Hydro Thunder Hurricane includes 8 brand new "theme park" environments, each set in a different location around the globe.  Each world is packed with animated surprises, destructible objects, and special events that players trigger in-game. New game modes include Ring Master, a series of slalom-style challenges with progressive difficulties;Gauntlet, an explosive new take on time trial; and a series of multi-event Championships. Fan favorite speedboats from the original Hydro Thunder also make a return like Razorback, Cutthroat, and the flying saucer shaped Rad Hazard with beautifully redesigned models, multiple unlockable skins, and articulated boost animations with massive rockets folding out from hidden compartments.  Each boat features unique handling characteristics.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane introduces support for 8-player online racing on Xbox LIVE..  The game also allows for local split screen multiplayer with up to 4 players -- or any combination of local and online play.   In addition to races, players can team up in the new Rubber Ducky game mode.

The Tempest Pack will include three brand new racing environments, two new Expert-class rocket-powered speedboats, a slew of new boat skins for existing boats, as well as new Championship, Ring Master and Gauntlet events.

New tracks include the volcanic ruins of Atlantis, the hurricane-whipped waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and a medieval obstacle course packed with exploding barrels and interactive cannons known as Castle Von Boom.

“The new environments are all about ratcheting up the level of insanity,” says Creative Director Matt Small. “The weather is stormier, the waves are bigger, and the levels are packed with more interactive obstacles and more potential for chaos and destruction. That’s what puts the tempest in Tempest Pack.”

The DLC also adds two new Expert level boats to the pantheon of Hydro Thunder favorites. Whiplash is a futuristic cross between a v-hulled speedboat and a Formula 1 race car, while Psyclone is a souped-up flat-bottomed fan-boat. “You can tell from looking at the Leaderboards that Rad Hazard was the boat to beat in Hydro Thunder Hurricane. Whiplash and Psyclone give Rad Hazard a run for its money.”

But the new vehicles don’t stop there. As an added bonus, developer Vector Unit is including supercharged versions of the six Novice and Pro boats available in the base game, bringing the total number of playable Expert class boats to 11.

“To be competitive on the Leaderboards and in online races you need to be driving an Expert boat,” explains Ralf Knoesel, Vector Unit’s Technical Director. “The ships you unlock early in Hurricane are designed to be accessible to new players, so they’re easier to handle and a little slower. But we know a lot of fans have favorites in the Novice and Pro classes like Damn the Torpedoes and Tidal Blade. With the Tempest Pack you can drive any boat you want at the highest levels of competition.”

All new and existing boats get new unlockable skins, including paint schemes for Banshee and Rad Hazard designed by the winners of the Design-A-Skin Video Contest hosted by Vector Unit in August.

The Tempest Pack also adds three Gamerscore-boosting Achievements, Ring Master and Gauntlet courses for all new levels, and three new Championships. Exact release date and pricing will be announced at a later date.

Game modes:

• Ring Master
  A slalom-style event, Ring Master challenges players to race through a series of rings and compete for best time. Every track environment in HTH features three unique Ring Master layouts, which ramp up in difficulty from Novice to Pro to Expert. Novice courses feature larger gates, and are designed to introduce players to the basic mechanics of each level. Pro and Expert courses feature smaller rings, and the layouts are more challenging – they also introduce players to alternate routes and shortcuts in each level.
• Gauntlet
  Time trial with an explosive twist: every course is peppered with exploding barrels. The barrels are generally placed off the primary racing line, on the outsides of corners and such, to encourage players to use the fastest racing line possible. However in spots they are also placed in the center of the track, requiring players to dodge between them or hop over them using the Boost Jump mechanic.
• Leaderboard Opponents
  Single Player Race, Ring Master, and Gauntlet events all support asynchronous racing with your Xbox LIVE Friends through a feature we call “Leaderboard Opponents”. When you begin an event, we grab your next-best-Friend’s time and display split times at every checkpoint so you can compare your time to theirs as you’re racing. If you’re the best of all your friends, we pull times from the global Leaderboards.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is currently available for 1200 Microsoft Points, while the Tempest Pack will be downloadable in October 2010.