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If you’re one of many in dire need of new boat designs for Hydro Thunder Hurricane, Vector Unit has a treat for you.  While DLC plans are already in …
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While the game definitely divides gamers out there into two groups, one that love it, and the other that despise it, it seems like the former has …
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Please excuse the irony of the title, but at XBLA Fans, we love Monday Night Combat. The only problem is that we have more free time on Wednesday.

We …
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Talk about one strange glitch for sure… this is the latest from the Modern Warfare 2 series, only this time the victim is none other than Japanese developer, SNK Playmore. After all of the bullets …
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Uber Entertainment’s class-based third-person shooter hits XBLA today, and is the fourth game in this year’s Summer of Arcade promotion. The XBLA exclusive retails for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), …
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Double Fine is currently working on four downloadable games, the first of which was revealed as Costume Quest, an adventure/RPG. The studio, who’s most recent …
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Klei Entertainment has released a new trailer showcasing the depth of the combos in the combat for their upcoming game Shank. Where else can you …
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Crystal Dynamics has proudly revealed what DLC really means to them and they are talking about Downloadable Lara Croft! With the finale set for Microsoft’s 2010 Summer of Arcade on XBLA and the release of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light™ on August 18th, this will mark the kick off of the DLC campaign for Crystal Dynamics and what they are calling Downloadable Lara Croft.

The new game marks a lot of first in the Lara Croft series too, one being the first fully downloadable arcade game based on Lara Croft, it also has an all new isometric view that looks incredible for not only a single player but will also include for the very first time a franchise two player offline cooperative experience as well. Oh, did I mention the title is also coming to the Xbox 360 first as well? This only marks the beginning of the Downloadable Lara Croft campaign which is slated to run until the end of 2010.

Next up for the DLC campaign will be a free update for Xbox 360 gamers on September 28th that will include the much anticipated two player online co-op, as well as full leaderboard support and voice chat functionality for the title. This will also mark the release date for Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light on the PlayStation Network and PC (via the Steam network) with full online support.

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It’s been a while since we broke the big news that Czech studio Amanita Design will not be bringing their beautiful adventure game to XBLA. With the high …
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Hydro Thunder Hurricane was developed by Vector Unit and published by Microsoft Game Studios for XBLA on July 28, 2010. It retails for 1200 Microsoft Points.

The original Hydro Thunder was a favorite in local arcades during the late 90s. The rush of boosting a fantastical speedboat through intense waters and hitting massive jumps struck a nerve in me that most other arcade games failed to do. For those with fond memories from the arcade excitement peaked when a new Hydro Thunder was announced for Xbox Live Arcade, developed by Vector Unit.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane, the first true sequel to the original arcade game, manages to reignite old love for the arcade original. When it comes to the basics, Vector Unit nailed the feel of the original, from the crazy courses down to the way the speedboats handle. Every speedboat that from the original is in HTH, and the inspired courses will evoke feelings of familiarity from Hydro Thunder veterans.

Of course, neat graphical touches remind us that the Hydro Thunder series has been improved quite a bit since the arcade days. Things like dynamic wave effects look awesome in high definition on XBLA, as do water droplets that form on the screen after a gnarly jump. Each boat now has a cool transforming animation once its boost is active. Seeing  boats transform from their standard appearance to reveal massive exhaust pipes that spew fire provides a lovely and empowering feeling.

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