River Raid is a vertical shoot'em up for the 2600 developed and published by Activision. The game was designed and developed by Carol Shaw. The game was notable for its dynamically built level which adds random terrain and enemies as the player progresses through the game. The entire game is a single level which continues to be generated as long as the player stays alive. The game features one and two player modes. Two firing modes are available which fire the bullets straight ahead or allow the bullets to be steered a bit after being fired.
In River Raid the player controls a airplane over a river attacking and avoiding enemies. Player's can speed up and slow down their plane and fire.
The plane can be destroyed by collisions with enemies, enemy fire, or by running out of fuel. Players can fly over fuel depots in order to restore fuel.
Enemies include tankers, helicopters, and jets. Bridges also can destroy the plane in a collision but can be destroyed with ire. If the player destroys a fuel depot it can not be used to refuel the plane.
In Germany, River Raid was the first video game to be banned by Federal Department for Writings Harmful to Young Persons. The ban was lifted in 2002 when publishers lobbied for the release of the Activision Anthology for the PS2.
River Raid is available on the Activision Anthology for PS2, Activision Hits: Remixed for the PSP, Activision Classics on the PS1 and Microsoft's Game Room service on the Xbox 360.
The game was followed up with
River Raid II which was released on the 2600.