Review: Hydro Thunder Hurricane

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is the first official sequel to the classic Midway hit Hydro Thunder, which splashed into arcades and consoles over ten years ago.  Rather than simply recreate the original game with updated graphics, the team at Vector Unit has decided to go all out with a brand new game engine and some stunning water physics.  Can it hold its own against the Summer of Arcade big hitters such as Castlevania and Lara Croft?

In my mind Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a game that perfectly encapsulates Microsoft’s ‘Summer of Arcade.’ It is bright, airy, and the only time the sun isn’t shining is when you are racing at night – but even then the Aurora Borealis is there to give you a visual slap in the chops.  Watching the crystal clear water lapping against the side of your boat in the selection menu really puts the player in summer holiday mode.  All donations for a TSA trip to Hawaii are welcome!

The game’s premise is as easy as they come – race and be merry!  You choose from one of several race boats on offer and then hit the water against the computer or actual people.  Each boat looks completely different from the next, with various skins to unlock, and – rather impressively – they all handle differently.  Unlike other racing games I have played, the statistics  for handling, speed and acceleration really do make a difference.  The best example I can give is when I stepped up from a novice to an expert boat.  I set off as normal, approached the bend, and then a wizard must have cast a spell or something because next thing I know I’ve done a 180 degree spin and the boat’s on its roof.  Stupid wizard.

Boosting plays an important role in the game and is key to placing well in races.  Once a boost power-up is collected your boat goes through a little transformation sequence which generally results in it gaining a load of exhaust pipes which then spout worryingly large flames – have they not heard about the hole in the ozone layer?  The best tip I can give you regarding boosting is to never let your boost meter empty completely – as your boat will then revert back to its normal state, meaning that once you collect a new boost power up your boat has to go through the transformation sequence again, costing valuable seconds.  There is also a boost jump which makes collecting hidden objects a doddle.

Massive kudos needs to be given to Vector Unit for the fantastic water physics they have managed to shoehorn in to a downloadable title.  The quality is absolutely amazing with ripples, waves and even waterfalls on display.  They all have various effects on the boats too, which provides an edge to the game as you are constantly fighting against not only your opponents but the pull of the water.  I have an example of this but my boat ended up on its roof again.  Stupid wizard.

Visually the game is an absolute peach.  As mentioned above, the water looks amazing. The boats are fairly well detailed and the only let down is where some of the course obstacles look a bit flat and – dare I say – last generation.  Sound-wise the game is passable, although the generic excited announcer at the start menu made me sigh a little bit.

The single player experience is divided into four modes.  The first – and most enjoyable – mode is essentially just a single player race against the computer.  Points are awarded for coming in first, second or third – and these are used to unlock more races.  During these races the game throws various, and frankly bizarre, obstacles in your way.  Police boats, dinosaurs and even a giant Viking all, at one point or another, try to smash you to pieces.  Whilst this all sounds like a laugh, it can get immensely irritating, especially when they seem to target just you – the police boat springs to mind.

The second mode is called ‘Gauntlet’, which unfortunately bears no relation to the classic game in the old TV series ‘Gladiators’.  The aim is to get your boat from the start to the finish line of a course – which sounds really easy until you realise the water is littered with hundreds of exploding barrels that need to be dodged.  Add to this the constantly shifting nature of the water, and this mode gets incredibly addictive – but mildly annoying.  It definitely has that ‘one more go’ factor.  Again you get points for coming first, second or third.

The Third mode is basically checkpoint racing, where you have to pilot your boat through rings in a certain time limit and each missed ring comes with a time penalty.  This is the mode I had the biggest problem with.  Yes it’s fun but there needs to be some sort of moderation.  There are over twenty of these checkpoint races but only eight actual proper races in mode one.  This is in desperate need of a re-balance – sometimes ‘more’ doesn’t necessarily translate into ‘better.’

The fourth, and biggest, mode is the championship mode.  On the surface this sounds like a great – and fairly sizable – addition to the game but unfortunately it’s all a bit ‘smoke and mirrors.’  Each championship is divided into at least two races, with points being given for placing.  The person who has collated the most points at the end wins the championship.  This is fine but the races consist of things that the player has already done, such as checkpoint racing and Gauntlet runs.  This was a real disappointment as it feels like you’re replaying the same stuff over and over again.

The game comes with Xbox Live Leaderboard challenges, as well as multiplayer support for eight players online, local split screen races with up to four players – and a combination of split screen and online play.  Unfortunately at the time of this review the servers were as dead as cargo pants with pockets in the knees – so I wasn’t able to test this out.  I can imagine it’s great fun though and will be the icing on the cake.

Pros

  • Fast, fluid gameplay
  • Lots of content
  • Visually impressive

Cons

  • A lot of content is recycled
  • Stupid wizards

So this leaves me in an awkward position in terms of giving a score to this bad boy.  Personally, I loved it and for 1200 MS points you’re getting a game that is just as polished and impressive as some boxed products costing four times as much.  The only real sticking point is that whilst you do get a lot of content, it can get very repetitive.  Hopefully the game will see some decent DLC adding in a few more courses, and then I will be as pleased as punch.  I can also see the online mulitplayer really taking off, which will add a massive shot of longevity.  Overall this definitely comes recommended – a much needed dash of sunshine after spending hours stuck in LIMBO.

Score: 8/10

14 Comments

  1. 12 pounds is a bit too much considering the original Playstation version would be cheaper…. if they ever wanted to release it.

    • It’s a good racer – better than some full priced games that have been released over the last few months.

    • How much was the original when it was released?

  2. Thanks for the review, Dan. Will add this to my list (assuming it has a demo). Ah, it’s not out yet. Arses. Have I read things too quickly and missed the release date?

    • It’s this weeks xbox live release :o)

      • Ah, but of course. Sorry for not putting two and two together.

    • All XBLA games have a trial version (demo).

  3. shame it’s not out on PS3! :(

  4. I’m glad to hear that this is a good game. We can always use another couch multiplayer game. This and Castlevania were the only two SOA game that i was hesitant about. Now this just leaves Castlevania.

    If any of you haven’t tried Limbo, you really should. Excellent game.

    • Agreed. Finished it last night. Lovely game. Not a long game but nothing like it visually. Emotionally numbing but in a good way.

      • Yeah, i haven’t finished it yet, but i’m pretty sure i’m very close to the end. I plan on finishing it tonight. Probably my favorite XBLA/PSN game, next to Shadow Complex and Peggle.

    • Still haven’t gotten around to Limbo… Or Joe Danger for that matter. Not enough hours in the day (or money in my bank!)

      • If it’s any help. Limbo is only four hours or so but a beautiful, haunting, captivating four hours. To a lesser extent, but in a similar vein, like Ico was with its six to seven hours.

  5. Wizards are evil

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