Post by "Wildfox" Meta S. Foxx on Nov 6, 2010 23:56:55 GMT -8
Say, do you remember when arcades were all the rage and you would go in and waste dollars upon dollars for tokens or quarters just so you can play your favorite games? Yeah, whatever happened to those days? Anyway, one of my favorite arcade games to play was a nice little gem from the Midway called Hydro Thunder. This was a neat and fun boat racing game that really did leave a lasting impression on some of those who played it. Okay you're probably thinking to yourself "how can a boat racing game be any kind of fun?" My answer is this: this is boat racing ON STEROIDS! You were in control of one of thirteen high performance (and somewhat over-the-top) hydro boats in a race to the finish on twelve different tracks based on real world settings. The gameplay was simiple...you pick your track, pick your boat, and began racing. Throughout the track, there are boost icons, that when touched, grants you a boosting power that gives you an extra burst of speed. Blue icons fills your boost a small amount, while red ones increased a large amount. The racing itself was pretty intense, depending on what track you selected, and let me tell you, these were some of most over-the-top tracks ever thought of. You had easy going tracks such as those listed in the Easy or Medium categories, but when you went to either Hard or Bonus is where the tracks get more interesting and insane!
Like many arcade hits at the time, Hydro Thunder was later ported to home consoles, making appearances on the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Sega Dreamcast. Each version has something exclusive to it. The PlayStation version had a unique career mode included with it. The N64 version had four-player split screen multiplayer when the game detected the Expansion Pak. The Dreamcast version was pretty much the arcade-perfect port, however it had nothing new to offer to the table aside from its prettier graphics (this version is includes in the PS2/GameCube/Xbox compilation game Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which essentially is a collection of arcade racers that Midway owned at the time).
Before Midway Games went under, the company did at one point plan a sequel to the hit game, but when the company folded the plan eventually got scrapped...that is until Microsoft took it upon themselves to snag the license for themselves and decided to finish was Midway eventually started. The end result was the Xbox Live Arcade release of Hydro Thunder: Hurricane (released on XBLA on July 28, 2010). Even though it does capture the heart and essence of its beloved predecessor, it really doesn't come close to trumping the original. You have some familiarity from the first game such as the returning boats and one returning track, Lake Powell (which takes on a whole new twist from the first game). The game does feature new modes that in a few cases were unnecessary. One new mode is called Ring Master, and in this mode you have to pilot through a course of rings on the track as fast as you could without missing any. As you pass through a ring, your boost is filled, which will help you in the run, but miss one ring, not only is it a time penalty, but it completely drains your boost altogether. Another mode is Gauntlet mode, where in this one, you are a lone boater on the course and you have to make it through the course which is filled nearly to the teeth with explosive oil drums. Touch one drum and you'll explode your ride, making it harder to cross the finish in the set amount of time for the course. Over the course of me playing this game, I'm not a fan of the new modes. They tend to take a lot of fun away from the game and just throw random things at you, barely giving you any kind of reaction time. Also, the circuit races tended to be a lot easier in this game. The first game was really challenging, making you really have to race your hardest to earn first place (and for good reason, too, because every first place is a free game). In Hurricane, though, the AI just seems more dumber than normal. I mean there are races that I've played through that I know I should lave lost, but ended up winning because of the AI making a mistake just before the finish line. That's just cheap to me. I mean, I know the first game wasn't really that much of a cake walk, but making the sequel easier just makes it stupid in my opinion.
Still with it's obvious flaws, I would recommend playing Hydro Thunder: Hurricane. Like I said, it still maintains that Hydro Thunder charm, and manages to deliver a solid follow-up to the famous boat racer. If you have the time and the M$ points, give it a try. And if you still want to give the first one a whirl...well your best bet is to try and track down a copy of Midway Arcade Treasures 3 for PS2, Xbox, and GC, than you are at trying to track down one of the old console games or an old Arcade machine.
Like many arcade hits at the time, Hydro Thunder was later ported to home consoles, making appearances on the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Sega Dreamcast. Each version has something exclusive to it. The PlayStation version had a unique career mode included with it. The N64 version had four-player split screen multiplayer when the game detected the Expansion Pak. The Dreamcast version was pretty much the arcade-perfect port, however it had nothing new to offer to the table aside from its prettier graphics (this version is includes in the PS2/GameCube/Xbox compilation game Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which essentially is a collection of arcade racers that Midway owned at the time).
Before Midway Games went under, the company did at one point plan a sequel to the hit game, but when the company folded the plan eventually got scrapped...that is until Microsoft took it upon themselves to snag the license for themselves and decided to finish was Midway eventually started. The end result was the Xbox Live Arcade release of Hydro Thunder: Hurricane (released on XBLA on July 28, 2010). Even though it does capture the heart and essence of its beloved predecessor, it really doesn't come close to trumping the original. You have some familiarity from the first game such as the returning boats and one returning track, Lake Powell (which takes on a whole new twist from the first game). The game does feature new modes that in a few cases were unnecessary. One new mode is called Ring Master, and in this mode you have to pilot through a course of rings on the track as fast as you could without missing any. As you pass through a ring, your boost is filled, which will help you in the run, but miss one ring, not only is it a time penalty, but it completely drains your boost altogether. Another mode is Gauntlet mode, where in this one, you are a lone boater on the course and you have to make it through the course which is filled nearly to the teeth with explosive oil drums. Touch one drum and you'll explode your ride, making it harder to cross the finish in the set amount of time for the course. Over the course of me playing this game, I'm not a fan of the new modes. They tend to take a lot of fun away from the game and just throw random things at you, barely giving you any kind of reaction time. Also, the circuit races tended to be a lot easier in this game. The first game was really challenging, making you really have to race your hardest to earn first place (and for good reason, too, because every first place is a free game). In Hurricane, though, the AI just seems more dumber than normal. I mean there are races that I've played through that I know I should lave lost, but ended up winning because of the AI making a mistake just before the finish line. That's just cheap to me. I mean, I know the first game wasn't really that much of a cake walk, but making the sequel easier just makes it stupid in my opinion.
Still with it's obvious flaws, I would recommend playing Hydro Thunder: Hurricane. Like I said, it still maintains that Hydro Thunder charm, and manages to deliver a solid follow-up to the famous boat racer. If you have the time and the M$ points, give it a try. And if you still want to give the first one a whirl...well your best bet is to try and track down a copy of Midway Arcade Treasures 3 for PS2, Xbox, and GC, than you are at trying to track down one of the old console games or an old Arcade machine.
