Hydro Thunder 2 renamed H2Overdrive as spiritual sequel

23 January 2009

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Posted by:Ferry

A spiritual sequel to Midway’s arcade boat racing game Hydro Thunder (Arcade, Dreamcast, PS1, N64, PC) — made by many of the same people who created Hydro Thunder — Raw Thrills’ & Specular Interactive’s H2Overdrive brings throttle controls and boost power-ups back to arcade cabinets after 10 years. To clarify H2Overdrive, this is not Crave’s H2Overdrive (who’s trademark lapsed) or Midway’s Hydro Thunder 2 (which was cancelled). This brand new boat racing game will be released into arcades in April 2009, with support for up to 8 players.

Creator Steve Ranck describes the game: “A better match would be to think of it as Hydro Thunder HD, along the lines of what Sony did with WipeOut HD. And to keep that comparison going, the game will run at a consistent 60 frames-per-second, which helps a lot in making it look good.”

The 1UP interview adds: H2Overdrive also adds a few gameplay features to the Hydro Thunder formula — most notably, an upgrade system that allows players to take their boats from Level 1 to Level 40, earning new abilities along the way. Each time you race, you earn a certain number of “props” (usually over 100), and for every 100 props received, you move your boat of choice up one level. When you hit Level 2, you get the Superboost upgrade that lets you track down gold power-ups for double the speed of your typical boosts. Later on, you earn the ability to perform stunts in midair (which you control by moving the throttle back and forth quickly) along the lines of something you’d find in a Tony Hawk game.

Watch muscled-up speed boats, ramps, and power-ups on the Hong Kong racetrack of H2Overdrive.

Click on the bottom-right corner arrow to view it fullscreen.