First Look: Thunderboats

There's something about racing on water that just makes it much more appealing than racing on land. Perhaps it's the feeling of floatation, or perhaps it's the realization that at any moment your boat could lose control over unsteady water situations. The water physics just adds to the intensity. Recently, Hydro Thunder on the Dreamcast and for the arcade showed the industry what was really possible with the boat-racing genre. Now it's time for something new to garner our interest, and Perception thinks it can capture just that. Using what the company calls "dynamic changing water chop" its new racer, Thunderboats, will feature some of the best water physics yet.

Developed on the Arcade PC format, Thunderboats is slated to hit arcades sometime next month, coming out later for the Dreamcast and the PC. The game offers three different tracks to navigate: an elephant graveyard featuring a 150ft waterfall, volcanoes, and caverns; an amusement park with a haunted house, pirate ship, and aquarium; and a flooded city with such city themes as Chinatown.

Thunderboats will let you choose from six different boats, and you'll be pitted against 40 AI racers. Also, up to four cabinets can be linked up. We'll deliver hands-on impressions of the game soon, so stay tuned.