and the medium tracks fall in the middle. The bonus tracks have a combination of easy and difficult qualities, the longest track being one of them. The arcade version of the game had only two bonus tracks, New York Disaster and Nile Adventure. Hydro Speedway was present as a hidden track. The console versions add two more, Catacomb and Castle Von Dandy, making four in all. By placing first, second, or third on the easy tracks, the player unlocks the medium tracks and boats. Hard tracks and boats are unlocked by placing first or second on the medium tracks. Bonus tracks are accessed by placing first on the hard tracks, and the bonus boats are then unlocked by placing first on the bonus tracks. Development and release The arcade version of Hydro Thunder utilizes the same basic cabinet as Midway's earlier Hyperdrive, and was also sold as a conversion kit for that game. It has the same cabinet seat as Atari's San Francisco Rush. It also has the same steering wheel on the control panel as Cruis'n USA, minus the standard foot pedals, and adds a variable position throttle with forward, neutral and reverse directions. The game also has an unusual volume adjustment, where the regular play volume is usually set lower than the feedback volume for the subwoofer in the seat. This is intended to place the player "in the game" and make the player feel like an actual pilot of a powerful, high-tech speedboat. In addition to the arcade, Hydro Thunder has been ported over to several home consoles. The PlayStation version of the game includes a career mode not found in the other versions. The Dreamcast version of the game has graphics that are more detailed and closer to the arcade version than the other console versions. The Nintendo 64 version allows up to 4-player local multiplayer (instead of just 2-player) when the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak is present. A standalone Windows version was released exclusively through budget re-releases in Europe. The Dreamcast port became one of the few Sega All Stars titles. Midway Games had plans to create a double pack for Hydro Thunder and San Francisco Rush 2049 under the name Hydro Rush for the PlayStation 2, but the game was cancelled and the project moved to Midway Arcade Treasures 3 (a compilation of Midway's many racing games) for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, and