Hydro Thunder
| Hydro Thunder | |
|---|---|
 Arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Midway San Diego Eurocom Entertainment Software / Blue Shift (Home Consoles) |
| Publisher(s) | Midway Games |
| Series | Thunder Series |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Gamecube |
| Release date(s) | Arcade 1999 Dreamcast September 9, 1999 Nintendo 64 February 29, 2000 PlayStation February 29, 2000 Windows April 6, 2001 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Gamecube 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Cabinet | sit-down |
| Arcade system | Midway Quicksilver II [1] |
| CPU | Intel Celeron |
| Sound | Amplified stereo and subwoofer |
| Display | Horizontally oriented, medium resolution raster, color CRT |
Hydro Thunder is a speedboat racing sub-series game, originally an arcade game and later released for the Sega Dreamcast as a launch title in 1999. It was also released for PlayStation and Nintendo 64 in early 2000. This game is part of Midway's 'Thunder' series of racing games, which includes Offroad Thunder, 4 Wheel Thunder, and Arctic Thunder. Hydro Thunder Hurricane, a sequel to Hydro Thunder, was later released for the Xbox 360 on July 27, 2010 on Xbox Live Arcade.[2]
Gameplay
The gameplay of Hydro Thunder consists of racing high-tech speedboats through treacherous environments, from the cold seas of the Arctic Circle, to a post-apocalyptic, flooded version of New York City.
Scattered across the tracks are blue and red boost icons. When touched these icons allow the player who touched them to boost. Red boost icons are more scarce than blue boost icons due to the fact red boost icons give more boost fuel. When a player has boost fuel they may use the boost button to boost, which allows a player's boat to reach speeds much higher than what would normally be possible. Also by boosting a player can knock other boats into the air, a feature described by the game as the Mighty Hull. Another aspect of boosting is the Hydro Jump which is performed by braking and using the boost button. When combined with the many ramps on the tracks, players can reach short cuts and boost icons that would normally not be accessible otherwise.
The boats in Hydro Thunder are divided into 4 categories: easy, medium, hard and bonus. The easy boats tend to be easy to control but they do not have the speed of other classes. Medium boats are in the middle, and Hard boats are usually very difficult to control but are very fast. Bonus boats are accessible by entering a combination to access the boat. The tracks in Hydro Thunder like the boats are divided into four classes: easy, medium, hard and bonus. The easy tracks are usually short and easy with the bonus tracks being the longest and hardest. The arcade version of the game had only two bonus tracks, New York Disaster and Nile Adventure. Hydro Speedway was present as a hidden track. The console versions added two more, Catacomb and Castle Von Dandy, making four in all.
Development and release
The arcade version of Hydro Thunder utilizes the same cabinet seat as San Francisco Rush and the later Offroad Thunder, and also has the same steering wheel on the control panel as Cruis'n USA minus the standard foot pedals and adding a variable position throttle with forward, neutral and reverse directions. The game also has an unusual volume adjustment, where the regular play volume is usually set lower than the feedback volume for the subwoofer in the seat. This places the player "in the game" and makes the person feel like he or she is actually piloting a powerful, high-tech speedboat.
Besides the arcade, Hydro Thunder has been ported over to several home consoles. The PlayStation version of the game included a career mode not found in the other versions. The Dreamcast version of the game had graphics that were more detailed and closer to the arcade version than the other console versions. The Nintendo 64 version allowed up to 4-player local multiplayer (instead of just 2-player) when the N64 Expansion Pack is present. The Dreamcast version of the game was included in Midway Arcade Treasures 3, a compilation of Midway's many racing games. A PC version was also released in Europe. The Dreamcast port became one of the few Sega All Stars titles. Midway Games had plans to create a double pack for Hydro Thunder and San Francisco Rush 2049 under the name Hydro Rush for the PlayStation 2. But the game was canceled and the project moved to Midway Arcade Treasures 3[3] for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Sequel
Midway had plans to create a sequel for Hydro Thunder; however, the project was soon scrapped and never recreated.[4] In January 2009, Raw Thrills announced a spiritual successor tentatively titled H2Overdrive, developed with the assistance of the former Midway San Diego members who worked on the original arcade version of Hydro Thunder.[5] On March 26, 2010, a sequel titled Hydro Thunder Hurricane was announced for Xbox Live Arcade.[6] Microsoft had bought the rights to the series after Midway was acquired by Warner Bros. It was released on July 28, 2010.
Reception
IGN scored the Dreamcast version of Hydro Thunder, 8.7 out of 10.[7]
References
- ↑ "Midway Quicksilver II Hardware (Midway)". System 16. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
- ↑ Parkin, Simon (2010-07-26). "Hydro Thunder Hurricane Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
- ↑ IGN: Hydro Rush
- ↑ 1UP.com Hydro Thunder Overview
- ↑ New boat racing game by Raw Thrills’ and the Hydro Thunder team to be at ATEI
- ↑ McWhertor, Michael (2010-03-26). "Hydro Thunder Returns With All-New Xbox Live Arcade Sequel". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ↑ "Hydro Thunder". IGN. 1999-09-07. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
External links
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