![]() ![]() Those of you who prefer real-time competition to leaderboards are well catered to, though, with split-screen races for up to four players who compete against four AI racers, online races for up to eight players (who might be playing on as few as two consoles using split-screen), and a cat-and-mouse-like Rubber Ducky mode. Sadly, there's no multiplayer support for Gauntlet mode or an option to race against the ghosts of other players in any mode-which would've been an especially welcome option in Ring Master. Gauntlet events are time trials made more challenging by exploding barrels that are floating in the water all over each course, while Championships are between two and eight events long and incorporate all of the previously mentioned event types. ![]() Other single-player modes on offer in Hydro Thunder Hurricane include Gauntlet and Championship. Ring Master events are a highlight, especially if you have friends to compete against on the leaderboards. Even the waves in the water are tightly scripted, so if a big one throws you clear over the top of a ring on your first attempt, you know to slow down and ride it on the second. Ring Master time trials are well suited to leaderboard competition because, unlike conventional races where the AI opponents can cause trouble, they play out the same way every time. Ring Master events can be pretty frustrating the first couple of times you play them, but as you learn the layouts, it's incredibly satisfying to complete them, and ultimately, you won't be worrying about whether you hit rings or not but whether you're hitting them on the quickest possible racing line. Failing to pass through a ring instantly depletes your nitrous supply and adds one, two, or three seconds to your time depending on the difficulty level, so expect to use the restart option a good deal as you memorize their positions through trial and error. As you progress to the pro and expert levels, though, the rings get smaller and you're forced to take much less straightforward routes to pass through them-often taking shortcuts that you might not have otherwise found. On the novice difficulty setting, said rings are much larger than your boat and are arranged so that they're relatively easy to pass through without missing any. Orange canisters that almost completely fill your boost meter are less common and, more often than not, require you to deviate from the most obvious racing line to grab them.ĭuring the excellent Ring Master events, you earn nitrous by passing through rings that are arranged on the courses in such a way that you're forced to take very specific routes around them. Blue canisters only replenish a modest amount, but they generally require very little effort to collect. For example, in Race mode events that start you at the back of a pack of 16 boats, canisters of nitrous are found floating in midair all over the place and can be collected simply by driving through them. All of the 10 vessels that you gain access to can accelerate to speeds far in excess of their usual maximums using your finite supply of nitrous, and how you replenish that supply depends on which mode you're playing. Other than keeping an eye on how you're doing in relation to friends, much of your time in Hydro Thunder Hurricane is spent figuring out where your next boost is going to come from. Now Playing: Hydro Thunder Hurricane Video Review The water isn't always believable, but it serves its purpose, and given that course hazards include dinosaurs, UFOs, and even a Norse god, realism isn't something you're likely to be too concerned with while playing.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's On brilliantly designed courses littered with ingenious shortcuts, figuring out how to shave seconds off your best times while navigating occasionally troublesome waves is a lot of fun. Enjoyable multiplayer options support up to four players locally and up to eight online, but this fast-paced boat racer really shines in its single-player events where you're regularly made aware of how your performance compares to that of your closest friend or rival. All you need to know going into Hydro Thunder Hurricane-other than which buttons do what-is that there's a good chance you're going to lose hours of your life trying to leapfrog friends on its leaderboards. Do you remember playing Hydro Thunder on the PlayStation, the Dreamcast, the Nintendo 64 or in arcades? It doesn't matter. ![]()
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