More Info : RIVER RAID - THE ULTIMATE CLASSIC ARCADE GAME
What makes "River Raid" so addictive? Even today, as video games take on the
ultimate in 3D realism, and can often have a multimillion dollar production
cost, classic games like River Raid are enjoyed by a new generation of video
game enthusiasts. Are there any modern games out there that capture the essence
of River Raid?
River Raid is one of the all time classics published by Activision in the early
1980's during the peak of the video game revolution. It was created by Carol
Shaw, the first female video game programmer. The objective of the game was to
navigate a river without crashing into the canyon walls, while shooting and
avoiding enemies, and refueling your plane by flying over fuel tanks. The
landscape was the same every game, and so was the placement of the enemies.
There was some variety in the timing of the enemies, which would make the game
unpredicatble to some degree. What made the game so challenging was the
intensity brought forth by enemies constantly approaching from the left, right,
or in front of the player. There were only two choices: either shoot the enemy
vessels, or try to avoid them. To add to the intensity, you also had to refuel
occasionally to keep from falling into the river.
So is there a modern version of this game out there? The answer is yes, there
are several games that used River Raid as inspiration. One such game is River
Raider, which has all the elements of River Raid. Like River Raid, River Raider
has enemies approaching from all directions, and requires the player to refuel
periodically. The maze like navigation of River Raid is also apperent in River
Raider. River Raider manages to duplicate the feel of "River Raid", but with
the addition of some nice graphics, and a 3D enviroment. Many games try to
emulate a classic 2D game in 3D and fail because along the way the game makers
forget what made the original game great. I can assure you, this did not happen
with River Raider.
From the screen shots above, you may notice that the game resembles River Raid.
Another game that has some resemblence to River Raid is River Raider II.
Detailed 3D landscape, 3 units to fly by and many other options makes this game
very addictive and bring real enjoy of River Raid.
Though River Raid is one of the true classics, you may find that River Raider
and River Raider II will conjure all memories of River Raid, and create some
new ones that can only be realized with the blazing speed of modern
microprocessors.
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