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When the Dreamcast launched a few months back, everyone was foaming at the prospect of Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, Ready 2 Rumble and TrickStyle. And rightly so, too. Nothing really piqued the collective interest for the next couple of weeks, and Midway's excellent Hydro Thunder slipped onto the shelf largely unnoticed. Well, notice it now because it's the only decent racing game currently available for Dreamcast. It's classic arcade fare, with no less than 13 tracks and nine different boats. The tracks are vast and beautifully realised - New York Disaster is our favourite, with its flooded streets and submerged yellow cabs. All the boats handle beautifully, ensuring that you'll pick it up in no time. Now for the downside. Our biggest gripe is with the interface - it's ugly and clumsy enough to deter lazy gamers within minutes. Stick with it, though, as you'll be suitably rewarded. Think of it as a lovely lady, say Drew Barrymore, covered in dog poo.
Mortal Kombat has always been the poor man's Street Fighter. Its less-than-intuitive control system and shabby animation have always been covered up by copious amounts of blood and gore, or gratuitous 'death moves'. Okay, even we were slightly impressed the first time we saw someone's head being pulled off, the dangling spine giving the impression of a giant human-headed tadpole. However, the novelty wore off within minutes, so the transition to 128bit didn't exactly have us sweaty palmed. It's the best-looking MK yet, with lovely backgrounds and well-drawn characters, although Soul Calibur tears strips off of it on both counts. In fact, Mortal Kombat Gold has a distinctly 32bit feel all-round. With Soul Calibur and Power Stone already on the shelves, we can only really recommend this to die-hard MK fans, or spotty 14-year-olds who wear black and listen to Bad Religion and Nine Inch Nails.
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