Hydro Thunder Hurricane

Overview

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a downloadable high-speed watercraft racing game developed by Vector Unit and is the long awaited sequel to Midway's Hydro Thunder, released over a decade before. After Midway's bankruptcy, the rights to the Hydro Thunder franchise were purchased by Microsoft. Because of this, Hydro Thunder Hurricane was first released exclusively for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 msp ($15) as the second game in Microsoft's Summer of Arcade 2010 promotion. The game was later released in on the Windows store for the Windows 8, 10 and RT platforms. On December 17th 2015 the game was made backwards compatible for the Xbox One platform.

The game supports both local split-screen multiplayer for up to four players as well as an online mode for up to eight players, including a new game mode known as "Rubber Ducky" where two teams crash into each other to make sure their VIP (the player with the rubber ducky boat of their color) crosses the finish line first. The game also has a "credit" system where each event, online and offline, gives you cumulative credits based on your performance that gives you new watercraft, levels, and challenges for different milestones.

Along with the standard 12 achievements worth 200 gamerscore, the game also features two avatar awards that are obtained when you earn 800 credits (where you would get a blue design t-shirt with the logo on it) and when you earn 18,500 credits (where you would get a toy prop of the Razorback). You can also earn two gamerpics: one by winning a race and one by earning 5000 credits.

On October 27th, 2010, a DLC pack was released under the title 'Tempest Pack'. The Tempest Pack added new skins for the boats, three new tracks, two brand new boats, and new versions of old boats that could be competitive online.

Tracks

There are a total of 8 tracks in Hydro Thunder: Hurricane for you to race on. Similar to a lot of other game franchises, player can find Hidden Packages spread across the tracks. The Hidden Packages have the same looks as the Hydro Thunder Hurricane logo. As the name suggests, the packages are often well-hidden and can only be obtained by using special shortcuts, reaching certain speeds and very clever use of the game mechanisms and the environment. A total of 10 Hidden Packages can be found on every track and there are several achievements waiting for those who manage to collect them all.

• Lake Powell
• Storming Asgard
• Monster Island
• Tsunami Bowl
• Lost Babylon
• Paris Sewers
• Seoul Stream
• Area 51

Tempest Pack Tracks

In addition to the eight tracks the game comes with, the Tempest Pack DLC

• Atlantis
• Castle Von Boom
• Bermuda Triangle

Boats

Hydro Thunder Hurricane features 9 different boats divided into three different classes, novice, pro and Expert. Each boat has different stats, some are faster, others are easier to control in the air and so on. It is also possible to customize each boat through unlockable skins, skins are unlocked by completing special requirements with each boat, for instance win a gold medal in a specific event, on a specific track. The nine boats in the game are:

• Vector (Novice)
• Damn The Torpedoes (Novice)
• Miss Behave (Novice)
• Thresher (Pro)
• Tidal Blade (Pro)
• Banshee (Pro)
• Cutthroat (Expert)
• Razorback (Expert)
• Rad Hazard (Expert)
• Rubber Duck (Only available in certain modes)

Tempest Pack Boats

The Tempest Pack came with a slew of new boats; these boats were mostly souped up versions of the Novice and Pro-tier boats to allow them to be competitive on Xbox Live. All of the boats listed are Expert-tier.

• Whiplash
• Psyclone
• Vector X
• Damn the Torpedoes X
• Miss Behave X
• Thresher X
• Tidal Blade X
• Banshee X