We go from the SG-1000 to the Atari 2600 for another fun arcade-style vertical shooter.
It's River Raid, the game programmed by Carol Shaw for the Atari 2600 from Activision that has you flying a plane, trying not to crash and shooting down bridges, ships, planes while keeping your fuel constantly topped up so you don't crash into the river.
Left and Right on the joystick let you move left and right, Up lets you move faster when held, and the Fire button fires bullets one a time from your plane.
You'll need to shoot down whatever you can for points - helicopters, ships, planes and even bridges. You'll get an extra life every 10,000 points. You can also shoot down the fuel tankers you need to fly over to get the most points, but make sure that to keep the yellow needle on the fuel gauge at the bottom of the screen near the F. Also, don't try to actively go after any enemy on the screen; that can work against you. If you see a bridge, you will have to shoot it down; running into it will cost you a life.
You can lose a life from running into an enemy craft, running out of fuel, or running into a bridge or a wall. Pay attention to what you're doing, and get a feel as to when you should and should not accelerate with Up on the joystick. Once you figure out what you need to do, you'll be playing this game like a pro.
Obviously, this is a fun game with its share of challenge to just get further and further and get more and more points, as the game has no ending. This is definitely worth having in the collection and is definitely worth giving a shot, and it's nice to see that a lot of vertical shmups can trace their roots back to this one.
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