Retro Video Gamer

So, instead of an arcade game, let's look at a game that was never in the arcades, River Raid!  For those unfamiliar with the game, from Wikipedia:

[font=georgia:2rb2nlq1]River Raid is a scrolling shooter video game designed and developed by Carol Shaw, and published by Activision in 1982 for the Atari 2600 video game console. Activision later ported the title to the Atari 5200, ColecoVision, and Intellivision game consoles, as well as to the Commodore 64, IBM PCjr, MSX, ZX Spectrum, and Atari 8-bit family home computers.

Activision published River Raid II in 1988. This sequel, programmed by David Lubar, has similar gameplay, but with a different landscape and increased difficulty.

The Atari 2600 version of River Raid was republished via Microsoft's Game Room service in May 2010; River Raid II followed in June 2010.[/font:2rb2nlq1]

[align=center:2rb2nlq1]Let's Compare ( River Raid ) (//http)[/align:2rb2nlq1]

I love River Raid it's such a classic game!

I have never seen the MSX version before, that looks great! Definitely the best out of the 8-bit versions.

The Spectrum version is pretty pathetic, I remember playing it many years ago and being disappointed how it compared to the 2600 original.

The A8 version is very good, I played it for the first time a few weeks ago.

Never seen that PC re-make before, nicely done but lacks the appeal of the original game.

It's a real shame that River Raid 3 for the Jaguar never came out 

River Raid is really a great game.  I was also surprised to see that new Windows version of the game.  I had no idea that existed!  At least it does remain true to the original game.  Was Carol involved in the development of the Jaguar version?

Quote from: "TrekMD"River Raid is really a great game.  I was also surprised to see that new Windows version of the game.  I had no idea that existed!  At least it does remain true to the original game.  Was Carol involved in the development of the Jaguar version?

No I don't believe so, I have some info on it somewhere - I will hunt it out.

Cool.  I'd be curious to know.  I wonder if it was someone we may be able to interview about the project.

A fun game and a success to what Activision could do with better systems. The 2600 was my favorite till I played it on the 5200. Still hope to get it for the Intellivision some day.

Quote from: "onthinice"A fun game and a success to what Activision could do with better systems. The 2600 was my favorite till I played it on the 5200. Still hope to get it for the Intellivision some day.

The Intellivision port is excellent!  Check out my review here:  http://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/index.php?page=intvopqr (//http)

Quote from: "The Laird"I have never seen the MSX version before, that looks great! Definitely the best out of the 8-bit versions.

I might agree if you're putting the Intellivision in the 16-bit category.  I think the terrain on either side of the river just looks better on that port.  And I know, I'm biased... 

Well, for me having played the 2600, XL/XE and Windows versions I can say that from that footage, I was also not impressed with the specy version. The 5200 looked a lot like the XL/XE. C64 was also disappointing. The MSX and Colecovision versions looked very playable but not quite the mustard and Intellivision was awful. The Windows version is style over substance, playable but you get bored after a short while.

In conclusion and as much as I love what you all call the A8 versions, I am lovingly drawn back to the 2600 version as my favourite. On that system, this was a truly incredible game and when I did the markets buying and selling 2600 stuff, this game was always snapped up. When you get up around level 100 it gets very tough but still great fun!

It is very hard to explain to people but this game alone is worth buying an Atari 2600 VCS. Get yer mates round for a few beers and see how bad half of them are

Can't argue with those points.

No matter what system it is played on, it is good to see fans still enjoying the game.

I can't agree with you on the assessment of the Intellivision version.  Why do you think it is awful? 

Quote from: "TrekMD"I can't agree with you on the assessment of the Intellivision version.  Why do you think it is awful?

I agree.  The Intellivision version is very playable and I think it looks graphically better than several of the other systems shown.  What problems do you see in it to label it awful?

Speaking for myself, it is a great title on the Intellivision but better versions are out there. My feeing is to be a true gamer and get the most out of a game you can't limit yourself to the loyalty of a system. Not sure I would use awful but given the choice would choose the game on an advanced system. Still as a collector it would be a nice addition to the Intellivision library.

Quote from: "onthinice"My feeing is to be a true gamer and get the most out of a game you can't limit yourself to the loyalty of a system.

That's certainly fine, but I think I'm a bit different in my gaming preferences.  I like games on the Intellivision, and it is the only retro-system I've put much effort into collecting for, emulating, etc.  So yes, I haven't played all of the River Raid that I could, but that's not really the kind of completionist experience I'm going for.  But I think it's fair to say I've "played River Raid" as the Intellivision version is a decent version of the game.

I'd argue that the original Intellivision version of Donkey Kong is complete rubbish and you can't say you've "played Donkey Kong" if you are limiting yourself to that port.  So it varies a bit.

I consider myself a retro gamer, but I don't usually describe myself as a "gamer" per se, because that usually implies a wider experience of playing video games than I've had.

You are spot on. My statement was broad and should have added that for me as a gamer, I have to play all versions to pick the best.  The word gamer is a broad statement as well. Did not mean to imply that someone is not a gamer by playing one version or system/handheld over the other. We each have to be happy with our gaming choices. That is what makes this site great. Different points of view.

I can't fault you for liking the Intellivision. It is a great system to collect and play. First system that I ever played BurgerTime on back in the early 1980's and prefer it over newer versions. As well, I like Donkey Kong on the Intellivision and enjoy playing it. Same for Intellivision Stampede and Pac-Man. Both great versions and I like them better the 2600.

Look forward to you sharing your thoughts about the Intellivision.

Well, dare I point you to the Intellivisionaries podcast??    You'll find me blathering on and on about my views of the system...

Plug away! I have enjoyed a bit and look forward to more. 

