Downloadable content pack adds more tracks, more boats, more water-soaked goodness

Microsoft Game Studios and developer Vector Unit today announced the “Tempest Pack”, a downloadable expansion pack for the Xbox LIVE^® Summer of Arcade hit Hydro Thunder Hurricane, available for download on Xbox LIVE^® Marketplace for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft in October 2010.

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.