Earlier this year I counted down my top seven most-loved video games. Had I done a Top Ten, this game would certainly have been included: Hydro Thunder.
My love affair with Hydro Thunder goes back to 1999. Released in the arcades in mid-1999, Hydro Thunder was something unique: a seemingly basic racing game with all the right twists: a loud-as-hell, bass-driven cabinet and fast-as-hell twitch gameplay that balanced the chaotic with the serene.
During the summer of 1999, at the Wood County Fair, I found two Hydro Thunder arcade cabinets set up in the rear of the arcade tent. I was not a big fan of arcade games at the time, but the bright blue cabinet of Hydro Thunder caught my eye amid a smelly tent filled with fighting games and poorly-aged "games of skill."
I was clumsy as hell my first couple of races, but after sinking about four dollars in quarters into the game, I was finally finding my groove - and my addiction. In one week I put almost $80 in quarters into that game, usually with a friend or two at my side. After the fair I found Hydro Thunder in a few arcades from time to time. Al-Mar Lanes in Bowling Green had one machine, and I included a few races before and after my Friday and Saturday night bowling routines.
Why is Hydro Thunder such a blast to play? Because just like with Wave Race 64, Hydro Thunder strikes a balance between perfect control and complete chaos but never cheats the player. The tracks are littered with shortcuts and other ways to shave seconds off your time. Opponents are finely tuned to provide a decent challenge. The over-the-top physics are tuned just right and never once get in the player's way. As your watercraft glide over the rough waters of each track, they bob, bounce, roll, drift, and rocket through every turn and straightaway with ease. The game is not all flash and speed, however; there is deep strategy in managing boost, angling into turns, and taking-or-leaving some shortcuts. Everything about playing Hydro Thunder just feels right, and that is a quality that few racing games do well.
As Hydro Thunder arcade machines became more and more scarce after the turn of the century, the game faded from my memory, but not before I learned of a port to the Nintendo 64 due out in late 2000. Without hesitation I paid fifty-some dollars for the game and played the hell out of it on my 13-inch TV for weeks on end. But wait! The magic of the arcade was lost. The N64 controller did not compare to the steering wheel and throttle design of the arcade original. Where was the heavy bass that thumped throughout my body every time I hit my boost button?
While watered down on the Nintendo 64, I still enjoyed Hydro Thunder thoroughly. After high school I lost sight of the game and only played it every once in a great while when I found it in an arcade (Cedar Point, anyone?). Some years later - long after my Nintendo 64 had been retired - I played it via an N64 emulator on my PC. I also played it on the Playstation 2 via Midway Arcade Treasure 3. Neither of these compared to the sheer thrill of the arcade original. By now, 2010, Hydro Thunder has been regulated to the status of "relic."
Hydro Thunder, one of my favorite video games, is barely survived today by dying arcade cabinets and a few home-ports that simply don't do the bass-thumping arcade original any real justice.
My love affair with Hydro Thunder goes back to 1999. Released in the arcades in mid-1999, Hydro Thunder was something unique: a seemingly basic racing game with all the right twists: a loud-as-hell, bass-driven cabinet and fast-as-hell twitch gameplay that balanced the chaotic with the serene.
During the summer of 1999, at the Wood County Fair, I found two Hydro Thunder arcade cabinets set up in the rear of the arcade tent. I was not a big fan of arcade games at the time, but the bright blue cabinet of Hydro Thunder caught my eye amid a smelly tent filled with fighting games and poorly-aged "games of skill."
I was clumsy as hell my first couple of races, but after sinking about four dollars in quarters into the game, I was finally finding my groove - and my addiction. In one week I put almost $80 in quarters into that game, usually with a friend or two at my side. After the fair I found Hydro Thunder in a few arcades from time to time. Al-Mar Lanes in Bowling Green had one machine, and I included a few races before and after my Friday and Saturday night bowling routines.
Why is Hydro Thunder such a blast to play? Because just like with Wave Race 64, Hydro Thunder strikes a balance between perfect control and complete chaos but never cheats the player. The tracks are littered with shortcuts and other ways to shave seconds off your time. Opponents are finely tuned to provide a decent challenge. The over-the-top physics are tuned just right and never once get in the player's way. As your watercraft glide over the rough waters of each track, they bob, bounce, roll, drift, and rocket through every turn and straightaway with ease. The game is not all flash and speed, however; there is deep strategy in managing boost, angling into turns, and taking-or-leaving some shortcuts. Everything about playing Hydro Thunder just feels right, and that is a quality that few racing games do well.
As Hydro Thunder arcade machines became more and more scarce after the turn of the century, the game faded from my memory, but not before I learned of a port to the Nintendo 64 due out in late 2000. Without hesitation I paid fifty-some dollars for the game and played the hell out of it on my 13-inch TV for weeks on end. But wait! The magic of the arcade was lost. The N64 controller did not compare to the steering wheel and throttle design of the arcade original. Where was the heavy bass that thumped throughout my body every time I hit my boost button?
While watered down on the Nintendo 64, I still enjoyed Hydro Thunder thoroughly. After high school I lost sight of the game and only played it every once in a great while when I found it in an arcade (Cedar Point, anyone?). Some years later - long after my Nintendo 64 had been retired - I played it via an N64 emulator on my PC. I also played it on the Playstation 2 via Midway Arcade Treasure 3. Neither of these compared to the sheer thrill of the arcade original. By now, 2010, Hydro Thunder has been regulated to the status of "relic."
Hydro Thunder, one of my favorite video games, is barely survived today by dying arcade cabinets and a few home-ports that simply don't do the bass-thumping arcade original any real justice.
Today I have found the Europe-only release of Hydro Thunder on the PC. The original Hydro Thunder arcade game ran on a Pentium II-based PC with a Voodoo 2 GPU, which means that every computer I own today can tear through this awesome game. With a solid controller in hand and arcade-perfect gameplay, I now make Hydro Thunder a part of my weekly gaming routine.
The original experience may be dead, but the thrill lives on as best as I can keep it alive.
B3 out.
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