River Raid
River Raid is a video game developed by Carol Shaw for the Atari Video Computer System (later renamed Atari 2600) and released in 1982 by Activision. The player controls a fighter jet over the River of No Return in a raid behind enemy lines. The goal is to navigate the flight by destroying enemies while collecting fuel and not crashing.
| River Raid | |
|---|---|
Atari 2600 cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Activision |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Designer(s) | Carol Shaw |
| Series | River Raid |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, ColecoVision, IBM PCjr, Intellivision, MSX, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | December 1982
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| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | 1-2 players alternating turns |
Shaw had made games for Atari, Inc. before joining Activision before working on River Raid. Inspired by the game Scramble (1981), she set out to make a game that had a continuing scrolling screen. She had programmed and designed the game herself occasionally getting advice from other Activision staff.
River Raid! was one of the best selling-games of 1983 and the second best-selling Atari 2600 video games of the year after Ms. Pac Man. It received year-end rewards from The Video Game Update and The Arkie Awards. The game received a sequel in 1988 and was ported to several other consoles the following year and several compilation game titles for handheld, console and computers. It has continued to receive praise as one of the best games for the Atari 2600 from various publications.