events. Like its predecessor, Hydro Thunder Hurricane is more twitch reflexes than thoughtful racing. The sound is even more disappointing, as forgettable music and an obnoxious announcer are paired with sound effects straight from 1994 - I'm pretty sure I heard the noise that gate made while it was opening in the original Doom. Sure, there are sea monsters and what I imagine were supposed to be "siiiiick" jumps aplenty, but they fail to make much of an impression in the muddy mess of Hydro Thunder Hurricane's visuals.
Environments lack much detail and are full of often ugly scenery, and for "crazy" environments like Monster Island or a Viking-inspired channel, things are kind of dull. More Hydro Thunder Hurricane Info Hydro Thunder was a colorful, saturated game, so it's a little strange that Hydro Thunder Hurricane seems so.
It would seem though that new developers Vector Unit missed the boat, so to speak in an apparent attempt to modernize the series with Hydro Thunder Hurricane for XBLA, they've succeeded only in bogging the arcade racer down with tired genre conventions the series didn't need, robbing the game of much of its original appeal.
Powered by the rush of blasting through levels 30 seconds at a time, Hydro Thunder was brightly addictive and technically impressive. Hydro Thunder was one of the great, colorful arcade games of the late 90s.