Arctic Thunder
The sequel to Hydro Thunder, Arctic Thunder was meant to thrill snowmobiling fans with a combination of chaotic, over-the-top racing and lots of things blowing up. Midway succeeded with the blowing up part, but Arctic Thunder doesn?t do so well in other areas.
The visuals fall way short of what we?ve come to expect from even average PlayStation 2 titles, which makes the choppy frame rate all the more baffling. The generic tunes and sound effects get very repetitive, but somehow they aren?t irritating, so that?s sort of a bonus. The controls handle well and there are many ways to customize the sleds, but tweaking the top speeds seems to be the only thing that has any impact on races. All the courses have many alternate paths, but they?re designed so haphazardly that you can finish in the top five by just pressing the gas and not steering. At the finish line, Arctic Thunder is moderately enjoyable with good replay value, but its many flaws really hinder what could have been a great romp in the snow.
