"Hydro Thunder Hurricane"

Genre: Racing

Developer: Vector Unit

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Platform: Xbox Live Arcade

Price: $15 (1,200 Microsoft points)

Rating: "E" for Everyone

Grade: C

The boats are back, coursing through neon rings, past exploding barrels and around submarine-size sea-beasties. There are jumps and boosts, booms and bangs and a host of hazards, much as there were a decade ago for the first PlayStation and for Nintendo 64.

And that's the problem with "Hydro Thunder Hurricane," the long-awaited sequel to "Hydro Thunder" from years back, now offered only on Xbox Live Network.

We have come to expect great gains in gaming year to year, even month to month. New titles, it's hoped, guarantee us new challenges and tests of our temperament. The images should be sharper and clearer; the movements of the characters and objects smoother and more fluid. We are led to think that the next time we power up a racing game, the experience will lack only the rush of wind or sting of sea spray in our faces.

"Hydro Thunder Hurricane," however, feels much as its predecessor did back before gaming became blockbuster entertainment. Players steer high-power speedboats around or through death-dealing obstacles over eight different courses, with new boat designs unlocked after each victory. Jumping is a staple skill, better suited for some boats than others, and crashes are common, because without them "racing" is just "driving."

Part of the similarity between past and present in this series has to do with the nature of arcade games, but another seems to be developer Vector Unit's belief that we wanted nothing more than old-fashioned fun. The imagery is remarkably similar to the earlier "Hydro Thunder" — blocky and choppy — which tends to make the courses difficult to discern, and the sensitivity of the controls is acute beyond what's necessary to navigate. Thus, players will bang into scenery quite often and consequently extend the five-minute races well beyond one's patience to finish them.

Team play is somewhat redeeming, with up to four players on one system able to race simultaneously online, but considering the game's shortcomings this just compounds the tedium. And because the game can take so long to load at times, an odd trait even for arcade titles, don't be surprised if opponents drop out even before the races get under way.

In summation, "Hydro Thunder Hurricane" may pluck your heart strings as an homage to the past, but it certainly won't blow you away. On the other hand, how much should we expect from a $15 game?