by Belgavion

© 2010 Gav Ross

It’s interesting to note that out of the 300+ titles released on the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace since 2005, not one can be placed into the category of ‘water racer’ or anything near it. Hydro Thunder Hurricane has splashed down to fill that void nicely and not only will it satiate fans of aquatic mayhem, it’s simply a darn fine racing title in its own right.

Many Dreamcast owners would have fond memories of 1999′s original Hydro Thunder title – which was on the level (and in some ways better) than Nintendo’s Wave Race 64. Putting powerboats in the place of jet-skis or any other small, versatile watercraft might sound dull on paper, but when the boat engines produced speeds just as fast in scintillating, classic arcade fashion, it didn’t matter.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is the debut title from Vector Unit – a small studio that includes creative folk who once worked on several Lord Of The Rings games and Spore. Starting off with a reasonably speedy boat and a relatively simple track, players can get used to the water physics and boat handling after only a lap or two.

Just blazing along at breakneck speed, hoping to make corners in time is one thing, but, like any racing title, it takes a certain amount of finesse and loads of practice to be able to get a proper handle on these speedboats.

As further boats are unlocked by getting a top 3 finishing spot in each track, the engines and handling becomes more unwieldy, so upgrading to a faster boat isn’t always the best approach to shaving seconds off your lap times. As well as guiding your boat properly through undulating waves and being aware of twists and turns well in advance, a large amount of the handling is also done in the air.

When your speedboat is propelled through the breeze after catapulting up a slippery ramp, it becomes imperative to position the nose of the craft in the direction you want to go before you land, otherwise smashing into rocks or other obstacles will occur after most jumps.

It’s not just the proper handling of controls that’ll earn boaters a  blue ribbon – much of it also comes down to knowledge of the 8 different tracks available and, most importantly, where the shortcuts are located. It isn’t much of a big deal for the first few tracks, but the ones towards the end pretty much require about a dozen or more practice run-throughs before you have any hope of scoring a high finishing place.

About halfway through the game it becomes abundantly clear how important shortcuts are, as it doesn’t take long to be comfortably coming first a couple of times to suddenly being 10th and wondering what you did wrong.

The final track – a sci-fi mind-bender that takes place not only in a spaceship but also partly on a different planet – is the best example of this.

First time through I noticed that the AI winner of the race was a massive 25 seconds ahead, even though I felt like I’d run a very decent race with little or no crashes. It turns out that this track in particular has some of the more rewarding shortcuts, and by not using them you’re guaranteeing failure.

Although there are ‘boost’ power-ups littering the waves, Hydro Thunder doesn’t rely on ‘Mario Kart’ type weaponry to unleash upon opponents:  mastery of corners and proper use of boost will get players ahead of their foes each time.

However, there’s still room to play dirty: a simple side swipe into another player’s boat can push them unmercifully into an oncoming wall, or you’re able to knock them sideways off a jump ramp.

Hearing there are only 8 tracks to be explored in the game might sound slightly disappointing, but they’re each so varied and epic in their own right that it doesn’t feel like you’re being short-changed of value.

Whether a Viking god is slamming his hammer down onto the waves, creating an obstacle of water to lunge over, or a sea serpent raises its ugly head in an underground lake cavern, expect to be surprised the first time through these immense tracks.

Along with a regular single-player race mode for all tracks, the longevity of the game is spread out through ring challenges (guiding your boat through ring checkpoints) and gauntlet challenges (swerving through waves and attempting to avoid dynamite). There’s also a final, championship mode, but that’s probably best kept for those that are either very skilled at the game or gluttons for punishment.

When the AI becomes too frustrating during the higher levels of the game, it’s almost relaxing to dip into multiplayer and race alongside some less predictable opponents. The online support is for up to 8 players and is, for the most part, a smooth, lag-free experience.

What makes the online even more frantic is that the balancing allows those that are in last place for the majority of a race to suddenly come up trumps during the final turns.

The experience points from trophies won online is also added to the regular single player balance to unlock even more tracks and modes.

It’s not a game that will have your undivided attention for more than maybe a week, but Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a blast of arcade fun that’s hard to ignore and one of the clear standouts of this year’s XBLA Summer/Winter of Arcade.

“8.0/10

© 2010 Gav Ross

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Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Game Impressions, New Xbox 360 Games, Racing, XBLA News-Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | Dreamcast, Hydro Thunder, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, Hydro Thunder Hurricane reviews, Hydro Thunder review, Lord of The Rings, Microsoft Game Studios, Nintendo's Wave Race 6, spore, Vector Unit, Wave Race, XBLA, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade