The game loads in about 15-18 seconds, but because the sound kicks in after three, the goofy check off list of items (eight-track tape, satellite stuff, etc.) makes the wait so much quicker. In fact, Blue Shift emulated the arcade version beautifully on the load screens. All of the great big voices, crashes and sound effects from the arcade are here. Sound Hooking your PlayStation up to a stereo and popping in Hydro Thunder is truly an experience in big sound. Also, while the clipping, and rough polygonal look oftentimes hurt your eyes, the frame rate ranges from decent to good, and isn't significantly worse than the N64's. In several locations, the clean, smooth water effects, bolstered by clear reflections are unusually attractive. Still, given the difficulty in transitioning the data from arcade to home, several aspects of the game are above average, and in fact, pretty. The choppy graphic look, more-than-occasional clipping problems, and cluttery, muddy visuals may have been difficult to achieve from an arcade-to-PS translation, but how much longer will it take for developers to get it down? We've seen the likes of Tony Hawk, Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Driver, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Metal Gear Solid, and R4, and we know how superb games can look on this five-year old system, and Hydro Thunder is not in the running. Essentially, they're just short of a stinky pile of merde. Graphics Well, all is good until you get to the visuals. If not, then the game has a solid amount of replay value just based on the fleet of boats and courses that are unlockable. If that toasts your bread, than the game earns extra replay value. You see a floating power bonus and somehow your are supposed to get it.
![hydro thunder midway hydro thunder midway](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/hydro-thunder/images/3/31/Midway-0.jpg)
Ninety percent of them were easy to medium in difficulty, but some simply required major amounts of time, and a bit of tricky playing to grab. I don't know about you, but several of the Power Boosts in the coin-op version were ridiculously hard to attain. The boats are easier to handle, with no trace of that stiff feeling that defined Turbo Prop Racing, and the course designs more wild and animated. Midway has done a brilliant job of mastering instant arcade gameplay with this one, and anyone from a young eight-year-old to 60-year-old woman can get to grips with this almost instantly. Hydro Thunder is a much easier game to get into. Also, the courses still retain the clever shortcuts, monstrous leaps, and sharp turns, so players won't get bored from level to level.Ĭompared to say, Turbo Prop Racing, Hydro Thunder is better in several ways. Every one has different acceleration, handling, and other characteristics that make it unique.
![hydro thunder midway hydro thunder midway](https://images.proxibid.com/AuctionImages/794/210096/FullSize/4-1.jpg)
Remarkably, the boats retain their feel from the original. Nothing beats Wave Race 64, but this port replicates the arcade version pretty damn well. The bumpy, jumpy wave physics, which were fun in the arcade, are all still there, and are remarkably similar. Players also can play two-player, split-screen mode, which is a little worse for the ware (the transition from 3Dfx-boosted graphics to 32-bit PS graphics), but the horizontal split, and resulting polygonal push aren't much worse than the standard one-player graphics.
#HYDRO THUNDER MIDWAY FREE#
With Time Trial, players are free to work the shortcuts and earn the best time possible for boasting status. Arcade mode is free play, and speaks for itself. Wins are worth coinage, and good placement (1, 2, 3 place) opens up new courses. you), enabling you to earn coinage from placing high in one race to enter into the next. The Circuit Mode reproduces a career of a Hydro Thunder racer (i.e.
#HYDRO THUNDER MIDWAY TRIAL#
This version includes Circuit Mode and Time Trial Mode features. All of the courses from the arcade game are here, and so are all of the shortcuts as well. Like the arcade game in single-player mode, you're presented with three easy courses, and if you perform well, new courses - and new vehicles - are unlocked. Race your heart out, bash into opponents, pick up Powers Boosts and find the shortcuts to increase your best times.
![hydro thunder midway hydro thunder midway](https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2018/11/27/1/0/6/1060621f-cda1-4b78-811a-9166a6dccc07.jpg)
Gameplay The basis to Hydro Thunder is simple. The ports home usually work, with the PlayStation versions looking the least like their coin-op cousins. In the arcade, the formula works just about every time. Make a really fun, easy to get into arcade style game, and pack it with great graphics, sound, and bonuses. Midway's approach to games makes its ports highly attractive. After several mixed attempts at water racing games (Turbo Prop Racing, VR Power Boat Racing, Dead in the Water) from various publishers, Midway has inched above the fray with Hydro Thunder.