The Dreamcast version received favorable reviews, while the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation versions received mixed or average reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Its popularity merited its inclusion on the compilation disc Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which was released in 2005 for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Hydro Thunder is similar to Sega’s Daytona USA. It consists of racing high-tech speedboats through treacherous environments, from the cold seas of the Arctic Circle to a post-apocalyptic 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 because they give more boost fuel. When a player has boost fuel, they may use the boost button to boost, which increases the boat’s speed and allows the player 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 otherwise be inaccessible.

The boats in Hydro Thunder are divided into four categories: easy, medium, hard, and bonus. There are three easy, medium, and hard boats and four bonus boats. The easy boats tend to have the easiest handling but do not have the speed of other classes, the hard boats are usually very difficult to control but are very fast, and the medium boats fall in the middle. The bonus boats are a combination of these qualities.

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 simple, the hard tracks are dark and difficult to navigate, and the medium tracks fall in the middle. The bonus tracks have a combination of easy and difficult qualities, the longest track being one of them. 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 add two more, Catacomb and Castle Von Dandy, making four in all.

By placing first, second, or third on the easy tracks, the player unlocks the medium tracks and boats. Hard tracks and boats are unlocked by placing first or second on the medium tracks. Bonus tracks are accessed by placing first on the hard tracks, and the bonus boats are then unlocked by placing first on the bonus tracks.

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydro_Thunder)
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