River Raid

"Before there was 1942, there was River Raid"

Before there was 1942 there was River Raid

Pros:
easy to learn; fun to play; good re-play value; nice visuals.

Cons:
Not quite as challenging as it should be; controls are a little stiff.

The Bottom Line:
It might be a fairly ordinary game in the Atari 2600 library but it was actually something of a trailblazer. If nothing else, it's just plain fun to play!


Vertical scrolling shooters were a very popular genre during the first few generations of video games, but where did they originate? Many say it was “River Raid” for the Atari 2600. It certainly was novel for the platform and a fun action game for its time, although I don't think it's quite as classic as many other old school gamers. It is a good one, though.

PRESS FIRE TO START

There isn't much of a backstory to “River Raid.” Basically, you play as a jet flying over a river and you must blast everything in site including boats, helicopters, jets and bridges. You also have an ever-dwindling fuel tank which you can refuel by flying over marked tanks (or blasting them for extra points if you don't need them).

Since this is a fairly early action game, it's not surprising it's in the traditional Sisyphus format. The game uses the term “River of No Return” to describe the terrain, but really it's the “Never-Ending River.”

PLAYER 1 – READY!

As an action game, “River Raid” definitely delivers. There isn't much strategy other than to blast everything in sight while staying within the boundaries of the river and not crashing into enemies. You can control your speed by pushing up or pulling back on the controller, although I find there's really little reason to speed up or slow down. Speeding up costs you steering control and slowing down makes you an easier target for the enemies.

Initially, the game is quite challenging since it's all about dexterity. Even though the course is constantly repeating it seems to have slight changes here and there. The difficulty factor certainly increases since enemies that stood still at first start to move around.

The problem is, after a few rounds the game becomes rather predictable and easy. The enemies never shoot back at you, so basically they're just obstacles to avoid or targets to blast.

JOYSTICKING

Most critics of vintage video games praise the play control of “River Raid” for being very responsive and say it's what makes the game so much fun to play. I have to disagree, although just slightly. Overall, the controls are very fluid, but I found them to be just a bit too constrictive. Your plane moves much too slow in any direction, even when you speed up.

Also, you cannot move way up or down on the screen as you could with later vertical scrollers. I'll give the game the benefit of the doubt since it was the first of its kind, but I think had it had this feature it would have made it much more fun and challenging.

Thankfully, “River Raid” has the option of just holding down the button for automatic and constant firing. This is a nice feature as it clearly saves your hand from cramping up, unlike so many other button-mashers made for the Atari 2600.

SPRITES & PIXELS

The first generation of Activision games for the Atari VCS were known for their bright, vivid colors and “River Raid” is no exception. Its use of blue and green for the main color scheme is very pleasing on the eyes. All the images are also very iconic in sort of a cartoony way. They're not blocky or silly-looking.

CHIPPED TUNES

The sound palette to this game is very standard for an Activision release. It doesn't utilize the generic, grating Atari sounds of the time. Not that the sonic quality to “River Raid” is music to your ears, but at least it's tolerable. The gunshots and explosions are seemingly different than so many other games of the time, and that's commendable.

INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE

Action games need to be fun to play over and over to be truly good and “River Raid” definitely delivers in this aspect. It's even a bit addictive because you'll constantly want to break your own record and see how far you can advance. Its challenging and its play control certainly make it a fun game to come back to time and time again.

GAME OVER

There have been better vertical scrolling shoot-em-ups made over the years, but nearly all of them can trace their roots back to “River Raid.” As a cart for the Atari VCS it's quite impressive because it's just plain fun to play. However, I can't help but wonder why you play as a plane instead of a boat since the entire field of play takes place on a river (and the fact that if you fly over land you crash – WTF?).

Recommended:
Yes

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/29/08

Game Release: River Raid (US, 1982)