Of course, the online competition is where the real challenge lies, and Xbox Live is currently well stocked with plenty of players to race and hundreds of times to beat. With each challenge you pass, you'll earn in-game credits toward unlocking more tracks, boats, and events, and the upside is that you can repeat easier challenges to rack up credit if you get stuck. "Championships" are just combinations of the different race types, where placement and timing in each race nets you a set amount of points. "Gauntlet" is essentially the same thing, with the rings replaced by explosive barrels that you must avoid throughout the courses. "Ring Master" challenges are exactly what they sound like - single player races where you'll try to beat a pre-established times while steering though massive rings. Even after you unlock all the boats and tracks, there's a small incentive to earn gold trophies in each event, as well as constant mid-race updates that tell you just how quickly you're climbing the leaderboards.Īside from solo races, the other three types of trophy challenges in Hurricane add some welcome depth to the small number of courses. It's these scene-stealing set-pieces that give Hurricane the constant entertainment factor that keeps the gameplay from getting stale too quickly.
Giant alligators leaping out of the water, tidal waves rising from huge explosions, and tunnels of falling debris are just a few things you'll witness in your races. Moreover, the background scenery in each track has additional flair that finely complements the exotic locales. It's refreshing to see how much detail actually went into the tracks, and it really pays off on courses like "Storming Asgard." Races feel more like theme park rides, and the pre-positioned (often exploding) set pieces add some real personality to every course. When compared side-by-side with the original Hydro Thunder, the progress in HD-gen console graphics from arcade machines is even more pronounced. Even on my (comparatively) small 32-inch HDTV setup, Hurricane looks pretty darn good for a DLC title, whether you're looking at the slipstream effect of your speedboat's engines or the way water splashes and trickles off the screen when you land off a really high jump.
Games like this almost make me jealous of people who outfit their entertainment centres with massive HDTV sets and complementary surround sound speakers, since they're literally bringing the arcade home.
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It very much reminds me of the downtime I'd spend at movie theatres while waiting for the latest blockbuster to get started. Sure, these games weren't deep, but they were equal parts roller coaster and sensory overload. Back then, expensive arcade system boards could produce slick graphics and fast action that could rarely be replicated on home consoles. Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a perfect throwback to the "high production" arcade games of yesteryear: the expensive looking, incredibly noisy machines that cost upwards of a dollar to play.
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