Several new game modes are coming with the new Hydro Thunder game and we’ve just received details on them:

Ring Master
A slalom-style event, Ring Master challenges players to race through a series of rings and compete for best time.  Every track environment in HTH features three unique Ring Master layouts, which ramp up in difficulty from Novice to Pro to Expert.  Novice courses feature larger gates, and are designed to introduce players to the basic mechanics of each level.  Pro and Expert courses feature smaller rings, and the layouts are more challenging  they also introduce players to alternate routes and shortcuts in each level.

Gauntlet
Time trial with an explosive twist:  every course is peppered with exploding barrels.  The barrels are generally placed off the primary racing line, on the outsides of corners and such, to encourage players to use the fastest racing line possible.  However in spots they are also placed in the center of the track, requiring players to dodge between them or hop over them using the Boost Jump mechanic.

Leaderboard Opponents
Single Player Race, Ring Master, and Gauntlet events all support asynchronous racing with your Xbox LIVE Friends through a feature we call Leaderboard Opponents.  When you begin an event, we grab your next-best-Friend’s time and display split times at every checkpoint so you can compare your time to theirs as you’re racing.  If you’re the best of all your friends, we pull times from the global Leaderboards.