Ok, I have reviewed the footage and reconsidered my earlier comments.

Firstly, I am not knocking the Intellivision as a system. At the time of release it was better than many from my memory. The video is a little frustrating for me as the player did try flying fast at all which, makes it dangerous but exciting. The Intellivision version for me seemed a little lack-lustre in terms of GFX and sounds and not representative of how good the system is. I take back the word 'awful' because clearly, I can only judge on what I see and hear in the video. Still, I do think it could have been better and the only real way to objectify the game on all these machines is to play them all. I suspect only a few people have that privilege.

I also made the statement that I am a big fan of the A8 machines yet the original 2600 version felt like more fun to me and seeing these versions on video made me question does a better machine make for a better gaming experience. Hell no, hence we are all here.

So, as I say, a poor choice of wording on my part but I stand by my gut feeling that the 2600 version is best for the reasons I gave and not because I am a big fan of that system.

With regards to the Jaguar version, this is a quote from Activision.

Quote"Activision are looking at the Jaguar's sales performance to determine whether they will be bringing their new Pitfall to the Jag. A future candidate for the Jag is River Raid."

So it's unlikely it was even started.

Well, that answers that.  Thanks Laird.

Cryptic, thanks for clarifying on the Intellivision version. 

What a loss then!

Quote from: "onthinice"What a loss then!

That's for certain!  It would have been fantastic to see a Jaguar version. 

Seems there was also an unreleased SNES version too:

QuoteRiver Raid: The Mission of No Return (aka River Raid 3) is a cancelled shoot 'em up for the Super Nintendo, based on the original River Raid released in 1982 by Activision for the Atari 2600. The game was going to be published by Activision but it was later cancelled and only few screens remain preserved in the gallery below. Celine was able to find some of these images in Banzzai magazine #14 and Super Power #13.

The source code of River Raid SNES was found in 2001 by an user of the Atari Age forum:

I can tell you, that what I have of River Raid SNES, is mainly a source code dump from August of '93. You'd have to recompile it in order to view it. I had one of my programmers do so just we could figure out what exactly we have on the floppy.
Some other info were found by Zwackery from the Atari Age Forum, in VideoGames magazine (vol. V, no. 11, Nov 1993). As we can read from the VGM article, "River Raid: The Mission of No Return"  was shown at the summer CES  1991 in Chicago, along with the cancelled Kaboom:  The Mad Bomber Returns.

It seems that "both got killed because the developers couldn't push the SNES boundaires with either one" as noted by Klove in the Atari Age Forum.

(http://www.unseen64.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/river-raid-3-snes-03.jpg)

(http://www.unseen64.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/river-raid-snes-banzzai14.jpg)

(http://www.unseen64.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/river-raid-snes-superpower13a.jpg)

(http://www.unseen64.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/river-raid-snes-superpower13b.jpg)

http://www.unseen64.net/category/nin/super-nintendo/page/5/ (//http)

Awwh! Those screenshots look amazing. What a loss!!!

Can we imagine that the Jaguar version might have looked this this?!?!?

Quote from: "TrekMD"Can we imagine that the Jaguar version might have looked this this?!?!?

Probably was the exact same game, only with improved graphics and sound - just like Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure.

Quote from: "The Laird"

Quote from: "TrekMD"Can we imagine that the Jaguar version might have looked this this?!?!?

Probably was the exact same game, only with improved graphics and sound - just like Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure.

Which would have been a fantastic update for the game. 

Either way, any Jag game would have been welcomed. I do wonder if they had done as TrekMD said with River Raid the same as they did with Pitfall. maybe it would not have pushed the system but if the playability remained it could have been a cult success.

In my day of trading second hand 2600 carts and systems, I used to take orders for River Raid. It was THAT popular. That was back before Ebay was invented lol

Side note to TrekMD - yeah, I never intended to cause offence but the written word sometimes looks harder than meant. I note no-one disagrees about the Windows version

Quote from: "Cryptic33"Side note to TrekMD - yeah, I never intended to cause offence but the written word sometimes looks harder than meant. I note no-one disagrees about the Windows version :24:

Looking at the those screen shots, reminds me of Soviet Strike for the Saturn/Playstation.

Could the Jaguar have done a similar game or would it have been closer to the 16-bit Strike series?

Quote from: "onthinice"Looking at the those screen shots, reminds me of Soviet Strike for the Saturn/Playstation.

Could the Jaguar have done a similar game or would it have been closer to the 16-bit Strike series?

I don't think the Jag would have had a problem with that game. Soviet Strike was originally a 3DO title but ported over to the Saturn and PS1 when the console failed in the marketplace. The Jaguar was more powerful in most areas than the 3DO.

This is one of my favourite 2600 games. It's simply superb on Atari's classic machine.

There's a game called AirFox HD on iOS that's a blatant clone. It plays reasonably well but nothing will ever compare to RR on the 2600.

Quote from: "Mire Mare"This is one of my favourite 2600 games. It's simply superb on Atari's classic machine.

There's a game called AirFox HD on iOS that's a blatant clone. It plays reasonably well but nothing will ever compare to RR on the 2600.

My sentiments precisely

Quote from: "The Laird"

Quote from: "onthinice"Looking at the those screen shots, reminds me of Soviet Strike for the Saturn/Playstation.

Could the Jaguar have done a similar game or would it have been closer to the 16-bit Strike series?

I don't think the Jag would have had a problem with that game. Soviet Strike was originally a 3DO title but ported over to the Saturn and PS1 when the console failed in the marketplace. The Jaguar was more powerful in most areas than the 3DO.

So in all probability it would have been a Jaguar CD game or could they have crammed it into a cart?

If they had made it then it probably would have been CD given the other versions are.

Glad they did not make it then.  :78: