The easy boats tend to be easy to control but they do not have the speed of other classes. The boats in Hydro Thunder are divided into four categories: easy, medium, hard, and bonus.

When combined with the many ramps on the tracks, players can reach short cuts and boost icons that would normally not be accessible otherwise. Another aspect of boosting is the Hydro Jump which is performed by braking and using the boost button.

Also by boosting a player can knock other boats into the air, a feature described by the game as the Mighty Hull. When a player has boost fuel they may use the boost button to boost, which allows a player's boat to reach speeds much higher than what would normally be possible. Red boost icons are more scarce than blue boost icons due to the fact red boost icons give more boost fuel. When touched these icons allow the player who touched them to boost. Scattered across the tracks are blue and red boost icons. The gameplay of Hydro Thunder consists of racing high-tech speedboats through treacherous environments, from the cold seas of the Arctic Circle, to a post-apocalyptic, flooded version of New York City.

Hydro thunder iso