Review: Hydro Thunder Hurricane (XBLA)

There’s something special about the way an arcade game makes you feel. Whether it’s the flashy cabinet with detailed side art and glowing marquee, or the unique controls with subwoofer and speakers pointed directly at your head; there’s a certain mystique that surrounds arcade titles that is undeniable. Translating that experience into a home port of the same games we love is a difficult transition but it seems Vector Unit has taken that as their mission statement and ran with it.

Game: Hydro Thunder Hurricane (XBLA)
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Vector Unit
Genre: Arcade Racer
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points
Verdict: Wildly entertaining arcade racer revived.
Pros: Fast paced action, lots of unlockables, multiplayer is a blast.
Cons: Some visual slowdown when things get flashy
Acquired via Publisher

Enter Hydro Thunder Hurricane, a once thought lost, similarly named IP from the dismantled Midway Games has been resurrected and improved upon in many ways for the Xbox Live Arcade “Summer of Arcade” promotion. The first entry into this series was Limbo, which we enjoyed and reviewed last week, this week’s entry seems to kick the enjoyment of this promotion up a few notches.

At first glance, Hydro Thunder Hurricane seems to be standard fare with racing and a couple other play styles thrown in for diversity, but once you get under the hood of this gem, you find an addictive, alluring and amusing title awaiting. From the Single Player menu, you’re faced with four options to unleash your boost laden fury upon. Race mode is exactly as you’d expect where you’re pit against 15 other boats in the same class competing for first place. Tracks and boats unlock sequentially as you progress through the game and earn credits for the top three podium spots. Each boat has had copious amounts of detail thrown at them in terms of overall speed, handling and air control when you’re on the boost. Each boat feels radically different from the last and has their own benefits and drawbacks to their use. Piloting the vaulted Rad Hazard, the final unlocked boat, may seem like a wise choice given that it has its stats maxed in speed and acceleration, but with only one point in handling, it’s a handful to control when you’re going all out. To the same effect, other boats with not such a high stat in speed but maxed out handling often prove to be just as lethal in the races. You’ll need to choose wisely as you progress through the tracks as each track presents extremely different obstacles and shortcuts for you to sail through at blistering speeds. Ring Master Mode is another Single Player feature that pits you against static rings throughout the course. These rings give you boost to help you beat the latest time to the finish line. While this may seem mundane at first, you quickly discover that this mode begins to show you all the hidden shortcuts and treasures that the tracks have to offer, which help you win races once you advance to Pro and Expert levels. Next up is Gauntlet Mode which again puts you up against the clock, only this time you have to make your way to the finish line while avoiding exploding barrels that will completely decimate your boat with the slightest touch. Finally there’s Championship mode which, depending on your level of expertise, combines all three of the previous modes into multiple races in which you earn points at the end of each. The racer with the most combined points wins the Championship and the loot. Loot is important because if you plan on sticking with the single player mode, you’ll have to bounce between these modes quite often to fully unlock every possible boat and track available.

The place where this game truly shines is in Multiplayer. Searching for players online is painless and you’re given the choices of a full out race between all human players or a unique game called Rubber Ducky. In Rubber Ducky, two teams are split up and one member of each team is given a rubber ducky as their boat. The team who gets their rubber ducky to the finish line first, wins. Of course, that would be easy if it weren’t for the other team trying to take out your rubber ducky. The game also supports local multiplayer with up to 4 people on split screen. This style of play harkens back to the days of old when the only form of multiplayer was on your couch with your friends and is a welcomed edition to the usual online experience filled with pre-pubescent teenagers spouting homophobic expletives about your parents.

Graphically the game performs quite well given it’s sub-500Mb download size. The water physics react as you’d expect them to be, even if the biggest wave obstacles are scripted depending on where you are on the track. The environments are lush and colorful and whiz by with relative ease. There were a few areas of slowdown when multiple boats are on the screen at the same time, but it was hardly detracting from the gameplay itself. Each boat has their own unique and appealing look about them and you can unlock other skins to set yourself apart from the pack.

The sounds in the game are quite fitting and are truly what give off that arcade vibe. From the moment the game loads and you hear the announcer voice outfitted with the over the top echo box, you know you’re playing an arcade title. Choosing your track and boat will usually generate a response from the announcer in the form of “you’re crazy” when choosing Expert level boats. In game, you’re also treated to funny and fitting commentary from your co-pilot who will utter random catch phrases such as “I can see my house from here” when careening off a large jump or “why don’t we go back, I think there were a few walls we didn’t hit” when you perform badly. The boat sounds themselves are convincing and well served for the type of boat you’re piloting. Hop into a jet powered boat and it’ll sound like a jet engine, take charge of a triple outboard motored monster and you’ll be convinced you’re hearing those three motors spin in time.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a revival of good, wholesome arcade racing fun. It packs so much bang for the buck that it is difficult not to recommend this title in your library. For 1200 spacebucks, you get multiple unlockables in the form of boats, tracks and play modes and an insanely fun game to boot. With the revival of a once thought dead IP like Hydro Thunder, games like this make me hope that Vector Unit gets the green light to revive other arcade classics like Arctic Thunder and make them even remotely as enjoyable as this title.