Row, row, row your boat….

Hydro Thunder Hurricane, the spiritual sequel to the 1999 release Hydro Thunder, is a nitro drinking, speed boat racing, arcade styled game that certainly pulls no punches. We have the arcade styled soundtrack, vivid and brightly coloured boats and obnoxious voice over’s that we have all come to love from our arcade days. But will Hydro Thunder Hurricane’s transition to the next gen market, fair as well as After Burner Climax?

Playing Hydro Thunder Hurricane its plain to see its arcade roots, it’s built around the concept of drop in and play, with instant satisfaction. The races are based around eight different environments, each with their own individual hazards and environmental obstructions. Think icebergs and huge axe wielding Vikings, in one such track, so not only do you have to dodge and weave your way around these obstacles, you also have to contend with 15 other competitors. Along with this, you also need to keep an eye out for Nitro boosts, collectables, and shortcuts, making the experience a pretty frantic affair. Well, it should be, but more on that later.

Along with the aforementioned eight tracks, we get four different race types. We have the straight up race, were you jostle with your fellow sailors for first place. Ring Master, is a time trail based event, where you are guided through a series of rings, where missing a ring results in a penalty, so best to stay on an even keel. Gauntlet is similar to Ring Master, but instead of aiming for a target, you avoid exploding barrels that litter the course. And finally we have the Championship mode, which groups a series of races together where the overall winner is determined by a point’s total.

One of things that frustrated me to begin with, was the lack of any sensation of speed. Having played Wipeout HD, which is a comparable racer, I expected a certain level of slickness to the proceedings, which unfortunately only materialised towards the latter part of the game, when higher powered boats were unlocked. The unlocking mechanism is also pretty frustrating, you start off with the basic one boat, one track and one race type and further events, boats and tracks are unlocked by reaching a certain level in points. And while I appreciate structuring the game this way, guides the player to get more from the game, I feel that more should’ve been unlocked from the get go.

But do these drawbacks sink this game, well…. no. It’s an arcade game, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out, with unlocks, learning shortcuts and mastering the turns you’ll have plenty to keep you entertained. Hydro Thunder Hurricane does a great job of managing the difficulty and unlocks so that you can only play the top events, when you’re able to compete at that level. And while this frustrated me, I find this unlock setup will keep a lot of completionists busy for some time.

7/10

Review by Brian Buckley