Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Developer: Vector Unit
Publisher: Microsoft Games Studios
Available For: Xbox Live Arcade
The second of Microsofts Summer of Arcade titles sees an old classic reincarnated. Hydro Thunder was originally an arcade game but soon found itself on the Dreamcast, PSOne and Nintendo 64. Ten years later the series returns with an updated engine, high definition graphics and some very cool water physics.
Visually the game looks very nice, colours are bright and bold and graphics are probably what you would expect from a decent Arcade title without being jaw dropping. The water effects though do look very well. From the wake the boats produce to crashing waves and under water explosions, the water does look and work very well when racing.
The game itself is essentially the same as its predecessor, you are required to race around a water course against opponents whilst trying to pick up as many boosts to give you as much speed as possible. Boosts are strewn around the course for everyone to collect and as the name might suggest, they give a much needed, but brief, boost to your boats speed. A new way however of gaining ground on those in front of you is by trailing them in their wake. Similar to a cars slipstream, a boats wake allows you to move through the water more easily and gain ground quickly.
As well as the standard races there are another couple of modes in the single player mode. Gauntlet pits you and your machine against the clock and a course littered with exploding barrells. Hit a barrell and you will find yourself thrown into the air costing you precious time. This is where choosing the right boat comes in very useful as you have to decide something with more top speed or something with a little more maneuverability.
Ring Master is the other single player mode and will find you hurtling through hoops around the course. The more hoops in a row you get, the more boost you get rewarded. But miss a hoop and a second is added to your time. Leaderboards for both Ring Master and Gauntlet can be viewed at the menu. This way you can check your score against your friends or everyone on Xbox Live.
Going online gives you once again the standard race against a maximum of 8 other Xbox Live gamers but there is also one team mode called Rubber Ducky. The object here is to get your own teams giant Rubber Ducky to the other side before your opponents do. There is also a local multiplayer option allowing up to four players to play splitscreen.
As you go through your single player or online modes you will earn credits and these will allow you to unlock new courses and modes as well as avatar awards and achievements.
When it comes down to it Hydro Thunder Hurricane is fun and exciting racing game to play against friends and other gamers. Like a lot of racing games the single player can become quite tedious but its online where the fun is and playing against a group of friends would be a real blast. If you like your racing games then this is one that would be well worth picking up.
It’s time to announce the May Games with Gold lineup! On the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, flip and bump your way thru Yoku’s Island Express, and solve mind-bending puzzles in The Inner World – The Last Wind Monk. And for our classic lineup via Backward Compatibility, race across waves in Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and have loads of fun in Viva Piñata Party Animals.
The first VP was pretty fun, never played party animals. Hydro thunder is one of my favorites on the DC and this update was on GwG before but still a fun game for anyone who missed it. Never heard of the other two.
Queue the onslaught of "why do they even bother" comments. While i don't totally disagree that Gold games have been awful, every once in a while one pops on their that I try and end up liking. I mean if you have to pay, why complain about games they give you.
I don’t know why they bother, but on the flip side PS+ is following the same path now that they have Spartacus.
Yeah fifa 22 is just the same as 10/12 year old Xbox 360 games 🙄🤦🏻♂️ 🤣 do people even think about what they are saying let alone actually typing out and pressing add 🥴🤣
@RoweeSon
You’re absolutely right! I don’t know what came over me. I’ll be sure to think before I speak from now on. I appreciate your help with showing me how wrong I am.
@rosweeson
I mean honestly speaking fifa 22 is basically the same as a 10/12 year old 360 game since fifa is basically the same every year.
I think Microsoft is trying to make PsPlus look good with these horrible GWG line up.
They're just trying to get people to move over to GPU for better options. Otherwise, whoever is subscribed just doesn't care about the games and just online stuff.
Basically.
I've said this latest month but GWG is strictly for the casuals who have gold only. Just like you said if you want better options then get Gamepass. GWG is no longer for the hardcore audience anymore.
The ONLY thing bad about gamepass is how Microsoft completely started taking dumps on games with gold ever since. In my opinion (OPINION) PlayStation plus gave better offerings most of the time but there were times where games with gold would win a few FOR ME. Now it’s a landslide. They should put the same effort into games with gold as they do gamespass. Just take the games off, reduce the price, and call it Xbox Live again.
Microsoft has announced that several games are leaving Xbox Game Pass for PC and console.
Richard writes - "The Games with Gold scheme continues on into September and the first game available from the 360 side is Hydro Thunder Hurricane. And best of all, it’s playable for both Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners via Backwards Compatibility!"
