When Midway went bankrupt last year, Warner Bros. paid $49 million for most of the Mortal Kombat publisher's assets. Not included in the deal were some of its studio locations, the TNA wrestling license, and apparently the Hydro Thunder speedboat racing franchise.

　　The boats in Hydro Thunder Hurricane sure do log a lot of flight time. Independent studio Vector Unit today announced that it was developing Hydro Thunder Hurricane for Xbox Live Arcade, a sequel to the original 1999 arcade hit. The original Hydro Thunder quickly found its way into gamers' homes, as Midway had a Dreamcast port ready for that system's September 1999 launch and produced Nintendo 64 and original PlayStation editions the following year.

　　Billed as a full-fledged sequel to the arcade original, Hydro Thunder Hurricane will feature new levels, speedboats, water physics, and cooperative as well as competitive multiplayer modes. The developers are including online races for up to eight players, with split-screen support for four gamers. The game's races will be set across eight "theme park" worlds with some over-the-top trackside obstacles, including distractions like a giant warhammer-wielding Viking and a sea serpent threatening to sink players' chances of finishing first.

　　For more on the series, check out GameSpot's review of the original Hydro Thunder for the Dreamcast.