Let’s face it, no matter what the game, it’s always nice to get one over on your friends. The game also supports leaderboards, so as you splash your way through events you can see how your friends are doing and try to beat their times. The single player mode alone could keep you going for a while as you try and struggle to get golds in every single event or (more likely) get a top three finish using an expert level boat. It might not sound like much but there is a lot of content on offer in Hydro Thunder Hurricane. No…really, that is the championship mode in a nutshell.
#Game hydro thunder hurricane pro#
Missing a bunch of rings thanks to a wave you didn’t see coming until the last second is mighty frustrating but, as mentioned earlier, you will be back for more.Ĭalm down, there's enough boost for everyone!įinally, we have championship which basically consists of all three of the previously mentioned events in novice, pro or expert. The water in Hydro Thunder Hurricane moves with a certain amount of unpredictability as standard, it definitely doesn’t want to make things easy for you! When you add some massive waves to that unpredictability it makes manoeuvring through the rings rather challenging. The challenge provided here is not only in trying to get through all the rings but the course itself, even more so than usual. However, if you miss one (or several) then you lose the boost and get seconds added on to your overall time. In this event you have to race through rings and get to the finish line within a certain time. Manoeuvre through successive rings and you earn boost which will help you in your cause. You will curse it but you will keep coming back for more. The third event, ring master, is the most dastardly of all though. Here you have to race to the finish line within a certain time whilst avoiding exploding barrels littered in the water. The jump mechanic is something that comes in very handy during the gauntlet events. You also have the boost (mapped to the A button) and jump (mapped to the X button) mechanics, which might seem quite simplistic at first but it’s all about using them at the right time. Learning the subtleties of a particular boat (how to handle it) or course is usually the key to winning races using the pro and expert boats. Race mode is pretty much self explanatory but there is also a certain amount of hidden depth attached to them. In single player, credits are earned through four different events called race, gauntlet, ring master and championship. The Red Hazard, the beast of Hydro Thunder Hurricane Using the pro and expert boats not only earns you more credits for a top three finish but events become a lot harder too, especially the expert ones. At first this can only be done on the novice level due to the boats at your disposal but once you earn enough credits to unlock the pro and expert boats the game opens up big time. The catch is though, credits are only earned if you finish in the top three. The main “goal” in the game is to earn credits so you can unlock more content. On some courses there is so much going on (planes flying by, explosions or police boats “chasing” you) yet it doesn’t seem to effect the gameplay at all, everything moves along without even a hint of slowdown.Īt first glance Hydro Thunder Hurricane doesn’t seem to offer much in terms of gameplay but once you start playing the game, you realise that is not the case.
Even the courses look great, each one having its own distinct personality thanks to some great visual touches. Apart from that though, everything else has a clean, crisp look to it. You can read the text or see the graphics on them fine in the selection menu but in-game they look rather blurred. The boats themselves are nicely modelled but their textures could of done with some extra work. The in-game visuals are impressive for an XBLA title, the water in particular looks great. For the most part, the game uses bright colours (mostly primary ones) to create a welcoming, arcade feel. The arcade style also crosses over to the visuals, both during actual gameplay and outside it. Other than the aforementioned “announcer”, you also have the “cheesy” music and the easy to navigate menus, something which is almost an unofficial trademark of arcade based titles. This really is an actual course in the game!Ī few seconds after loading up Hydro Thunder Hurricane and hearing the “announcer” shout out the title, you are made aware of the games arcade roots.